Merged

Chapter 27

The days Jon and T'Pol spent on Denobula settled into a routine. Jon worked at physical therapy, which he found was becoming more difficult as Phlox added more challenging exercises to help bring the human back to his optimum physical level. T'Pol spent the time working on the departmental paperwork that would leave the department in proper order so that she and Jon could take their sabbaticals. Jon would come back to the house each evening exhausted and after a quick dinner and a shower, he'd generally fall into bed, sleeping until the next day when the work would start again.

This routine didn't change much during the four day trip to Vulcan after Jon was released from Phlox's care. While T'Pol wanted to spend more time with Jon, she understood that it would take awhile before he was back to some semblance of normal.

Phlox had indicated that he'd been subpoenaed by the Federation court since he had been involved in determining the structure of the material that had been used to kill the Andorians. Thus, their goodbyes also acknowledged that they would be together again in a few months time.

Jon and T'Pol had reached Vulcan after a month's absence that had changed everything on the planet. The Vulcan people were reeling from the knowledge that some of those they had lived and worked with were capable of violent and horrific actions. There was a renewed commitment to following the Kir'Shara and embracing its concepts.

They had met with T'Plorn. She was deeply saddened that her brother had left her and her family's life but also accepted his decision not to continue as a merged being. She recognized that it was not a rejection of the komihn but rather a logical decision that this was not a life situation he wished to continue. She also recognized his desire to allow the komihn to live his life unencumbered by the consciousness of another being. She was comforted by the consideration the man who had shared her brother's body with had shown. He had acted with compassion following the Vulcan way. T'Pol's actions were also appreciated. T'Plorn knew that her brother had been joined to those who truly cared for him. It made his death easier to bear.

T'Plorn had indicated that she would be the executor of Sontek's estate. She would contact him later to address any lingering issues. She indicated that Jon and T'Pol would always be welcome in her home.

Jon had been planning to continue teaching, finishing the semester but had been called back to Earth to meet with Admiral Gardner. T'Pol had indicated that she would complete the course and had told him she would see him in six weeks. Jon had headed back to Earth.

He arrived late in the afternoon on the day before his appointment with Admiral Gardner. He headed to his apartment. He again had to convince his doorman that he had permission to use his own apartment. George had noticed the resemblance of the young man to Admiral Archer and had wondered if he was a relative. Jon had to him he was definitely a relation. George had welcomed him, stating that he missed the Admiral. Jon had smiled, wondering how George would react once he could convince him that he was Admiral Archer.

As Archer entered his apartment, he recalled the last time he'd spent time there. He'd been Jontek. He'd been merged. All of the memories came rolling back in on him. He found that he couldn't stay there that first night. He called Becca. He wasn't surprised when she offered to let him stay over at her place. He accepted.

Knocking on her door, he recalled the long friendship they'd had. A friendship which had included some rather intimate times. He had shared his bed with her on numerous occasions. Theirs had been a relationship of comradeship and occasional casual sex by mutual desire. He knew she had not wanted a long term romantic relationship with him and while he loved her as a friend and occasional lover, he had no interest in a romantic relationship with her either.

She opened the door, eyes flying open. "Jon! Oh my God! It is you!" She paused a beat. "Damn, you look young!"

"Hi Becca. Sorry to do this to you."

"Do what, Jon? Ask for my help? You know I'm here for you. I always will be. Now get inside."

He stepped into her apartment. "Thanks, Becca." He walked over to the couch. "It's just that when I walked into my apartment today, the reality hit again."

With eyes that indicated her concern for him, she asked, "This has been hard on you, hasn't it?"

He blew out a breath. "Oh, yeah. I'd come to accept that I'd never be 'me' again. That my life would be looking at the world from a Vulcan's eyes. I never saw this coming."

"You're looking quite well." Seeing him 23 years younger brought back memories of the times they'd had over those same 23 years.

"I'm looking twenty eight."

"There is that. You know, you look just like you did when I first met you. You remember that?"

"Yeah. You and A.G. had been going out. He was pissed when you started coming onto me."

"Well, a little jealousy never hurt anyone. Can I get you something?"

"Uh, maybe some water."

"You want a little Scotch in that as well?"

"Sure. Why not." The memory of Sontek and the Andorian Ale came to mind. He smiled remembering how hard it was for Vulcans to hold their liquor.

He could hear the tinkle as the ice cubes hit the glass. A few moments later she came back to the couch, two glasses full of a medium colored amber liquid. She handed him one before raising her glass to him. "Here's to long friendships."

