A/N Thank you to noro and guest (assume all from same person) for the reviews. They inspire me and keep me going. But I am embarrassed, frustrated, and thrilled all at the same time. Thrilled for all the effort guest went through but embarrassed and frustrated because I don't know what they mean. I tried to find something on the internet but failed.

I hate to ask after all the work you did, but could guest please let me know what they mean, maybe through one big review. Or even direct me to somewhere on the internet. Or maybe someone else...

Thanking whoever can help in advance, Please.

I still own nothing

When Beth got up the courage to tell Mary about her feelings, she was thrilled to discover that Mary felt the same. On Mary's part, she was overjoyed and stunned to find Beth shared her love.

Soon everyone except Archer and T'Pol were all caught up on all the exciting events that had happened. Jhamel had even contacted Hoshi. They were all eagerly anticipating Archer and T'Pol's return to bring them up to date.

But then Hoshi had an inspiration. For some time she had wondered whether to do something for Jon's fiftieth birthday. She now decided to celebrate his birthday with a party and have everyone tell him the news then. Everyone agreed but unfortunately, Jhamel and Shran would not be able to attend. They did decide, that with T'Pol's help, they could set up a way to communicate with them at the party.

When Archer and T'Pol did return, Hoshi immediately got hold of T'Pol and was gratified when T'Pol readily agreed. Not sure how Archer would react to a surprise party, they decided to let him know. They decided to have it at Archer and T'Pol's.

When the night arrived, the guest list was impressive indeed.

Hoshi and Travis

Trip and Natalie with the two kids

Malcolm and Penelope

Phlox and Feezal

Edward and Madeline (decided to leave the baby at home)

Admiral Gardner and his wife

Mary Robbins and Beth Williams

John and Jane Stewart

Chuck and Brenda Tucker

Lester Warren

Dave and Ellen Warren with Dawn

Soval (who had traveled to Earth with Archer and T'Pol)

Chef (who also provided the food)

With Starfleet Security handling the Shuttles and keeping guard, everyone was able to attend.

After everyone had congratulated Archer, were supplied with the beverage of their choice and had gone through the buffet line, they sat Archer and T'Pol down and stunned them with all the things that had happened while they were gone. Archer and T'Pol were overwhelmed but were so happy for everyone. Then they established communications with Shran and Jhamel who shocked them with their own exciting news. Shran couldn't resist from saying, "Now that we are going to have an interspecies baby maybe you should give it a try."

With everyone looking expectantly at them, Archer managed to get out, "We'll keep it in mind."

Everyone had to laugh when Shran went on, "After all, I understand that being fifty means you are not that young anymore."

While they were still on, Hoshi got everyone's attention and announced, "We decided that instead of messing around with a lot of presents you probably couldn't use, we chipped in and settled for one."

She signaled and Archer stared in amazement as Dawn Warren came in carrying a dog that was the spitting image of Porthos. Seeing the look on his face, Hoshi happily went on, "His name is Toby, but we think of him as Porthos the Second (Porthos II).

As Dawn handed him to a stunned Jonathan Archer, everyone sang Happy Birthday (even Soval and T'Pol).

As Archer struggled to thank everyone, obviously moved, Travis spoke up, "And don't worry, Admiral, he is already housebroken," which brought another round of laughter.

After Shran and Jhamel signed off, once more congratulating him, everyone started to mingle, sampling drinks and the buffet table.

Archer, who had been stunned to see Beth Williams there, especially with Kathy's ex-wife, went up to them with T'Pol at his side.

"Mrs. Williams, it is good to see you again. I am glad to see you are apparently feeling better."

Beth, who was a little embarrassed at how she had acted, "Thank you, Admiral, but I do want to apologize to you for the way I acted. You were trying to carry out Sal's wishes and I was very rude."

"Don't think anything about that. It was a very difficult time."

Beth answered, "Thank you, Admiral." Then she shook herself, "Oh, I am sorry, Admiral, Commodore, this is Mary Robbins."

Archer smiled, "We haven't met, Mary, but after hearing Kathy talk about you, I feel like we know you."

Mary smiled, "I feel the same."

T'Pol stepped in, "How did you two come to know each other?"

