Chapter 4

Phlox agreed to allow Trip to visit the planet, but only as long as he was able to escort the Commander to ensure that Trip didn't overexert himself, or put himself in a position that he might be injured.

Once Trip got over the initial feeling of being "mothered" by Phlox, he actually had fun walking around the outdoor market arena, finding interesting foods, clothing and other wears that the vendors offered.

After a couple hours, he was feeling a bit exhausted, his endurance still lower than what it was, and decided that it was time to return to the ship.

Trip was in sickbay with a heating cloth on his hip to help relax the muscles, his frustration with his situation was evident as he vented to Phlox. "How the hell am I supposed to run an engineering department when I can't even walk around a marketplace for more than a couple hours?"

Phlox put on his best bedside manner. "Now Commander, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. It's only been 6 months since your accident and it will take time for you to heal, regain the strength and stamina you once had. We've been over this many times before, no one is expecting you to recover overnight. Actually, you did much better today than what I thought you would, I'm very impressed."

Trip huffed. "No, what would be impressive is if I could do my work for a full shift. Right now I feel like I wouldn't get past briefings before needing a break."

"Now, now. You have made remarkable progress. Don't you remember that it was only 4 months ago that you couldn't walk on the treadmill for more than 10 minutes, and the stationary bike? You didn't even have the strength in your right leg to push the pedal down, and now look, the bike is one of your favorite parts of the therapy sessions."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Like you keep telling me, just got to give it time and be patient." Trip chuckled. "Got to tell you though, patience was never one of my strong suits."

"So I've observed." Phlox smiled. "Now then, other than just being tired, how do you feel? Are you having pain or discomfort of any kind?"

Trip rubbed at his upper thigh and hip. "Not really pain, just sore, like I had a good workout. I'm sure I'm going to feel it later tonight though."

"Well, make sure you do your stretching exercises, and I'll give you a hypo to take with you in case the soreness keeps you awake tonight."

Trip shook his head. "Thanks doc, but I still have a prefilled hypo in my quarters. There should be 3 or 4 doses left in it."

Phlox looked shocked. "I gave you that hypo over a month ago. You haven't been using it?"

Trip shrugged. "Only when I really need it, when I can't stand the pain. I dialed the dosage back to a half dose as well, so that's helped make it last longer."

"Mmm… I don't like that you allow yourself to be in pain like that when it's not necessary."

"Pain is a part of life, doc. Besides, I don't have any intention of becoming dependent on these hypos. The way I see it, as long as the pain isn't completely unbearable, I'll survive, although I don't mind keeping a few doses around for those times when the pain is too much."

Phlox nodded. "I'm glad to hear that you're being responsible about it, and you know your tolerance threshold, just don't let yourself suffer. Hmm?"

Trip started to get up and leave when Malcolm came into sickbay. "Phlox! I need you to-" He stopped when he noticed Trip.

Phlox gave him a concerned look. "What's wrong, Lieutenant?"

Malcolm shifted a moment. "It's uh… I uh…"

Trip nodded. "That embarrassing huh? Well, I'll just skedaddle so you can talk to Phlox. Since you're here, I assume the Cap'n is back on board too? I'll go up to the bridge and pay him a visit."

Malcolm grabbed Trip's arm to stop him. "No! You can't see him right now! I mean… uh… oh bugger! He's not on the bridge, sir. He's in his quarters. I got him back here and in his quarters before anyone could see him."

Trip's heart started to pound. "What's going on? Is he hurt? What happened?"

Malcolm shook his head. "No, no. He's not hurt. He's… hell. He's drunk off his arse."

"WHAT!" Trip and Phlox yelled in unison.

As they headed down the corridor towards Jon's quarters, Trip started in on Malcolm. "How could you let this happen, Reed? Besides myself and Phlox, you're the only one on this ship that knows about his problem, you were supposed to keep an eye on him down there."

"All due respect sir, everyone on this ship has seen the Captain intoxicated at one time or another over the years."

"Maybe, but they don't know he's a functioning alcoholic." Trip ground out as he jabbed the button in the lift to take them to the Captain's deck.

Malcolm shook his head. "I just don't understand it, he only had a sip."