Hitting her glass with his own he answered, "And to those no longer with us."

They both took a sip. She looked at him, concerned again. "How are you doing, Jon. I mean, like I said, this has to be hard on you."

"I'm okay, Becca. I'm still learning how to live with this most recent change in reality. I'm not sure what I want to do."

"You'll go back to Starfleet." She said it was a certainty. As if there was not another possibility she could fathom.

His voice was uncertain. "I might. I'm not sure if I want to."

She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "You! Not in Starfleet?"

"As I say, I'm not certain. I've got a whole world of possibilities. Things that I'd given up on to pursue my career are now viable again."

She considered this, turning it over in her own mind. "I never thought of that."

"That's all I've been thinking about."

She continued to sip at her Scotch. She'd made the drinks a bit stronger then usual. She could feel the alcohol beginning to loosen her up. She could tell he was a little looser himself but he was still much too tense. "Hey, turn around. I'm going to give you one of my patented, sure-to-make-you feel better backrubs."

He put his drink down on the coffee table and turned his back to her. She laid her hands on his shoulders, slowly kneading the muscles beneath her hands.

"Ummm. That feels good." She could feel him relaxing. The knots in his shoulders, in his back slowly disappearing under her expert ministrations. She stopped after about 15 minutes. "Oh don't stop. That felt good." She didn't resume and he turned towards her.

She took the opportunity to pull his face towards her. She pressed her lips to his, inviting him to return with his own passions. For a moment, it seemed as if he might accept as she felt him respond to her, his mouth seeking hers. Then suddenly he pulled away.

He stated hoarsely, emotions in play. "I can't."

Becca was confused. She'd felt him start to answer her call to him as he had throughout the years. "Why not? It's never been a problem for you before."

"There's someone in my life right now. I just can't."

She nodded, disappointed but understanding. "I see."

"Becca, I just need you as my friend right now. I don't need a lover."

"Its okay, Jon. Seeing you tonight just brought back a lot of memories of great times we've shared. I was just thinking we could add another memory to the collection."

He nodded but his intentions were clear. "I'm sorry."

"As I said, its okay." She paused for a moment. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"I thought we might get dinner. Maybe pick up a movie. Just be."

"Okay. I'm game. Anyplace you feel like going?"

"Not really. You choose."

"All right. Italian it is."

They headed out the door, their friendship still intact. Jon knew that Becca was right. She'd always be there for him. She was just that kind of a friend.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Jon walked into Admiral Gardner's office, realizing that he'd been a Lieutenant Commander, not much older then the body he now inhabited the first time he'd met him. The memory made him smile. Gardner had been ahead of him back when he and A.G. had proved that his father's engine was sound, only needing to balance the intermix. Jon had been a little too by-the-book in those days. He'd been sure he and A.G. would be thrown out of the program when they'd stolen the test vehicle, that Gardner would likely be the one that would fly the first vessel holding his father's engines. He'd been wrong.

"Jon! It's good to see you. Sit down."

"It's good to see you as well." He took a seat in one of the two chairs facing the Admiral's desk.

"God, it's only been two months. So much has changed. Seems like you've landed on your feet again."

Jon looked confused. "Excuse me?"

Smiling, Gardner explained. "I told you before, Jon. I've ceased believing I can ever figure what direction your life will take."

"I suppose I've had my share of situational realities," said Jon, grinning back.

Dryly, Gardner answered, "That's putting it mildly." The Admiral looked down at the folder that was open on his desk. "And this situation is no different. We received the report from Phlox giving you a clean bill of health. I'm pleased to be able to reinstate you as Admiral again."

"I'm not sure if I want it now."

The words shocked Gardner. "What?! Jon, Starfleet is your life."

Jon didn't disagree. "It might still be. I'd just like to have some time to think about it."

"How long do you need." Gardner needed him now.

"Can you give me until after the trial?"

Gardner considered it. "Hmmm. How about this instead? You resume your duties as Admiral now. After the trial, if you wish to resign your commission, I'll accept that. Fair deal?"

Jon nodded. "Fair deal."

"Jon, I really am glad to have you back with us. I never wanted to have to put you on medical leave, but there wasn't a choice. As long as you were within Sontek, it was the only decision possible.

"I know. It was hard to accept but I knew you were right. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I would have made the same decision. But just because I agreed with it doesn't mean I liked it."

"You wouldn't be the Jonathan Archer I know if you had liked it. Now let me bring you up to speed on the latest news. You'll need to hit the ground running."