They both looked a little embarrassed, "After you met with Beth, Starfleet asked me to visit her."

Archer smiled, "It seems you were more successful."

Beth and Mary looked at each other. They weren't sure they could say something, but they wanted to share how they felt. Mary finally said, "It was more than that, we have fallen in love," as she reached out and took Beth's hand.

Both Archer and T'Pol were stunned, but hid it well. Archer recovered and said, "Congratulations."

Mary answered, "Thank you, Admiral." She hesitated, "We both want to Congratulate you and the Commodore also, we were so thrilled and happy to hear about your marriage."

After Archer and T'Pol thanked them, they talked some more and then moved on to talk to others.

Archer and T'Pol made sure to spend time with Malcolm and Penelope, telling them how happy they were for them, while giving Malcolm a little bit of a hard time.

Finally, the party wore down and everyone started to head out. Archer asked Hoshi and Travis to stay for a moment. Archer spoke up, "We were excited about all the news, but I have to say how especially happy we are for you two." He hesitated a moment, "I hope you know how special you two are to us."

Hoshi and Travis blushed a little, "Thank you, Guys, and we feel the same about you."

Archer smiled, "T'Pol told me, Hoshi, that this was your idea. Normally, I don't go for parties, but I had a wonderful time." He smirked, "And I have an idea Toby was your idea too."

Hoshi smiled broadly, "Actually, Jon, it was T'Pol's idea."

Archer, surprised, turned to look at T'Pol, who raised her eyebrows and said, "You should not be surprised, I had come to miss him as well."

After saying their goodnights, Archer and T'Pol went into the kitchen where they thanked Chef and told him they would clean up and he could go home.

As he started to leave, he turned and looking a little apprehensive, said, "This is probably presumptuous of me, but as you know, I left Starfleet to open my own restaurant." He hesitated, "I wonder if you and the Commodore would honor me by attending my grand opening."

Archer glanced at T'Pol who nodded, "If it doesn't conflict with anything, we would be proud to be there." He smiled, "But only if you call us Jonathan and T'Pol."

"Thank you, Si…, Jonathan, it is scheduled for October twenty-second."

They said their goodnights as Chef once more wished Archer a happy birthday.

Archer turned to T'Pol, "If it is all right with you, let's just take care of putting away the food and leave the rest for tomorrow."

"That sounds acceptable."

After they finished, they dug out Porthos's old blanket and dog dish. Filling the dish with water, they introduced Toby to his new bed. Archer was afraid they would have some trouble getting him to settle down, but evidently even dogs knew that Vulcans mean what they say.

After getting to bed and making love, they drifted off to a contented sleep in each other's rooms, happy to be home.

With Archer and T'Pol held up on Vulcan, Solon arrived on Earth less than a week after them. His ship docked at the Easter Seaboard Spaceport near New York City. He had wondered a little about how a Vulcan would be treated, based on what he knew of their past history, but he found he was able to move around with little attention paid to him.

He found himself fascinated with Earth, with its excitement, and the diversity of its people. He spent more than two weeks in New York, trying to assimilate all that was going on. He even attended a Broadway show. He was amazed at the various ways Humans could amuse themselves. But he also found an amazing work ethic and a feeling of energy. Although he would have liked to experience more, his travels had greatly reduced his monetary resources. He found an interesting solution to his problem. He decided to partake of train travel. It was much cheaper than air travel and allowed him to see the country. He was noticed more however, as apparently Vulcans did not usually participate in that mode of travel. But after a time he became less of a novelty.

It was also apparently true that train travel formed a sort of camaraderie and he had more than a few conversations with fellow passengers. One thing was apparent, hardly anyone had anything bad to say about Archer and T'Pol. Oh, there were a few who evidently were offended by an interspecies marriage, but they were in the minority. He had been curious about Terra Prime, but never encountered anyone espousing violence.

With him often exiting to visit places of interest, it took him almost a week to arrive in San Francisco. He immediately visited Starfleet and the nearby Vulcan compound. He was tempted to enter but didn't want to take a chance on exposing his alter ego.

He had to admit he was quite impressed. He also took a look at the current stage of the converting of Enterprise to an exhibit and museum. He was a little disappointed it was not ready, he thought it would be interesting to tour.

