A/N I realized I have never given thanks to all those who have favored and followed this story. Thank you. And thanks to all of those who have stayed with me, I appreciate you all.

Ellen Warren had to grit her teeth to not scream herself as Natalie squeezed her hand. But that last push had done it, Rose Elizabeth Tucker had come into the world. Ellen smiled happily as they placed Rose in her mother's arms. She felt a little sadness though that Trip couldn't be there to share this moment.

Touching her shoulder, she told Natalie she was going to tell the others. She went out to the waiting room and gave the good news to her husband, her father-in-law, her nephew, her children, and the Tuckers. Natalie had told them all she wanted to be the one to tell Trip so it was not until she had returned home that she sent a letter and pictures.

When Marot and Ruddick entered the Senate chamber, they found the others waiting for them. They rose as they entered and sat back down when Ruddick was seated.

He looked around and said, "We all know why we are here so let's just get started." He gestured to Craco, "Although they are well known to us, why don't you formally introduce your team?"

Craco turned his head to his left where the three members of his team were seated, "Ambassador Talok, who was instrumental in our current relations with the Klingons, Senator Morno, who wrote many papers that are used in the day to day administration of the Empire, Tribune Voron, who served under Praetor Malot and has done considerable research on the planets of the Alliance."

Ruddick was impressed, it seemed he had gathered a strong team, "Thank you, Senator, I am sure I speak for all of us that you have assembled a very impressive team."

He continued, looking specifically at the five Senators who made up the Military Committee, "All right, let's get down to work. It is the purpose of this meeting to outline a strategy in dealing with the Alliance; to identify those factors we feel need to be part of the negotiations for the end of the war."

Senator Horok spoke first, "I believe we should first agree on a classification of what this agreement will be treated as. I suggest it should be designated as a cessation of hostilities. I strongly feel it should not be suggested to be a peace treaty. The Empire does not make peace."

Senator Tandor spoke next, "I agree that it should not be construed as peace between us, but I also do not want it to appear to be just a temporary situation. I also do not think the Alliance would accept that."

Horok nodded, "I concede that point, perhaps a permanent cessation of hostilities?"

Ruddick interrupted, "What do you think, Craco?"

Craco looked at his team, "I think the terms of the agreement and what we want to accomplish will define what is taking place."

Ruddick nodded, "I agree. This cannot be just both sides solemnly saying we will no longer fight. There needs to be specific steps taken so we can be assured that the war will not erupt again."

Talok spoke for the first time, "Since Senator Craco asked me to join his team, I have spent some time thinking about that very issue. I believe we need to establish a boundary, a demarcation line, that would serve to separate us from the Alliance."

Ruddick asked, "Where would you suggest this line be drawn?"

Talok answered, "The most logical place would be half way between the edge of the Empire and the closest planet of the Alliance."

Horok asked, "What would this line consist of? Would it just be a point in space? How would it be monitored?"

After everyone thought for a time, Craco spoke, "Perhaps it should be more than a line. Instead it would be a larger area that neither us nor the Alliance could enter. As far as monitoring, the area could be constantly patrolled by ships of both sides. The chance of encounters would be greatly reduced because they would be separated by the area."

Ruddick nodded, "That makes sense. You could even have some permanent scanners in place to detect ships entering the zone."

Talok spoke again, "How large would this 'zone' be?"

Craco answered, "I think that and its location should be left to the negotiations."

Ruddick, "I agree." He looked around again, "Are there any other terms we would want to be included in the agreement?"

Marot spoke for the first time, "As a military officer, I think we are negotiating from a position of strength. I believe it is apparent that we are stronger militarily. I think we should seek some concessions from them."

Ruddick turned to her, "Did you have anything in mind?"

A little nervous now that she had spoken up, she continued, "I am concerned that their anti-cloak devices could be acquired by others. I know we would not have any guarantee it would never happen, but we could at least make them not doing so part of the agreement."

Morno nodded, "That is an excellent point. We would not want the Klingons to possess such a weapon. In fact, I believe any agreement we reach needs to contain such a provision."

Ruddick turned to Marot, "Well done, Captain." Turning back to the others, "Does everyone agree?"

When there were no objections, he went on, "Anything else?"

Craco spoke up, "Just to clarify. The way I understand what we have stated is that the only area we have for flexibility is the size and location of the neutral area. That the anti-cloak matter is not negotiable. Are there any other concessions or incentives we could utilize?"

