A/N Thanks to noro for the review. I really appreciate it. I still own nothing.

Mary Robbins hesitated as she reached the door of the apartment. When she had called to set up a time to see Mrs. Williams, she had sensed the same reluctance that Admiral Archer had noted. But she had got her to agree to see her.

Gathering herself, she knocked on the door. When Beth answered, she introduced herself and then followed her into the apartment. She noted what she had already surmised from the Admiral's notes, this was someone who seemed to have lost interest in taking care of her apartment and herself.

Beth spoke up, "I don't know what you hope to accomplish by coming here. I thought I made it clear to Archer that I don't want or need any sympathy. You should spend your time on someone who cares."

"I understand, but could we at least sit down? I just have a couple things to say and then if you want me to go, I will."

Beth didn't look convinced, but signaled for Mary to join her on the couch, which was the only cleared area in the living room. She picked up a remote and turned off the TV. She said, "I hope you don't want anything; I am not used to entertaining anyone."

"That's all right. I'm fine." Seeing Beth looking expectantly at her, she took a breath, "I know more than anyone that I bring no miracles. All I have to offer is my own experience with what you have endured. As you know I lost my spouse also. Even after the time that has passed, I still have moments when I miss her so much I have trouble coping."

Beth sat up, "Her?" You were married to a woman? What the hell are you doing here? How can a Lesbian know anything about losing a man? How can a Lesbian know what it is like to know you will never have the baby you planned on having?"

Mary sighed to herself. She had somehow hoped that would not be an issue. Maybe she should arrange to have someone else sent. This woman was difficult enough.

But then she found herself getting a little angry. "What, you don't think a lesbian can love someone as much as you loved your husband. You don't think I can understand what it is like to know she will never hold me again, make love to me again." She caught Beth's eyes, "And know what it is like to know you will never have a family with her."

Beth stared, "You were planning to have a baby?"

Tearing up a little, "Yes, as soon as she returned. She wanted to have it before she left but I said we could wait."

Beth felt herself tearing up as well, "Sal and I had always planned on having two children. He would have been a wonderful father." But then her face hardened, "But when the time came, when I begged him to stay with me, he said duty was more important, that he needed to leave me. I will never forgive him for that."

She asked Mary, "How long were you married?"

"Three years."

"We were married for six. I got pregnant after we had been married for two. I had a miscarriage."

"I am so sorry. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been."

"It was but I made it though it because I knew we would try again."

They sat quietly for a while and then Beth continued, "What was your wife's name?"

"Kathy, Kathy Reynolds."

"I am sorry what I said earlier. I am sure you loved her very much."

"I did, but I understand."

She hesitated and then went on, "I know I am being presumptuous and really have no right to ask this. You don't have to answer. One of the things that has helped me is that I know that Kathy died doing what she wanted. I know how proud she was that she could serve, that she could make a contribution. Has that helped you?"

Beth stared at her, "You sound like Archer and that Vulcan. Let me ask you, why does that help? Doesn't it make you angry that her 'service' is what took her from you? That she put 'duty' before having that baby with you? Does her 'sacrifice' make you miss her less?"

"It helps because I loved her, because she was doing what she felt she needed to do. I know it is difficult to understand, but if I had stopped her, if I had not let her go, it would not have been the same between us. I needed to respect, to understand what it meant to her. Do I sometimes wish I had done something; do I sometimes want to scream that I let her go? Yes, but in the end I know that I needed to let her go because it was who she was. Why I loved her."

Beth teared up, "I loved him so much. He was my whole life." She took a deep breath, "But I think I understand a little. If he had listened to me, if he had stayed, he wouldn't have been the man I loved."

Then, suddenly, she broke down, breaking into huge sobs. Mary moved over and embraced her as Beth leaned into her. They stayed like that for a long time until Beth finally regained control.

She pulled back from Mary and walked to a nearby table and wiped her eyes with tissues she found there. She then returned back to the couch, "That is the first time I have cried since I heard about Sal."

She turned to Mary, "Thank you. I still don't think I am ready to completely forgive him or myself for letting him go, but I do hope that someday I will."

"You're welcome. But I want you to know that being with you, sharing this with you, helps me as well. And don't beat yourself up. As I said there are times I feel the same way."

She looked at her watch, "You know, I am getting hungry. What say we go out and have something to eat? There is a diner just up the street."

Beth's immediate reaction was to say no, but she realized she had been alone so long. "I'd like to, but I am such a mess."

"I can wait. Why don't you get yourself ready and I will clean up a little out here?"

"You don't have to do that."

"I don't mind, I am kind of a cleaning nut. Now go get pretty and I will be waiting."

As Mary cleaned up, she wondered what had caused her to ask Beth to go out. She had just felt it would give her a reason to take some pride in her appearance. She felt good about what they had accomplished but wasn't sure what was needed next. Perhaps she should see if Beth wanted to talk to a therapist.

Beth stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She went into her bedroom and wondered what she should wear. It had been so long since she had gone anywhere except to get necessities.