It was not difficult to learn where Archer and T'Pol lived. Of course, the fact that it was supposedly difficult to get to did not bother him, he had surmounted much more difficult circumstances. But now that he was here, he was not sure exactly what he wanted to do. He rented a hotel room to meditate and consider his options.

Steven Baker knew it was quickly becoming apparent that if Terra Prime was to act, it had to be soon. There were more and more rumors that talks would soon resume. He also believed that if they did, the Alliance would be made permanent. That could not be accepted. The problem of course was how to stop it. He thought of launching some type of terror attack but Starfleet Security was everywhere. Besides, who could he pin the blame on?

For some time, he had realized his only hope was a rather quixotic one of finding an ally among one of the other species. But even if they did exist, how could he hope to find them? His group had no contact with them and he had no idea how to approach them to find out if any shared his views.

Even if he did, he doubted they would be able to change anything with a terrorist attack even if they could accomplish that. Between Starfleet and the operatives of the World Government, there was little success of pulling off such an act. Even though they now had someone high in the government, it was doubtful he could be of any help.

No, it had to be something less complicated, but still something that would strike at the very heart of the future Alliance. He always returned to the same truth, they needed to kill Jonathan Archer. With him dead, there was a possibility the Alliance would die with him. He was the one unique individual that perhaps could not be replaced. But at the same time, he knew if a Human did it, everyone would rally around his memory. But what if another member of the Alliance killed him? He didn't fool himself; it could lead to the same result. But as desperate as it was, it was their best hope. He had to smirk to himself, it would also bring him satisfaction, to end that unholy alliance he had with T'Pol. T'Pol. They would have to do something about her as well.

But why was he wasting his time? He had no real chance of finding someone to do the act. An earlier possibility had turned out to be nothing at all.

When he had about given up on the idea, one of the recruiters brought him information about an interesting contact he had.

After a week of meditation and reflection, Solon confirmed what he had already realized. He had no desire for vengeance. He no longer felt allegiance to the Empire. He had also remembered how Vardon had talked about how he and Archer carried a shared destiny, that they were somehow related.

But he still knew he wanted to meet both Archer and T'Pol. He had some questions that had long puzzled him. But most of all he wanted to talk with them. To accomplish what he wanted he would have to reveal who he was. Although he knew that would be dangerous for him, he believed he could still meet with them and be able to leave Earth. As strange as it sounded, he believed they could reach an agreement that would be satisfactory to both.

T'Pol never realized what had awakened her. But she immediately sensed another presence in the room. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a shape sitting in the chair near the door. She slowly reached out and shook Archer gently. As she felt him awaken, she used their bond.

"Jonathan, there is someone in the room with us." As she felt him react, she quickly added, "I would suggest no sudden moves. We do not know what his intentions are or whether he is armed."

She felt him resist, wanting to take some action, but then agreed. They showed nothing but prepared to defend themselves if their visitor would try to harm them.

Without making any moves she said, "We know that we have a visitor. Since you have not taken any action against us, we assume you have some other motive. With your permission we would prefer to sit up and turn on a light."

Solon smiled to himself, they appeared to live up to his expectations. "I have no objection to that, but don't make any sudden moves, I am armed and quite capable of dealing with both of you."

T'Pol and Archer sat up. Archer was gratified they had both put on night clothes after they had made love. Archer slowly reached out and turned on a lamp by the bed.

They were both shocked to see a Vulcan calmly looking back at them. But T'Pol sensed that there was something different about him; something she had sensed when she had met the Praetor. She also noticed the Phase Pistol on the table next to him.

Solon eyed T'Pol. She certainly was a beautiful woman, and in those clothes… He had to smile when Archer seemed to sense his thoughts and moved to protect her. He had to smile to himself, she was much more of a danger to him than Archer was. Still, it did impress him.

Archer spoke first, "Who are you and why are you here?"

"My name is Solon and I at one time was the First Citizen of the Romulan Empire. Archer showed his shock and amazement, but while T'Pol raised an eyebrow, Solon got the idea she was not completely surprised.

Solon continued, "As to why I am here, I want no more than to talk."

T'Pol asked, "Is that why you are armed with a Phase pistol?"