The lift doors opened. "What do you mean a sip, Lieutenant?" Phlox asked.

"Rigelain rye. I guess it's a tradition when negotiations are successful. He declined, but they said that if he didn't participate in the tradition they would consider it an insult and cancel the trade deals. He only took a sip and set the glass down."

"A little sip shouldn't have gotten him drunk. Are you sure that's all he had?" Phlox continued his questioning.

"Well… after that, there was some mingling for about an hour, food and drinks were served, but I didn't see him take any of the drinks. Do you think he might have been able to slip it past me?"

Trip nodded as he keyed in the lock code on Jon's door. "Sounds like it. He's had years to practice drinking when no one was paying attention."

"How could I be so stupid?" Malcolm chastised himself as the door opened.

"Hey baby!" Jon smiled widely and swung his arms around Trip in an embrace. "You come to join the party?" He looked towards Malcolm. "Hey! Why you lock the door on me?"

"To keep you in your room, sir." Malcolm answered flatly.

"Oh. Ok. Hey! Where's the drinks? And music! We need music… I wanna dance with my honey bunny."

Trip rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that. I think you've had enough for tonight. Let's get you to bed."

Jon looked at him in shock. "With Malcolm and Phlox here? I didn't know you were that kinky! But ok."

Three jaws hit the floor. Once Trip found his voice, he turned to Phlox. "You uh… you want to go ahead and knock him out now, before he embarrasses me to death?"

Jon grabbed at Trip, pulling him in tight. "Now why you want me to get knocked out? Come on baby, have a drink with me and let's dance. We haven't been dancing in forever."

Trip tried to push away but Jon held him tighter. "We'll go dancing some other time. Why don't you let Phlox give you an injection to help you sleep so you won't have a hangover in the morning."

Jon started pouting. "You're being a party pooper, you know that? When did you stop having fun? Come on honey, let's keep this party going all night like we used to."

Trip took a deep breath, staying calm and reasonable for Jon's sake. At the moment, Jon was being a happy drunk, but Trip knew that could change in an instant by simply saying the wrong thing.

"Honey, you have to get up early for your shift and I kind of overdid it in the market. I'm tired and my leg is sore. Let's just say goodnight to our guests and go to bed, ok."

Jon's eyes started to close, a sign that the alcohol was taking him down. "Mmm ok. But I still want that dance."

"Ok, I promise to make it up to you another night when my leg can take it. Can Phlox give you that shot now?"

Jon looked up at him quizzically. "So I won't get hungover?"

"Yeah baby, so you won't get hungover."

"Ok." Jon said as he slumped to the bed, obvious he was ready to pass out.

Phlox gave him an injection of a mixture that would help flush the alcohol from his system, keep him from vomiting as well as keep Jon hydrated to prevent a hangover.

After the trio got Jon out of his uniform and situated into the bed, Trip turned on Malcolm. "Why wasn't you paying more attention to him down there? What, some tail have you distracted? And why did you even let him take that sip in the first place? You of all people know that when someone is in recovery, all it takes is a little bit to start the cravings."

"Trip!" Phlox scolded.

Trip ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. He felt bad when he saw the hurt on Malcolm's face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'm just frustrated and mad. Mad at him, but I can't yell at him. I know in the morning when he has his senses again, he'll beat himself up about this, and he really doesn't need to hear my mouth on top of it."

Malcolm took a second to collect himself. "One thing you're right about, sir. I should have thought of something to get him out of that situation in a way that it wouldn't offend the Rigelians if he didn't take a drink of that rye, I just couldn't come up with a way though. But you're wrong for accusing me of chasing around women, and I'm offended that you would say a thing like that. You know I take my duties very seriously and don't allow myself to be distracted in that way. I honestly don't know when, why or how he was able to slip it past me. The only thing I can figure is when I might have been watching the other guests for any signs of trouble or when… oh. I went to the loo. Dammit."

Trip shook his head. "You're right, I know how serious you are when it comes to your duties, especially when it comes to protecting the Cap'n. I'm sorry I accused you of anything less. As far as going to the bathroom?" Trip shrugged. "We all gotta go, and no matter how much you try to be the perfect soldier, you're still human and need to relieve yourself when nature calls."