Finally, she settled on a sundress and returned to the bathroom. As she ran a brush through her hair, she looked at herself in the mirror. She tried to remember the last time she smiled or laughed. Taking a deep breath, she applied some makeup, wondering why she was making the effort. Then she realized she was looking forward to this.

For the first time since she had heard about Sal, she found she enjoyed being with someone. Maybe they could even be friends.

Mary looked up as Beth came out of the bedroom. She couldn't stop herself from staring. It was a completely different woman. Beth looked beautiful.

Seeing Mary stare at her, Beth found herself feeling self-conscious, she finally got out, "Well, how do I look?"

Mary recovered and smiled, "You look amazing. I love that dress on you."

Beth blushed a little, "Thank you. I wasn't sure what I should wear."

"Well, you look great. Ready to go?"

Beth looked around the room, she was amazed how much Mary had accomplished, "I hardly recognize this room. How did you do it?"

"What can I say? I love to clean. Actually, I mostly just picked up."

"Well, it looks great."

They went out the door and headed toward the diner. It was a beautiful day and for the first time in a long time, Beth found herself enjoying the day.

They entered the diner and after ordering, Beth spoke up, "So what do you do when you're not helping out with people like me?"

"I do research for the University of San Francisco."

"That sounds interesting."

"Not really, but it pays the bills. How about you, Beth, do you work anywhere?"

After she said it, Mary wanted to take it back, but after looking sad for a moment, Beth said, "Before Sal and I married, I was a teacher. I stayed with it for a while but after the miscarriage…?"

"I'm sorry, Beth, I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. Since Sal died, I haven't done much of anything."

Just then the food arrived and they were both engrossed in their meals for a while.

As they were finishing, Mary decided to take a chance, "You know, I've heard they are always looking for substitute teachers. Maybe you could check into that."

"I don't know. It's been a while."

"I was just thinking it might be a way to work back into it. But maybe you are not interest in being a teacher again."

"I hadn't thought about it." She smiled, "But, what the hell, I could at least see what's available."

Beth continued, "Thank you, Mary. You have really been a big help."

Mary smiled back, "I'm glad I could help." She hesitated, "I was wondering, would you like to stay in touch?"

"I would like that a lot. I have been pretty lonely and think it would do me good to start getting out again." She hesitated for a time and then said a little timidly, "Actually, I was hoping we could spend some time together. I enjoy being with you."

Mary knew she should put a stop to this. One thing she had been warned about was that those she helped could get attached to her somewhat like with a psychiatrist. On the other hand, she was under no form of formal ethics restraints. She realized she did want to see Beth again. She enjoyed being with her and felt they could be friends.

"I'd like that. Here is my personal phone number. Maybe we could go shopping or to a movie."

Beth felt herself smile, "That sounds good. I'll give you a call."

They continued to talk, with Beth finding herself laughing for the first time in a long time. They finally split up and went their different ways.

Jane McBride called the quarterly status meeting of the Mercy McBride Foundation to order. For the first time in quite a while, all of the team were there in person. She had John bring everyone up to date on the current financial situation. He noted how fund raising had increased since Jonathan Archer and T'Pol had made appearances.

She then turned over the meeting to Edward. During his time with the Foundation, and also because of his marriage to Madeline, Edward had mellowed a great deal and had become much more comfortable working with the members of the team. But it was still true that the others looked to him for leadership.

"As you all know, it has become apparent that Torrin Syndrome is not really a disease, but more of a time bomb waiting to go off. Those who contract the disease suffer no ill effects until they confront the onset of puberty, at which time the bomb goes off and death usually occurs within a short time. What has been called the second stage is just the recognition that puberty is imminent. The younger the patient, the longer it is until puberty occurs."

"The test given at birth that identifies the Syndrome looks for a particular sequence in the subject's genome. For a long time, researchers have tried to find consistent factors in the parents that would help us to identify what parents would be susceptible to having a child with the Syndrome. We had Dr. Baxter spend a great deal of time working on that aspect. Unfortunately, he was no more successful than the others. I suggest we stop spending time on that effort."

"The great balance of our research has of course been trying to identify what it is about puberty that brings on the disease. Our early attempts were to see if by delaying the onset of puberty, we could delay the onset of the final stage."

"Those results were mixed. In the end, we have come to believe that there are too many variables involved to have that be a viable solution. In no cases did it prevent the subject's death."

"Recently, we have come to an entirely different theory of what is occurring. It was first proposed by Doctor Bessan and frankly we were ready to dismiss it as farfetched. But the longer we looked at it, we believe it might be a possible path of research. At this time, I will ask Bill to expound on his theory."

"Thank you, Edward. As you know, one of my past endeavors concerned evolution and mutation in animals. One day, when I was studying the effects of the final stage of the Syndrome, I was struck by how it resembled some characteristics of mutations I had studied. I dismissed it at first, but then decided it was worth discussing with other members of the team."

"To our surprise, we found that it did explain much of what was happening, but still had no idea what it had to do with puberty. Then Dr. Chow proposed the following theory. The genome sequence that is found in the test at birth is a mutation, a modification to a human genome. Our theory is that although this mutation is so slight as to not effect the individual, it is incompatible with the process the human body goes through when experiencing puberty. This incompatibility causes the body to react against those changes. That reaction is so severe as to cause death. It may help to think of it as similar to when a patient cannot accept a new organ."