Everyone thought for a time and then Talok asked, "Would we be willing to pay some compensation? Or would that be seen as a sign of weakness?"

Ruddick, after some thought, "That would definitely be a last resort. I was thinking though. With their ships still containing the anti-cloak devices, it could still be possible they could fall into the wrong hands. It would not be beyond the Klingons or the Orions to attempt to obtain them by force. Although it would not be a deal breaker, I think we should also try to have them remove the devices from their ships."

Skeptically, Craco answered, "I think we may be pushing a little here. But we will do our best to achieve the best possible result."

Ruddick nodded, "I agree." Then he smirked, "But it would greatly please me if it was our best possible result."

With everyone absorbing that, he continued, "Now, if there is nothing else…."

When he was met with silence, "Now as to the mechanics of this. Captain Marot will command a fleet of ten ships that will move into a position that will enable us to communicate with the Alliance Fleet. All negotiations will be done via audio. When an agreement has been reached, it will be brought back for this group to approve. Is that understood?"

Craco spoke for his team, "Yes, Praetor."

"Very well, I see no reason to wait on this. Senator, can you be ready to leave in two weeks?"

"Yes, Praetor."

"Good, if there is nothing else?"

Malcolm sat in his quarters, looking at the letter on his table. He had answered the other three letters, congratulating Madeline and Edward on their wedding, thanking them for what they had done for his mother while he was gone. He told them he was gratified that she had died quietly and although he was not a deeply religious man, wanted to believe his Mother and Father were together.

He had also thanked Jeremy for all he had done and told him he had no intention to change his mind about the land. He told him he was sure his parents would want him to have it.

As for Penelope, he had often started the letter to her. Each of them declared in a different way that she was wrong in waiting for him, that although David may not have been right for her, there was someone out there who could give her the love she deserved. But in the end he had erased each of them.

He had known all along that he loved her. He had told himself it was because he loved her that he didn't want her spending her life waiting for him. But now he realized he was wondering if he was right to do so. If she loved him enough to wait for him; if it was him she wanted and he loved and wanted her, who was he to deprive them of a chance for happiness?

Taking a deep breath, he began to write…

Dearest Penelope,

I apologize for taking so long to reply. Although I do believe David was not the one for you, I was sorry to hear of your breakup. I want to thank you for your kind words about my mother. I hope you know how fond she was of you.

I started several letters that would have let you know once and for all that we were not meant to be together, that I could not let you spend your life waiting for me. I ended up destroying them all.

I love you, Penelope. I still think you deserve better but I also believe we should not deny how we feel. When this is over, we need to explore what we have. I have come to realize I do not have the right or the desire to deny us the chance to be together.

Malcolm

Archer sat on the bridge. It had been over six months since the Praetor had been killed. Intelligence sources had verified that a new Praetor had been put in power but there had been no indication of a new attack. He knew that there was increased pressure being put on the War Committee to bring the Fleet home. To have it deploy near their home planets.

He also spent a lot of time thinking about him and T'Pol. Perhaps Erika was right, that it would not be much of a shock to the other fleets if they were married. It could be a long time before the war would be over. But there was still the reaction it would get back home. He still did not want to risk giving the Alliance a new reason for discord, especially as the lack of action and the costs were already straining relations.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Trip come on to the bridge. After Trip and T'Pol had stopped their Neuropressure sessions, he had gone through a tough time but the therapy and drugs had helped. The news of his new daughter had thankfully cheered him up although there was also a small feeling of regret that he hadn't been there. Archer had to smile when Trip had to show everyone the pictures he had received. Archer, Trip, Malcolm, Travis, and Shran had used up a large amount of Archer's Scotch and Shran's Andorian Ale celebrating.

When Shran mentioned that he and Jhamel planned to have a baby when he returned, Archer found himself wondering about him and T'Pol. After all, that body they had found from the future had both Human and Vulcan ancestors. He wondered if he/she would have pointed ears.

Trip had nodded to him as he had gone over to discuss something with Malcolm.

His thoughts were interrupted when Hoshi turned to him with as surprised look on her face, "Sir, we are receiving a long-range audio message, it's the Romulans."

Archer sat up and looked at T'Pol who raised an eyebrow, "Let's hear it."