"That is just to be sure we all keep our heads. I have no intention of using it unless you force me to do so."

Archer was surprised at himself. He should be reacting much more strongly to this invasion, but there was something about this Solon. While he sensed he was quite capable of killing them, he also strangely felt there was something that made him think he could believe him.

He spoke up, "If all you want to do is talk, why don't you let us get dressed, perhaps get something to drink and get more comfortable in the living room."

"If it is all the same to you, I would prefer our present arrangement."

T'Pol spoke up, "Why would you, apparently a person of great importance, leave the Empire?"

"After you killed the Praetor, let's say that the new rulers felt they needed to take action against me and my followers. Only I was able to escape. Knowing I would not be safe as long as I was in the Empire, I left it behind."

He went on, "Vardon, the man you killed, had been my friend for all of our lives. They knew I was let's say 'unhappy' when the commander of the fleet did only not avenge him, but used the fleet to replace him. They were afraid I would take some action against them."

He smirked, "It was also true that Vardon and I had made many enemies."

Archer was stunned, but managed to say, "How do we know you don't plan to avenge his death now?"

"That is not why I have come. I have some information I wish to convey to you. I also have some questions that have plagued me for some time." He hesitated, "I know you have no reason to trust me, but for all I have done, I am a man of my word. I promise that if you don't try to attack me and will give me your word that you will not seek to have me captured after I leave, I will not harm you and will give you my word I will leave Earth as soon as possible. I must also insist that you keep secret the knowledge that Romulans are similar in appearance to Vulcans."

Archer and T'Pol were stunned. He was right, they had no reason to trust him. But for some reason they believed they could. Through their bond, they decided they really had no choice. They could lie and say they would do nothing and still try to capture him after he left, but aside from the fact, they did not want to break their word, they had the feeling this was a very dangerous man. The bottom line was that he could kill them at any time. Of course, since they already had known about the Romulans and Vulcans, they could easily agree to that.

Finally, Archer said, "Would you also give us your word you will not take any action against Earth or its inhabitants before you leave?"

"I would have thought that was implied, but I agree I will take no action except to leave Earth as soon as possible, never to return."

Archer smiled, "I can not believe I am saying this, but we agree. After you leave, we will make no effort to prevent you from leaving Earth."

Solon nodded, "That is satisfactory. Now, with that behind us, I do have a couple questions."

Archer sighed resignedly, "Go ahead."

"How did you manage to construct an anti-cloak device?"

Archer looked at T'Pol, who shrugged.

"It was given to me by a man from the future."

Solon couldn't manage to hide his surprise. Then he wondered if Archer really could be trusted. But then, to his amazement, he realized he tended to believe him. He remembered all the stories about Time Travel in the battle with the Xindi.

When Solon seemed to accept that, T'Pol had to say, "You seem to have accepted that. I have to admit I am surprised that you would accept it so readily."

Solon looked at her, "It is hard to believe, but it is so outlandish a story, that I cannot believe you would make something like that up." He hesitated, "Besides, it seems that you stand behind him, in spite of the fact that I know the Vulcan Science Directory does not believe it is possible."

T'Pol gave her smile, "I admit it was difficult for me at first, but then I traveled in time myself."

Solon raised his eyebrows as high as possible, "Fascinating."

He went on, "I am tempted to talk more about that, but we should move on."

He took a breath, "How were you able to locate Vardon and destroy only his ship?"

Before they could answer, "You should know, that I know that T'Pol was delivered to the Praetor's ship. Did you meet him?"

Archer and T'Pol exchanged thoughts through the bond, wondering how much they should reveal. But they also did not want to lie because that would destroy the agreement they had made.

Finally, T'Pol answered, "It is true that I was on his ship." She hesitated but got encouragement from Jonathan, "When I met with him, I was able to signal the location of his ship back to the Fleet. Then I was teleported to safety."

She went on, "We were able to destroy his ship because of another item from the future."

Solon could not help it. He just stared. Somehow he knew that as impossible as it seemed, they were telling him the truth. At the same time, he realized this was all just reinforcing what he had suspected, that Archer carried with him a certain destiny.