Malcolm nodded, a silent sign that all was forgiven. "I'll stay with him tonight to make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble."

Trip shook his head. "That's ok, I'll stay."

"And what if he wakes up and starts stumbling around? With your leg, you can't support his weight right now. What's worse if he wakes up in a different mood and decides he wants to pick a fight. You won't be too much of a match against him."

"Malcolm, you don't need to feel obligated-"

Phlox cut Trip off. "Why don't you both stay with him tonight. Hmm?"

Trip and Malcolm looked at each other, appearing to have a silent conversation. "Yeah, sounds good doc." Trip concluded.

Phlox smiled. "Good. And Mr Reed can help you with your stretches. Commander, I want to see the Captain in the morning for a session. I think you should come as well so that we can all discuss what happened today."

"You mean like couples therapy?" Trip raised a brow.

Phlox shook his head. "Not exactly, but I think he should hear from you how this has made you feel and any possible consequences it may have in the future while you're trying to rebuild your relationship. I want to give you the opportunity to let him know the ground rules up front, without making him feel like you're trying to hold something over him."

Trip nodded. "Ok. We'll come see you in the morning."

§§§

After Malcolm helped Trip with his stretches,Trip suggested watching a game. Malcolm turned down watching polo, but brightened when Trip suggested football. "Now that's a sport I understand and enjoy. You know, I played in secondary school." Malcolm joyfully exclaimed.

Trip smiled as he found a game in Jon's files. Once the video was loaded and started to play, Malcolm frowned. "What the hell is this?"

"Football." Trip responded, confused.

Malcolm pointed to the monitor screen. "This is not football. These are guys acting like they're playing rugby, but feel the need to protect their delicate little bodies with padding. No wonder you Americans are so soft."

"Yeah? I dare you to say that to a linebacker's face. He'll show you how delicate or soft he is when he's pounding you in the ground. Ok then… what's your idea of football?"

Malcolm checked the files. Smiling as the video started. "This is football."

"That's soccer! The only thing more boring than soccer is golf and tennis!"

They heard Jon moan. "Shhh. You're going to wake him up." Malcolm chided.

"Ok." Trip whispered. "So we don't agree on sports. How about a movie?"

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "One of those cheesy monster movies?"

"No. Believe it or not, Jon likes old war movies… especially ones about world war two."

"Really? Let's see what's in his files." Malcolm smiled. He looked through the titles of the movies then pointed to one. "That one. That's a good one and mostly accurate."

While they sat and watched the movie, Trip actually enjoying it, Malcolm's curiosity finally got the better of him. "How long has the Captain had this problem?"

Trip shrugged. "Not sure really. When we were working at the complex, we went to the 602 a lot. I was right there drinking along with him, so I guess I didn't really think of it as a problem. When we separated, well I didn't know until recently that when I called it off, it hurt him so deeply that he turned to the bottle to drown his sorrows. I guess he slowed down a little over the years, but never really stopped until I got hurt."

"Because you got hurt? Did he think it was his fault you went over that cliff?"

Trip shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. He showed up at my quarters completely sloshed and said some pretty mean things. After Phlox almost amputated my leg, we had a long talk about things. He recognized that he had a problem and needed help. I've been here to support him and Phlox has been counseling him."

"Is this the first time that he's slipped in his recovery?"

Trip looked down, almost embarrassed to answer. "No. He was doing good for a few weeks. Well, you know he was staying the nights in my quarters since I wasn't able to do too much for myself. I had a bottle of scotch stashed in the back of my cabinet and honestly didn't think of it. I guess while I was sleeping, he started to snoop around and found it. I woke up to find him looking at some old pictures of us when we were together, that I had put away. He kept telling me how sorry he was for going on that mission and… well… he was pretty upset that night."

Malcolm nodded. "I know how hard it is to recover from an addiction, especially in the beginning. He has a strong will, and when he sets his mind to accomplish something, he succeeds. Just don't get too upset with him about the bumps in the road, he really is trying. I'm sorry that I couldn't think of a way to get him out of that situation with the Rigelians."

Trip smiled at Malcolm. "I know you did your best. I'm not upset with you, and I really am sorry that I took my frustrations out on you like that. You're a good friend Mal… to both of us."