"This is Ambassador Craco representing the Romulan Empire, I need to be connected to Admiral Archer."

"This is Admiral Archer."

"I have been appointed by the Praetor himself to begin talks with the Alliance for the purpose of negotiating a cessation of hostilities."

Archer was stunned. He quickly went on, "That is good news, Ambassador, we are more than willing to do so."

"If it meets with your approval, a fleet of ten ships will rendezvous with your fleet in one month. Of course, all negotiations will be done via audio transmissions."

"That is satisfactory. I do wish to inform you that Ambassador Soval of Vulcan will represent the Alliance."

"Understood. I assume I can rely on you to be sure we will encounter no problems in transit?"

"I give you my word, you will not be attacked unless you provoke it. I do ask however that we will be able to provide you with an escort as you approach the fleet."

"I have no problem with that."

"We will look forward to hearing from you again. Archer out."

Archer looked at the stunned faces around him. "Well, that was a surprise. I hope they are serious about this and it is just not something to attempt to put us off guard."

Trip spoke up, "Is it possible this Damn thing is going to end?"

"It sounds like it, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Archer called a meeting of the War Council and contacted the War Committee. Everyone agreed it was a good sign but everyone knew better than to be overly confident that it would bring peace.

Soval wondered if the Committee still wanted him to handle the negotiations. Everyone quickly assured him they were supremely confident in his abilities.

It was three weeks later that the science ships informed the Fleet that ten Romulan Ships were enroute. Three ships from each Fleet met them and escorted them to their rendezvous with the entire Fleet.

Soval sat in the conference room of the Charon. With him were Satal, a Vulcan who had worked with him before, General Shran, who had insisted on being present, Than of Tellar, and T'Pol. Shran had assured Soval that Soval would be in charge but he wanted to be there to judge for himself on the sincerity of the Romulans.

When the audio connections had been established, Ambassador Craco began, "As I told Admiral Archer, I am Ambassador Craco. I have been appointed by the Praetor to enter into negotiations for a cessation of hostilities. I will be assisted in this endeavor by three other individuals, Ambassador Talok, Senator Morno, and Tribune Voron."

"I am Ambassador Soval of Vulcan, with me are Satal representing Vulcan, General Shran of Andoria, Captain Than of Tellar, and Captain T'Pol, representing Earth."

"If it is agreeable with you, I suggest we forgo any additional pleasantries and get to work. Am I to understand that you are authorized to represent the Alliance and that you can speak for them?"

"We have been entrusted to negotiate a treaty. The final acceptance will come of course from the War Committee."

"Very well. It has become apparent that this conflict has lasted far too long. As its main promoter has been removed, we believe it is time to put it to an end. To that end, we propose a cessation of hostilities. Neither side will have achieved victory, but admit that it is in our mutual interests to find a way to put it behind us."

"He went on, "We do not believe it is enough to simply agree to do so, but require some means of assuring ourselves it will not quickly resume. Do you agree with the scenario I have presented?"

Soval looked around and seeing no objections, "We agree that it is necessary to do our best to find a solution that will provide the best chance that this be more that a short time remedy."

"We propose the following. That there be identified an area located between the Empire and the Alliance that both parties would agree not to enter. This would ensure that we would not have any unforeseen incidents that could reignite hostilities. We would assume it would be monitored by both sides. This could include regular patrols and or scanning devices. Any entry into that area would be considered an act of war.

"So, this 'Neutral Zone' would serve as a demarcation line, basically dividing this portion of the galaxy?"

"That is correct."

"Would that also include non-warships? Also, I cannot speak for those planets that are not in the Alliance."

"It would include all ships of the Alliance planets. We will deal with the other planets."

"Since there are probably merchant ships on the other side, we should allow some time for them to return."

"Agreed. We will allow them up to six months to return to your space. But no more ships shall cross from your side."

Soval looked at the others, "Assuming we were to agree, where would this area be located?"

"It would seem logical to be half way between the edge of the Empire and the closest Alliance planet."

Shran broke in, "That would be unacceptable. Many of our most profitable trading areas would move to your side. I would propose instead it be located between your selected location and the Empire."

Craco looked at his team, this is what they had hoped. It enabled them to bring up the anti-cloak devices. "It could be possible to compromise between the two. But we would need something in return. We do have some concern that you might decide to give your anti-cloak technology to someone else. If you would agree to not do that, we could move the line to halfway between our two proposals."