Then he realized something, "You met with the Praetor? So, you already knew about us?" He took a long breath, "So the secret is out?"

Archer asked, "Is that going to be a problem?"

Solon shrugged, "No, I have already decided I no longer owe allegiance to the Empire."

Archer hesitated but then went on, "If it helps, there are only four individuals who possess this knowledge."

"You have kept this secret? But why?"

"We are afraid it could cause problems within the Alliance."

"I see. I understand."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"No." He smiled to himself, "But knowing my friend Vardon, I have a feeling there is more to the story of when you were with him."

Solon was surprised and pleased when he saw a slight reaction from T'Pol but nothing from Archer. He realized there was something going on.

Before they could think more about that, he hurried on. "Now I have some information I would like to share with you. I think you will find it of interest."

"I know that what I am about to say will be hard to believe. If I had not seen the evidence myself, I would have doubted it too."

"Archer, when Vardon compared his DNA to yours, he discovered that you two share a common ancestor."

For once, neither Archer nor T'Pol could hide their shock and surprise.

Archer finally got out, "How could that be true? When would Romulans and Humans have ever met?"

"It mystified us as well. The only possible explanation we could think of was that long ago one of Vardon's ancestors disappeared for about a year. When she returned, she had a son."

He went on, "Vardon believed that you and he shared a common destiny. He felt your meeting in battle would decide the future." He had to smile, "He of course hoped he was to be the victorious one."

He took a breath, "Although I did not think of it at the time, I believe that is one reason I felt it was time to leave the Empire."

T'Pol was struck how what Solon was saying corresponded with what Daniels had said. She had long believed for herself that Johnathan had a unique part to play in the future, but now was completely convinced. She also knew she would be at his side.

For his part, Archer was amazed at what Solon was saying. He had heard something similar from Daniels but still refused to believe that the future would not be fine without him. It was too much to accept his own importance, the idea of his destiny.

Solon went on, Before I leave, I just want to say, I also wanted to meet the individual most responsible for bringing down the Romulan Empire."

Archer smirked, "Last time I heard it was there and still powerful. Besides, we did nothing but defend ourselves."

"That is true, but it is also true that the seeds of its destruction have been sown; its demise is as sure as death for us all. The Federation you are forming will be the wave of the future and eventually Romulus will come to realize that as well. It may take a few hundred years, but it is inevitable."

T'Pol broke in, "If you believe that to be true, would it not be logical for you to become a part of it? Why not join with us? You could continue to pass as a Vulcan."

"A tempting offer." He couldn't resist, "And with the added incentive of being able to be around you, I should perhaps consider it." Seeing Archer start to bridle, he quickly added, "Don't worry, Admiral, I have no designs on your wife."

He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Besides, there is something I need to do. There is someone I left behind when I escaped. I have discovered she is more important to me than I realized. I must take the slight chance they will allow me to live."

Seeing the look on their faces, "Do not worry, I will not say anything of what we have talked about. If they knew I had visited you and let you live, I would have no chance at all."

He picked up the Phaser and started to leave, "Is there anything else?"

Archer and T'Pol said no but then Archer asked, "Maybe, as a sign of good faith, you could leave the Phaser here."

Solon smiled and said, "Very well, it is unlikely I could get it aboard the ship."

He put it back down and turning to leave said, "It is said you are a lucky man, Archer, but I believe one makes their own luck. I wish we had more time to get acquainted." He then raised his hand in the Vulcan salute, "Live long and prosper."

T'Pol raised hers as well, "Go in peace."

He then quickly left.

Archer turned to T'Pol, "Do you believe him? Did we do the right thing?"

"As we both know, he could have killed us at any time if that was his intent. He took a great risk in visiting us. As strange as it seems, I do trust him to keep his word."

Archer nodded, "I know what you mean. Although we could regret it, I believe we must keep our word as well."

"I concur."

It took Solon very little time to reach the area surrounding the San Francisco Space Port. It would be several hours before the Rigellian freighter would arrive. He decided to wait at a small bar nearby. He had acquired a taste for beer on his travels. After he had been served, he looked around and saw a Vulcan sitting with a Human. He suddenly felt he had seen that face before. As he searched his memory, he could overhear the Human say the name T'Pol.