A/N Still doesn't belong to me. Thank you to ShanRQuinn and aria1210 for their revues. I do appreciate your input. Also, a thanks to all my readers.
After Malcolm returned to Starfleet, he contemplated what he should do with the rest of his leave. He thought of contacting Trip, but decided he probably wanted to be left alone. He didn't want Trip to think he wanted to horn in on his visits with his family and friends. In the end, he decided to stay in San Francisco and take part as much as he could in the work on Enterprise. He acquired access to information on all the new additions to the ship, including the warp drives. If he was going to make Starfleet his career, he decided he should learn as much as he could about all aspects of the ship. It also helped to take his mind off of all that transpired in England.
After Trip had stayed at his parent's home for a week, he was off to Florida to spend time with his old friends. Two of them, Jack and Steve, had arranged for them to spend time on a boat, fishing and Scuba diving.
After getting settled in his hotel, he joined Jack and Steve at an old stomping grounds of theirs, a bar called The Sea Shanty. The background music was such you had to raise your voice to get the others to hear you. They found a table and ordered a round of beers. Trip had not said much since his original greetings. After he stayed quiet through a couple more rounds, the other two looked at each other and Jack decided to try to bring him out of his shell.
"Well, Trip, you certainly are quiet. You have hardly said a word since we arrived."
Trip took a sip of his beer, and answered, "Sorry, just mulling over a few things."
Steve joined in, "I think he's mulling over memories of what's her name, T'Pol."
Jack spoke again, "Is that it, Trip, according to the tabloids, you two went at it pretty good."
Steve, smirking, "Who can blame him, she is one hot Vulcan with one nice set of jugs. How about it Trip, how was it to get it on with an Alien?"
Trip struggled to keep his temper. After all, they didn't know how he felt about T'Pol and all that had happened between them. "I'm only going to say this once, lay off any of that. T'Pol was a crewmate of mine on a mission that I don't want to think about and there wouldn't be any Earth if it wasn't for her. So just leave it alone."
Steve answered, Alright, don't get testy, can't blame us for being curious."
Trip answered back, "No problem, just not something I want to deal with." Turning his head to look for a waitress, "I need another beer."
Suddenly, a woman's voice behind him said, "Are you sure you need another one, sailor, looks like you had plenty already."
Trip turned and saw the last person he had expected to see. She was as beautiful as ever. She still wore her blond hair long, and the sweater and tight jeans she was wearing showed off her figure.
He blurted out, "Natalie! What the hell are you doing here?"
"Looking for you. Mind if I sit down?"
Trip, a little sullenly, "Suit yourself, it's a free planet."
As she sat down across from him, he continued, "Can I get you a beer?" He doesn't notice the glance between Steve and Jack.
"No thanks. Turning to Steve and Jack, she continued, "Don't you guys have someplace to go?"
Trip felt himself getting angry, "Hey, where do you get off sending my friends away?"
Steve quickly said, "No sweat, Trip, Jack and I were thinking about checking those two out at that far table. We'll see you later. Nice to see you, Nat."
As they leave the table, Trip continues to try to get a waitress's attention.
Natalie spoke up, "Trip, I need to talk to you. It's important."
"So, talk."
"Not here, it's way too noisy, I can hardly hear myself think."
Trip is tempted to just walk away and leave her there. After all, the last contact he had with her was a Dear John letter when he first shipped out. He had thought things had been getting pretty serious before that. Deciding he was curious to hear what she might have to say, he couldn't help getting a dig in.
"Your place or mine?"
In a hurt voice, "Please, Trip."
Now contrite, "Sorry, where do you suggest?"
"How about the Main Street Diner?"
"Is that place still open?"
"Yeah, and in fact, Greta still runs it."
"I don't have a car, need to hail a cab."
"I have a car, you can ride over there with me."
Just as they were leaving, the waitress arrived; seeing Natalie, she asked, "Hi, Nat, can I get you a Coke?"
Trip looked quizzically at Natalie.
Natalie answered, "No, thanks, we were just leaving."
They went out the door and walked about a half a block where there was an expensive, sporty hover car parked.
Trip exclaimed, "Nice Wheels!"
"There are perks in being the daughter of one of the richest men in the world."
They climbed in the car and drove off.
Trip asked, "What was that with the Coke? Are you on the wagon?"
"Something like that, it's part of what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Speaking of your Dad, how are he and your Mom doing?"