Shran had to smile. This is exactly what they had hoped. Since they were not going to have the devices anyway, they could meet this compromise. Soval was about to answer when Craco continued.

"Ambassador Talok has pointed out that as long as the devices are on your ships, there is a chance they could fall into enemy hands. It is possible if you would remove them and keep them in a secure area, we might be willing to move the area to halfway between your new proposal and Romulan space.

The Alliance team was stunned. This was working out too well. They knew they could easily agree to these new terms because again they were going to lose the devices. But it all seemed too pat. Soval answered, "I think we have all the information we need. We need time to discuss this. We will contact you when we have decided."

"Very well. We would appreciate it though if you at least know your thoughts by tomorrow."

"Agreed, we will contact you then."

After they broke off, Shran spoke, "I think we should convene the War Council." He turned to the two that were not members, "What is your position?"

Satal spoke first, "Although it seems, as the humans say, too good to be true, I don't think that is sufficient reason not to accept their terms. I think it is an acceptable and workable solution."

The Tellarite agreed with his Vulcan counterpart.

When the War Council agreed it was probably the best deal they would get and it did seem to at least give some assurance that it could prevent a resurgence of hostilities, they signed off on it.

The next several days were spent with the two teams working out the details and preparing a proposal for the Praetor and the War Committee. Both sides were shocked but pleased that an agreement had been reached so easily, but it reflected how much each side wished to be freed from the conflict.

After the Romulan fleet left, each side promising to put the highest possible priority on getting final approval, the Council sent it to Admiral Gardner marked with the Utmost Urgency, for his eyes only, encrypted at the highest security level. The Council decided not to tell the crews anything until it was final. They issued a bland announcement that negotiations were continuing.

Admiral Gardner was awakened when his communicator rang. Struggling to wake up, he stared at the clock. Three o'clock in the morning.

His wife groggily said, "What is it?"

"It better be damn important or someone is going to regret it."

Picking up his communicator, "This is Admiral Gardner."

"Sir, sorry to bother you. This is Commander Reynolds at the Communication Center. I have just received a message marked as Utmost Urgency for your eyes only."

Gardner was immediately wide awake. "Thank you, Commander. I will be there as soon as I can."

He turned to his wife, "Go back to sleep, I have to go in."

She nodded and turned back over.

When Gardner reached the Center, he took the message and went to his office. Locking the door, he felt excited and a little apprehensive as he put it through the encryption machine.

When he had finished reading, he stared at the letter in amazement. Then he smiled broadly. When he had heard the Romulans wanted to negotiate, he had been highly suspicious. Never would he have imagined they could come to an agreement this easily. Of course it needed to be deeply scrutinized by the Committee but if the Council had okayed it, there must be value to it.

He looked at his watch and saw it was four o'clock. He knew he should wait until morning but he knew President Samuels would want to know immediately. He awakened the President's secretary and told him he was coming right over.

When he was ushered into the President's quarters and the President was waiting wearing a robe, Gardner wondered if he should have waited. He saw the President raise his eyebrows a little and he realized how he himself must look.

Samuels stared at him, "If this is anything else but news if we won or lost the war, you may be a Captain tomorrow."

Gardner smiled, "I guess I might remain an Admiral. I just received a communique from the Council. They have been negotiating with the Romulans and have reached an agreement."

Samuels was stunned, "An agreement?! Already?!"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, don't just stand there, let me see it."

Taking the PADD, he quickly read through it. "I must admit, this looks promising. What needs to be done?"

"We need to get the approval or disapproval of the Committee. Apparently the Romulans are doing the same with the Praetor."

"All right, get down to the Committee Communication room. If Sergeant Atkins isn't on duty, get him down there. We want the best man we have on this."

"Right away, Mr. President. What time do you want us to meet?"

Samuels looked at his watch, "I never know what time it is on the other planets. It is always bad or good for someone. Set the meeting for nine o'clock."

"What should I tell them?"

"Just that we need to meet as soon as possible. I think they will figure it out."

During the course of the War, large advances had been made in communicating between the members of the Committee. They now had the capability of creating a visual conference call where all the participants could see the others. However, it was still new and there were only a few individuals who could be counted on to get it set up.