For the next couple of hours, Jon was briefed on Starfleet operations. He was back and it felt good to be involved in the world that had been his up until the world had shifted after the shuttle he'd been flying slammed into Tanansis V.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

The next six weeks flew by quickly. Jon had become more comfortable as he regained the life he thought he had lost. T'Plorn had contacted him and indicated that Sontek had changed his will after his return to Vulcan willing a number of personal items and a sizable number of Federation credits to the man he had shared his life with. She offered to ship the items to him and he had agreed. They decided to maintain Sontek's apartment for another few months until Jon made up his mind as to what to do with his life.

Jon had found his new youth to be both a blessing and a curse in his position as Admiral. On the one hand, he had more energy to tackle the projects Gardner wanted him to work on. On the other hand, he found that on the interpersonal level, he had an uphill battle to fight. Although most of the people he worked with knew that there was a 51 year old soul with more experience in his little finger than most of the officers he dealt with had in total, the visual reality of being twenty eight caused him difficulty. He found that he needed to learn to act with a whole new level of patience.

When he'd met with Malcolm a few days after his reinstatement, this new paradigm became evident. Malcolm had needed to debrief him from his short but successful mission in intelligence gathering. They'd met at Malcolm's office.

Jon walked in, smiling at his former armory officer. "Good to see you again, Captain.

This was the first time Malcolm had seen Jon since the procedure had been completed. "Admiral Archer?"

"Yes."

Malcolm looked at the young man, dressed in the blue coverall with gold piping and Admiral insignia attached. "You don't look…" He trailed off.

"I don't look like an Admiral."

"No, sir."

Jon smiled. "It's still me. Just the wrappings are different."

"Yes, sir."

"Can we get started with this? I have some other appointments I have to attend to as well."

"Of course, sir." Still, Malcolm didn't start the debriefing.

"Is there a problem, Captain Reed?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"You're barely older than I was when I joined Enterprise."

"As I said, the wrappings are different. I'm the same man I've always been inside."

"I understand that, sir. It's just hard to accept that the you I see is my commanding officer."

Jon nodded. "I can understand. But both of us have faced situations that make this look like a cakewalk. I think that we can work though it."

Malcolm agreed. They started the debriefing. When Archer would voice something that Reed questioned, he would stop him in mid-sentence. The third time this happened, Archer looked to the Security head. "Stop doing that."

Surprised, Malcolm asked, "Doing what?"

"Interrupting me," Jon explained.

"Was I doing that?" Malcolm looked genuinely clueless.

"Yes."

Chagrinned, Malcolm apologized. "Sorry, Sir."

Suddenly a thought came to Jon's mind. "Did I do that to you?"

"What?"

"Stop you in mid-sentence."

"Back on Enterprise?" Malcolm remembered several occasions when this had happened.

"Yes."

Smiling, Malcolm conceded. "A few times, sir. But it was understandable. Sometimes I could be a bit difficult."

"Huh."

They continued the debriefing. Malcolm indicated that the data had provided some details concerning the accident on Tanansis V.

Jon didn't see the connection. "How was that related to the genocidal plot?"

Malcolm quickly explained. "Sprong had discovered S'Bont's project. He was planning on revealing it to the Vulcan Trinary Council when he returned."

"What happened?"

"The gift that Sprong was carrying to give to the Tananites had an electronic dampening field hidden inside of it. It was triggered to act once the shuttle was in the atmosphere of the planet. That's what caused the electrical malfunction."

"So the malfunction had nothing to do with the star-geyser hitting our shields?"

Malcolm confirmed his analysis. "No. This was murder."

Suddenly, the loss of his friend Phillip Hurst and the Vulcans took on a whole new dimension. "We didn't have a chance, did we?"

"No, sir. No one was supposed to walk away from that crash."

Jon got up and started pacing. "Terra Prime, the Suliban Cabal and the Temporal Time War, and now this. It's never going to end."

"Sir?"

"It seems that even though we solved so many problems on Earth and have created the Federation, we still keep facing those who want to disrupt it all."

"At least there is hope now, sir. The fact that the Federation is here meant that the Andorians and Vulcans haven't gone to war. The peace still holds."

"For how long?"

"I don't believe we'll ever be free of those whose goal is to cause misery and mayhem. But at least now, we have a chance to stand against them. That's what the Federation can do. We will stand as long as we find more common ground then divisions."

"When did you get so wise, Malcolm?"

"I had a good teacher, sir."