Natalie looked sharply at him, and then bit down on her lower lip.
"Trip, my Mom's dead."
Trip was stricken, Oh, God, Natalie, I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
"It's okay, I know you didn't."
"How did it happen?"
"A heart attack, she just never woke up."
They drove in silence for a while, then Natalie said hesitantly, "I just wanted you to know how sorry I was, I am, about Elizabeth."
"She was your friend too."
"I know, I still think of her every day."
"I know what you mean, I do too."
They arrived at the Diner and Natalie maneuvered into a parallel parking spot.
Trip had to smile, "I see your still one of the best drivers around. Don't you have an automatic parker though?"
"That wouldn't be a challenge, driving is still one of my pleasures in life."
They entered the diner. There was a couple sitting at a booth near the counter, but the rest of the booths were empty. A plump woman in her fifties came out from behind the counter and smiled broadly as she recognized them, "Trip Tucker, what a surprise. It's been a long time."
"Too long, Greta, how have you been?"
Ruefully, Greta answered, "Still the same, slinging hash and eating too much of it." Turning to Natalie, "Hi, Nat."
"Hi, Greta."
"Well, have a seat, I'll be right over."
They took a booth in the back, away from the windows and the other couple. Greta came over, "Seriously now Trip, your credits are no good here. Whatever you want is on the house."
Trip sighed, "You don't have to …"
"No buts, it's the least I can do. Hell, none of us would be here if it wasn't for you."
Resignedly, "Thank you, Greta, but I just need a cup of coffee. How about you, Natalie?"
"That's fine, just put cream in mine."
Greta said, "Okay, but remember, I still owe you a dinner."
After she left the table, Trip shook his head, "It gets tiresome with this Trip Tucker, Hero, crap."
Natalie shocked him by saying bitterly, "Better than Natalie Warren, Drunken Slut."
Recovering somewhat, Trip started to say something, but was interrupted by Greta returning with the coffee. After she sat it down and left again, Natalie took a quick sip and started talking in a low monotone.
"I remember we had talked about several things that we were planning to do when you returned from that original mission, the one that was supposed to take two weeks at the most. Then we suddenly got word that it was going to continue and no one was sure when you would be back. Then when I never heard anything from you…"
"I'm sorry about that, it was just…"
"Don't worry about it, that was a long time ago, and guilt trips are the worst. Anyway, I was sitting around, feeling sorry for myself and a little angry at you when I ran into Frank Williams."
"Frank Williams, the Quarterback from your high school?"
"The very same. We had been a hot item before I went off to college and met you. You know, the quarterback and the cheerleader. Anyway, he always knew me pretty well and he quickly saw what was going on. He suggested we go out and party to cheer ourselves up and I decided, 'What the Hell?' Even when I was going with you, I was pushing the envelope as far as drinking goes. Anyway, I got plastered and we ended up making love in a motel." She laughed with no humor in it, "Making love! Hell, he screwed me all night. Well, the next morning I was all full of guilt and depressed. He convinced me a little more drinking would help me forget and well, let's say we didn't travel a lot for a couple days."
Trip, still shocked, interrupted, "Jees, I'm sorry, you don't need to …"
"Don't stop me, Trip, If I quit, I may never be able to continue. Where was I, oh yeah. Well, after that, I knew I had lost you and it just seemed easier to keep on drinking. Pretty soon my life consisted of sleeping all day, drinking until the bars closed and going somewhere with someone. Don't think it was ever an alien. A couple of times it was more than one. You remember sweet Mary Masterson. She and I even did it once. It was okay but I went back to men. Finally, my Mom and Dad found out what was going on. Dad confronted me at my apartment one day, told me what I was becoming and that I better straighten myself out. He even threatened to cut me off and told me I was killing my Mother. Since I have plenty of my own money, it really wasn't much of a threat. Well, you knew me back then, I could sometimes be a real bitch, especially when someone tried to tell me what to do. So, I just went out and proved how bad I really could be."
She stopped to take a few sips of her coffee. Trip tried to say something, but she waved him off and started again.
"Then, one morning, I woke up alone and naked God knows where and noticed I had several messages on my phone. Apparently, my brother had called me about every half hour all night. I called him back and he screamed at me that he had been trying to reach me all night. Mom had a massive heart attack and they didn't know how long she would last. I managed to throw something on and went to the hospital. I don't remember much about the drive except my Dad's voice saying over and over, 'You're killing your Mother'. By the time I got there, she was dead."