When Gardner arrived in the room, he was gratified to see that Atkins was on duty. He knew more about it than anyone else.

Atkins and another soldier rose and saluted but Gardner could see they were a little surprised at the Admiral's appearance.

Ignoring that, "Sergeant, the President has requested that a meeting of the War Committee be set up by nine o'clock. Inform everyone it is of the highest importance."

"Yes, Sir."

"I'll be back at eight to check the progress." Garner decided he better head home and make himself presentable.

After Gardner left, Atkins turned to his companion, "Okay, Corporal, you heard the Admiral, let's get stared."

"Shall we start with the Vulcans?"

"Yeah, we might as well start with the easiest one, it will help to have a line up when we bring in the others."

Atkins sent out the signal and as expected, it worked immediately. He saw that it was Subcommander Sanda who was on duty.

"Subcommander, this is Sergeant Atkins. President Samuels has requested a meeting of the Committee at nine o'clock. I have been told it is of the highest importance. Do you want to lock us in?" Sanda went to work and soon the connection was established.

"Thanks. Okay, I am going to try the Andorians. I'll let you know when I get the link established and we can then see if we can get the three of us linked up."

As soon as Atkins signed off, Sanda contacted T'Pau. For once, it was a reasonable hour on Vulcan and T'Pau was in her office. She acknowledged what he said and then contacted Minister Kuvack and told him to meet her in her office an hour before the meeting.

Before Atkins contacted the Andorians, he turned to Corporal Waters, "Okay, before we contact Andoria, there is something you need to know. If a woman called Tallar is on duty, you might be surprised how she acts toward me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… she has the hots for me."

"You're telling me this Andorian woman wants you? Are you sure you aren't imagining things?"

"Just watch."

Atkins sent out the signal and a beautiful woman filled the screen, "Ah, Sergeant Atkins, what can I do for you?"

"President Samuels is calling for a meeting of the Committee at nine o'clock. It must be a big deal because he is putting a huge priority on it."

"All right. What do you need?"

"I have the Vulcans locked in, I just need to get the line between them and you. Stand by for a minute and you should get a signal from Vulcan."

He signed off and put in a call to Vulcan. Waters sneered at him, "That gorgeous woman is interested in you? I didn't see anything to suggest that."

"Just wait." Sanda face reappeared, "Okay, Subcommander, we're ready, you can initiate a call to Andoria."

Quickly manipulating the controls, Atkins watched a screen that showed the status of the three lines; Earth and Vulcan, Earth and Andoria, Vulcan and Andoria.

He smiled as all three lines came up. "Thanks, that takes care of the easy part, now it's time for the Tellarites. Get back to you soon."

He smirked to Waters, "Okay, watch this." He got Tallar back on the screen, "Okay, we got you and Vulcan, am going to try the Tellarites."

Tallar smiled and then to Atkins satisfaction and Waters disbelief, she leaned forward into the camera so her breasts could completely be seen. She then smiled and said, "You really should come to Andoria, Sergeant, I'd love to show you everything."

After breaking the connection, Atkins turned to Waters, "Well?"

Waters shook his head, "You do need to get to Andoria."

Taller smirked as she signed off. It was amusing to mess with the Human. She wondered what she would do if he did actually find a way to Andoria. She shrugged, maybe it would turn out to be worth it. She then proceeded to contact General Thrang. She caught him just as he was getting home from work. He told her he would contact the Queen.

Atkins took a deep breath and sent a signal to Tellar. This was always the trickiest part. The Tellarites complained that this was all a waste of money. Finally agreeing to participate, they did the absolute minimum. It was by far the weakest link in the network. He just hoped Dragg was on duty. If not, he would just have to insist they get him. He was the only one that could make the damn thing work.

He was doubly pleased when he got through on the second try and Dragg's ugly face filled the screen.

"What is this all about? It's the middle of the night!"

"Sorry, Dragg, but the bigwigs say for me to set up a meeting for nine o'clock. It sounds like a big deal. It's early in the morning here too."

Dragg wanted to complain some more, but decided it would do little good. "All right, let me get you locked in." As Dragg struggled with his equipment, he wished his superiors had put a bigger priority on the system. Finally getting it done, he told Atkins.

Atkins answered, "Okay, everyone is up. I am going to try to get everyone on. I'll call you back shortly."