Jane and John were astonished. John finally said, "If this is all true, can anything can be done?"

Edward spoke up, "It is only recently that we evolved this theory. It is still only that. However, we believe that it is worth pursuing. At the same time, we do not want to abandon our older lines of research; it is still possible that the cure lies there."

"We propose that I, Dr. Bessan, and Dr. Chow, devote our time to working on the new theory while the others continue work on our current path."

"To answer your question, John, just as drugs can enable the body to accept an organ, it is possible that we could do the same to have it accept puberty. I need to admit and have you realize this could be a completely wrong path, but we believe it is worth pursuing."

Jane looked at John, who nodded. John spoke up, "You guys are the experts. I admit it sounds strange to me, but if you believe it is worth your time, we will accede to your request. But I would like us to meet after you have looked into it some more. Would a month be enough to determine if it is a feasible line of the research?"

Edward looked at the rest of the team, "I do not believe that would be adequate. Unfortunately, I would expect it to be closer to six months."

John shrugged, "Alright, let us know what you need. Will it require any new equipment? A different location?"

Edward went on, "I do not foresee that at this time, especially the initial research and evaluation, but it could be possible down the line."

Jane spoke up, "Alright, we are in agreement. Is there any other business…?"

For the second time, Trip was going to watch T'Pol being involved in a Vulcan wedding. Of course, this time, he was thrilled. He was sitting in the Captain's ready room with Archer and T'Pol. The Shenandoah would be arriving at Vulcan in six hours.

Archer was speaking, "Soval will meet us. As you know, we have left it to him to make the arrangements. I just hope I am ready."

T'Pol answered, "You have worked hard ever since we left Earth. I have no doubt you will be fine."

She added, "I have to admit, I have been surprised at your pronunciation. It is difficult for humans."

Archer smiled, "Maybe it is Surak helping me again."

Trip broke in, "Do you really still believe he is still in your head?"

"It is hard to explain. It is like he left something of himself in there. It is nothing definite but I can sense something."

T'Pol interjected, "In any case, I do believe you are ready."

Archer went on, "Do you think we will be able to form any sort of a bond?"

"I frankly do not know." She decided it was not the time to discuss what occurred between them when they were intimate. "I do have hope we can to some degree. Whether it will be similar to that which I had with Trip is difficult to say."

Archer and Trip stole a look at each other, both glad they had put their jealousy behind them.

Archer went on, "Did you have a bond with Koss?"

"No. Since we knew we would not be together for some time after the wedding, we did not have the Priest perform that part of the ceremony. But we do plan to have that step done between us."

Trip spoke up, "I know I have said it before, but I want you guys to know how much I am honored you wanted me to attend."

Archer laid his hand on his shoulder, "You didn't think we would get married without you there?" He turned serious. "You mean a lot to both of us."

Trip continued, "As you both do to me."

When the shuttle landed at the spaceport, they were shocked to see that Soval was not alone.

As they neared them, Soval held out his hand to Archer, "Welcome back, Admiral." He turned to the others, "It is good to see you, T'Pol. And you as well, Captain."

"It's just Mr. Tucker now, but it is good to see you."

Taking his hand, Archer answered, "Thank you, Soval."

He then turned to T'Pau, "Minister, I did not expect to see you here."

T'Pau gave them a Vulcan greeting and then said, "If you both agree, I would be honored to officiate at the wedding."

Archer was surprised but smiled. He turned to T'Pol who he could tell was also surprised and pleased, "We would be the ones who would be honored." T'Pol added, "That would be most satisfactory."

Then the third individual spoke up, "I also welcome you to Vulcan, may I offer my congratulations."

T'Pol spoke up, "Thank you, Koss, but I am surprised to see you."

"As your previous husband, I wanted to formally inform you that I will not contest the wedding."

T'Pol raised her eyebrows, "I am glad, I would not want either of you to die."

Koss looked surprised for a moment and then recovered, "I am sure that Admiral Archer and I feel the same way."

Archer, who would have not looked forward to dealing with Koss, smiled to himself.

As Koss told them goodbye, T'Pau left for her office, saying she would talk with them later.

Soval said he had a shuttle waiting to take them to T'Pol's home. When they were in the air, he informed them the wedding would take place in the garden the day after tomorrow. He had arranged for someone to come out and have them fitted for the clothes they would wear. He told them he and T'Pau would join them the next day to discuss what was going to happen. He said the Priest would also want to meet with them. He told them the Priest would want to be sure that Archer would be prepared.

When he dropped them off at the house, there were a few awkward moments. After all, both men had visited her when they were interested in her. But it quickly passed and they settled in. Soval had the foresight to provide them with food and they spent the night in comfortable conversation. That night T'Pol and Archer slept in her mother's old room while Trip slept in the guest room.

In deference to him, Archer and T'Pol refrained from making love, but just cuddled in each other's arms as they fell asleep.

The next morning, Trip made breakfast and after eating they waited for Soval and T'Pau to arrive.