Key.
Sentences/ words that are bold and in italics, are direct thoughts.
Random italic words in a sentence are emphasis.
"Italics with speech marks" signify that what is being said within the speech marks is some distance away.
Bold is Onomatopoeia.
"Bold, italic, and speech marks" signify telepathic speech.
A/N- Back again! Oh, and something I didn't mention before, was when this is set. I'm thinking somewhere in season 2.
Disclaimer- The characters and Sean himself belong to me. (I gave Trip's nephew in 'Breaking the Ice' a younger brother.)
Chapter 2- Polly Has the Pox
"Hey, Cap'n," Trip called, when he saw his friend enter the Mess Hall.
"Is that the new instalment?" Jon smiled, joining everyone else after collecting his favourite meat loaf.
"Yup- fresh of the press." Trip affirmed cheerfully, while T'Pol gave him a puzzled look over his comment.
"Let's hear it, then." Phlox motioned with his fork.
"Story Two-" Trip Read, "-Polly has the Pox." He smirked, while T'Pol fumed.
"Commander!" Mavis cried out, in his unemotional Vulcan way, when he saw his superior officer crumple on the floor like a drink carton that had been crumpled and thrown onto the floor by someone."
"Using similes already," Trip stated proudly.
"We must call Doctor P'Lox!" H'Shi said, urgently, before going to make the call.
"Ah," Phlox said cheerfully, amongst the snorts. "I see I have been transformed into a Vulcan female. Interesting. You know, I have always wondered what it would be like being a woman. Having breasts, long hair. Getting cranky every month. Not to mention three husbands." Phlox smiled, happily, while everyone else stared.
Hurriedly, Trip continued.
After being in sickbay for twelve hours while the doctor made scans, H'Shi, who had stayed with the human commander, was getting tired.
"By George, I think I've got it." P'Lox announced flatly. "It's Chicken Pox."
Trip stopped reading to look at T'Pol who looked offended that she had been brought down by a child's disease, though she seemed pleased that it wasn't quite as disfiguring a disease as Smallpox.
He grinned to himself, and scrolled down to the next part of the story.
After giving H'Shi explicit instructions on the care of Commander Polly, and the orders that no one but the Chief Engineer, Commander Kerp could look after her, he let H'Shi, and Polly, who was now awake, leave.
"Love the name, my friend. It almost sounds like carp, doesn't it? Or perhaps twerp." Malcolm said, a look of bliss showing on his face.
"At least it isn't Trucker, or worse- Chucker." Trip said, causing the humans to once more, laugh.
"Carry on reading, I want to find out more about my feminine self. I'm also interested in why P'Lox entrusted Polly's care only to Kerp." Phlox interjected, "you know, P'Lox seems to be rather incompetent- twelve hours to determine it was chickenpox." He followed up his comment with the last of his cabbage.
T'Pol on seeing this inched her chair closer to Reed's, away from the doctor, knowing, from her Xenobiology studies, that the Denobulan digestive system couldn't handle the gases of many human vegetables- including cabbage. She was just thankful that she had gotten her smell diminishing medication that morning, so it was still at its most effective.
Everyone else nodded at what the doctor had said, grinning at Trip and T'Pol and the implied romance, not noticing what T'Pol had done.
Happy to oblige with the doctor's request, Trip pressed the button that would take him to the next page, and continued.
Polly was resting on her bed trying not to scratch the rapidly appearing pustules, when the chime from her door sounded. "Come in," she said in her weakened voice.
In walked Commander Kerp, the most handsomest, and the bestest Vulcan ever, with very fine pointed ears, who was very tall.
Polly swooned- she was in lurve!
"I do not swoon." T'Pol insisted, indignantly.
"I notice the first thing that came out of her mouth wasn't to discredit the fact that she was in love with Commander Tucker." Reed grinned wickedly, knowing, as he had ever since that incident in Shuttlepod one, when Trip had adamantly refused to say he found T'Pol attractive, because she was a Vulcan, that his friend fancied the dickens out of her. He found he enjoyed teasing the pair about it, even though he suspected T'Pol didn't know that Trip liked her, even though, he himself had often caught Trip staring at various bits of the Sub-Commander's anatomy.
"Shut up." Trip said in defence of the Vulcan, picking up the pad once more.
Polly had secretly been in love with Kerp ever since she had seen him. She thought he had 'an awfully nice bum'. (By the way, Uncle Trip, Auntie Lizzie told me to write that, but she wouldn't tell me why. Would you tell me why?)
"No." Trip said to his nephew, even though he wasn't there. He shared a look with Malcolm before reading again.
"Good Evening, Commander." Kerp greeted. "Crewman H'Shi has informed me of my duties. I am to bathe you in Calamine lotion and give you lots and lots of Vulcan neuro-pressure." (Auntie Lizzie helped there, too. What's neuro-pressure?)
"Good question." Trip turned to look at T'Pol, but she refused to meet his gaze. Instead, Doctor Phlox answered.
"It's a highly intimate form of, well- almost massage. Vulcans stimulate certain pressure points in particular postures. It's almost a way of prompting their bodies to produce their own medicines- I've heard it can even make an insomniac feel rested enough to go to sleep. I've never heard of it being performed on a human before, though I don't see why it shouldn't be."
"Have you ever done neuro-pressure?" Trip wanted to know of T'Pol.
She gave what was almost a glare. "I have been taught how to apply it. Please continue," she changed the subject, rearranging her features into one of nonchalance.
After lots of bathing and pressurising, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
To Be Continued…
"That was a most disagreeable place to stop- and it didn't even have any description!" The Doctor said, obviously disappointed. "You know, his grammar, for the most part, is really quite excellent for a boy so young."
"It says here that Lizzie's been correcting some stuff on everything he's written, and part 3 will come next week." Trip supplied.
"Until Next Week." Captain Archer, stood, and walked away, followed by the others, T'Pol hurrying by, holding her breath as she passed the Doctor.
"Wait," Archer stopped and sniffed. "What's that smell?"
A/N- Please review.