Atkins called the others and somewhat to his surprise, it only took three tries to get everyone on the network. Thanking everyone, he told them to be sure to continue to monitor it.

He turned to Waters, "Well, we did it. I just hope it stays up."

Dragg was reluctant to contact President Gratl in the middle of the night. After listening to the complaints of the President's assistant, he turned back to monitor the system.

It was six o'clock on Vulcan when Kuvack entered T'Pau's office and took a seat, "So, what do you think this meeting is all about? I am afraid it may be bad news. I cannot imagine that there could be much progress on any negotiations."

"Unfortunately, I must agree with you. Still, I cannot imagine he would call an urgent meeting just to let us know that the meetings have broken down. Perhaps the Romulans have launched a surprise attack."

Kuvack shrugged, "It appears we just need to attend the meeting and see what is going on."

President Gratl found a seat in their version of the communication room accompanied by Margot. He called Dragg over to see if he knew any more, but Dragg told him he knew nothing new.

On Andoria General Thrang and Queen Helena entered the room, receiving a bow from Tallah. Although they were as curious as the other leaders what the meeting was about, Queen Helena had told Thrang that she had felt it was momentous news.

T'Pau and Kuvack took their places, informed by Subcommander Sanda that everything was in order.

At precisely nine o'clock Earth time, the connections were established and everyone could see the others. President Samuels opened the meeting.

"Thank you all for attending this meeting. Just over six hours ago, Admiral Gardner received a communique from the War Council. Admiral Gardner will now inform you as to what it contained. At the same time, we are sending a document that accompanied the message."

Gardner read from a PADD, "From Admiral Jonathan Archer and the members of the War Council to the War Committee. Today at 1600 hours, negotiations between Ambassador Soval of the Alliance and Ambassador Craco of the Romulan Empire were successful in reaching an agreement for cessation of hostilities between the two warring parties."

He went on as there were looks of astonishments from most of the waiting leaders, "Ambassador Craco has returned to Romulus to seek the approval of the Praetor. Attached is the document so that the War Committee may approve or disapprove."

The document was soon in the hands of the other members and they were quickly going over it. Finally, Thrang spoke up, "How could they have possibly accomplished this so quickly?"

President Samuels answered, "That is the question. All I can think is that they want this war to end as badly as we do. I am sure we all need to spend some time working through it. But are there any questions now or any ideas when we should meet again?"

After a few moments, T'Pau spoke, "From what I have read, I would believe we would need at least three days. Perhaps we could meet again then at this time to discuss what we have decided and answer any questions we could have."

Samuels nodded, "That sound reasonable. Is that agreeable with everyone?"

General Thrang answered, "Yes, I will agree to that. However, I need to say that this is fantastic news. I sincerely hope that we will be able to approve it or have specific recommendations."

President Gratl spoke next, "I agree entirely. While we must be circumspect, we must do all we can to see that these negotiations do not fail."

President Samuels finished up, "I agree. I thank you all for your time and look forward to meeting in three days. If there is nothing else…"

With no one speaking up, the meeting came to an end.

The next three days were hectic on all planets of the Alliance. Discussions took place between the Committee members and their military and other political leaders. Although not everyone was aware that the anti-cloak devices were destined to be destroyed, it was overwhelmingly felt it was still worth the risk to store them away.

Thrang and Queen Helena met after all the discussions and decided they could approve the contract. Thrang was about to leave when Queen Helena stopped him, "If you have a little more time, there is something I have wanted to discuss with you for some time."

Thrang sat back down and looked at her inquisitively.

She hesitated and then stunned him by saying, "How do you think everyone would react if a Queen were not celibate?"

He managed to get out, "You want to have sex?"

She looked into his eyes, "I want to be loved."

"Is there someone…?"

"No. But I would hope there could be."

Thrang tried to collect himself. What had brought this on? Then he realized how different Helena was from the previous Queens. He surmised it grew out of the fact she had not spent time with her mother. She was never trained and schooled as all Queens had been. He could understand what she was saying but doubted it would be acceptable to the Andorian people. She had already changed many things, but to trifle with the purity of the Queen…

Helena interrupted his thoughts, "It would not change how the Queen is conceived. My actions would not corrupt Princess Skye or would her actions corrupt her daughter."

"What if there are more children?"

"They would have no right to the throne. That could be made clear."

"I can still see where it could cause questions. Then how about the man?"