Trip tried to reach out and touch her hand, but she moved it away.
"I will never forget the look on my Father's face; I think he really wanted to kill me. I don't remember much after that. Evidently, my brother and his wife got me out of there. And then suddenly, I just started to bawl. No matter what they did, I just kept crying and screaming. They finally got me sedated and put me on suicide watch."
"When I woke up, Dave and Ellen were there with me. It was suddenly clear to me what I needed to do. I told them I wanted to go somewhere that I could get straightened out. Based on what I had been doing, it was not surprising they were reluctant to believe I would carry through. Finally, I convinced them that I was serious about it. They chartered a private shuttle and took me to Hillside Clinic, one of the best in the world. I was there for nine months. About the sixth month, Dad came to see me. It took six hours of talking, screaming, and crying on both sides, but we finally arrived at a place we both felt comfortable. We stated our love for each other, but understood it would never be completely the same between us. He told me he didn't think he could forgive me for what happened with Mom. I told him I didn't think I would ever forgive myself. He did tell me that when I was ready, I could come and stay with him if I wanted. Three months later, I walked out and went to live with him. He gave me a job as a clerk at the factory. Then two months ago, I moved out and found an apartment. Since leaving the clinic, I have been a good girl and sober for eight months and three days."
Suddenly, she seemed to sag and sink down into her seat.
Trip, looking concerned, "Are you alright?"
Managing a weak smile, "I had psyched myself up for so long to do this with you, now that it's over, I am very tired."
"Natalie, why did you want so bad to tell me this?"
"I had one good reason and one stupid reason. Which do you want first?"
"The good one, I guess."
"I wanted to talk to you about Elizabeth and I also wanted you to know why I sent you that Dear John Letter. Then, I knew you would hear about all this eventually and I wanted you to hear it from me."
"And the stupid reason?"
"I think I am a much better person now than I was before all this started. It's just too bad I had to hurt others and myself so much to achieve that. The funny thing is, I still love you. I told myself, go ahead and take a shot, if you don't you will always regret it. And God knows, I have plenty to regret already."
Trip, looking uncomfortable, "I just don't know about you and me."
"I understand, even with or without all this crap, we have both lived a couple lifetimes since we were together. Maybe you even have someone. The rumors were flying about you and that Vulcan.
"T'Pol. She left Starfleet and went back to Vulcan. I think I finally feel it is over. In fact, I am not even sure what it was we had. Natalie, I'm just not sure about much of anything right now."
"That's okay. I think it's time we both got some sleep. Where are you staying?"
"At the Monarch, but I can catch a cab."
"No, let me drive you, it really isn't far out of my way. Besides, you may have some trouble getting a cab at this hour." Looking at her watch, she exclaimed, "My God, it's two o'clock." Turning to call out to Greta, "Don't you usually close at one?"
Greta looked up and smiled, "I did."
As they drove toward Trip's hotel, Natalie spoke up, "I was thinking, Trip, how would you like to go out to the plant tomorrow with me? I know Dad would be excited to see you."
"I was planning to go out on a boat with Steve and Jack to do some fishing."
"Okay, but I thought you might be interested in seeing what's going on with the warp drives. Not only the sevens that are going on Enterprise, but what they are looking at for the future."
"That is tempting." Then, after a hesitation, "Does this have anything to do with you and me? Your Dad's not going to think we are getting back together?"
"No, Trip, I really know Dad would shoot me if I didn't try to get you to see him. You know how much he has always liked and admired you. I will make it clear to him that it has nothing to do with you and me."
"Well, okay then. I'll call the guys and tell them I'll see them later. Are you sure you can arrange it?"
"I know he's in the office tomorrow. Let's do it this way. Let's plan for me to pick you up at nine-thirty. If that won't work out, I'll call you with any changes. Do you have a number I can reach you at?"
"Yeah, I got a communicator with me. Let me send you the number."
They arrived at the hotel. Trip got out and stood awkwardly for a moment. "Well, guess I'll see you in the morning. I'll meet you right here."
"Okay, Trip." Then, quietly, "Thanks for listening."
"No problem, thanks for trusting me enough to tell me. See you tomorrow."
She drove off. Trip watched until she was out of sight and then headed for the hotel.
As she drove, Natalie felt like a weight had been lifted from her. She decided she would stay hopeful and enjoy whatever time they can spend together.