Helena thought for a moment and said, "What if I waited until Princess Skye is Queen?"

Thrang decided he was not ready for this. Also, he probably wasn't the one to decide, because of his fatherly feelings toward her. He met her eyes, "Let me think about this. I think I can understand that this is important to you, but it could have deep ramifications."

"I understand. Thank you for listening."

"Your welcome. Let's go give everyone the good news about the agreement."

When the Committee met again, there was some discussion about where the neutral zone was to be located and how best to patrol it, but in the end, the agreement was approved. While the Vulcans remained stoic, although T'Pau did express 'satisfaction' at the result, the others celebrated.

Once the approval was done, further discussion was held on what to do next. After some time, a list of steps were decided upon and sent along with the approval to Admiral Archer.

The leaders also agreed to wait until they knew the Romulans had also approved the agreement before announcing it to the General Public.

The Romulan fleet traveled for a week before breaking out of warp and sending the agreement to the Praetor. Since the document satisfied all of the original goals, Craco and the others were not surprised when they received a prompt reply that it had been approved. They immediately set a course back to the Alliance Fleet.

After the Romulans left and the agreement was sent to the Alliance, time passed slowly for the members of the War Council. Although they all hoped for the best, they knew it was not a done deal and that it could take some time before they would know.

Archer was astonished when within two weeks he had approvals from both sides. There was other information attached but he decided to keep that to himself for the moment. He quickly called for a Council meeting.

There was astonishment at the meeting but then everyone but the Vulcans gave a cheer, but they also showed their satisfaction.

They immediately sent off the good news to the War Committee. They quickly made plans to notify the Fleet and join in the celebration.

Archer returned to the Bridge and had Hoshi open a line to all ships.

"This is Admiral Archer. I have an announcement to make. I request that you listen to the entire message before you react. As you know, we have been in negotiations with the Romulans. I am delighted to announce those negotiations have been successful. We have agreed to a cessation of hostilities, the war is over!"

Everyone on the bridge showed their astonishment except T'Pol if course, but then broke into broad smiles with T'Pol showing her Vulcan equivalent.

He went on, "Before we all began the celebration, I must insist that someone be on duty on each ship to be sure we don't drift into each other. Also, I expect everyone at their posts by 0900 hours in the morning. I just want to say how proud I am of this Fleet and its soldiers. It has been an honor to lead you. This victory is yours."

"That's all I have."

All over the Fleet except for the Vulcans, a cheer went up. Everyone was hugging everyone including those on the Enterprise Bridge. Even T'Pol accepted a hug from the others and a hug and soft kiss on the mouth from Archer. Soon Trip joined them.

When everyone had settled down, Hoshi looked at Travis who nodded. She turned to Archer, "Admiral, if you have no objections, Travis and I will man the Bridge. We do ask we could then have tomorrow off."

Archer smiled to himself, it was obvious they would do their own celebration the next day. "I have no objection, Hoshi."

Each member of the Alliance celebrated in their own way. While the Vulcans meditated and mingled together, the others were a little more exuberant. The Andorians indulged in drinking along with lots of sex. Shran again being an exception. The Humans joined in the drinking, but for the most part, did not have the sex. There was a spontaneous party in the mess hall, with Chef coming through with food. The Tellarites sat in their mud baths drinking and eating; finding something to complain about.

The War Council was a little hesitant, but decided to take a tour of the flagships of each fleet.

When they entered the mess hall they were serenaded with a rendition of 'For he's a jolly good fellow.'

There were two very memorable moments. When the Council boarded the Andorian ship, a slightly tipsy well-endowed woman jumped onto Soval, wrapping her arms and legs around him, giving him a big kiss. With everyone looking on torn between amusement and horror, Soval calmly pushed her away and then stunned everyone by kissing her back. He then disengaged himself and deposited her on her lovely derriere.

On the Tellarite ship everyone looked on with a large grin on their face, except for the Vulcans of course. T'Pol had a look between bemusement and disapproval as she observed Admiral Archer, stripped to his underwear, sitting in a mud bath with what the Tellarites assured him were three beautiful Tellarite maidens.

The next morning, everyone somehow managed to get to work. The ship doctors were kept busy giving shots for hangovers.

Hoshi and Travis spent their day in their quarters, making love and talking about having a baby when they returned to Earth.