It was bright in the Sickbay, maybe too bright, or so thought Trip. Trip sat on one biobed and T'Pol sat on another one, while Dr. Phlox held a medical tricorder and scanned them. According to T'Pol a brain scan was one way of finding a bond. Another way was to have a Vulcan priest or priestess check for a bond. He chose Phlox, who ran the tricorder around Trip's head then walked over and did the same to T'Pol. As they sat their in silence, he looked at the results and began to mumble to himself. Finally, Trip got fed up.
"Phlox, have you found something that you might want to share with us?" he asked in a tone that sounded like and order.
"Let me first start by saying that this medical exam is a private one and not an official one. I will not share it with either Starfleet or Vulcan," Phlox stated.
"I know that, Phlox. I trust you which is why I came to you," said Trip.
"I trust you, also, doctor," added T'Pol.
"Okay, from what I see the parts of T'Pol's brain that handle her PSI abilities are lit up. They seem to be constantly working, which from my experience on Vulcan is a sign of an active bond," Phlox stated.
"And me. From what I remember my tests at Starfleet showed that I had a PSI rating of zero, one at best," said Trip.
"True. I double checked your records and it was a PSI rating of zero," said Phlox. "Now your current scan of your brain shows areas of your brain that are unused as being extremely active at the moment. I believe a bond exists between you."
"We need something better than I believe, Phlox. I need hard real evidence, some hard proof," growled Trip.
Phlox faced T'Pol and smiled: "Do you have your mental shields up blocking the flow between you and Captain Tucker?"
"I do," she answered.
"Lower them as much as you deem safe," said Phlox.
Trip sighed and stuck his tongue in the side of his cheek waiting for something to happen. He looked over at the calm looking T'Pol and suddenly a hot knife of anger sliced through his brain giving him a headache that was worse than any migraine he ever had. The bright lights of Sickbay made him nauseous. Trip groaned from the level of pain then brought both hands up to his temples and started to rub hard.
"Damn it, the pain," he groaned.
Phlox quickly ran a scan of both of them then he looked at T'Pol and said: "Please, T'Pol, put your mental shields back up all the way before you damage Captain Tucker."
"Of course, doctor," said T'Pol.
The hot knife of anger receded in Trip's brain but the super migraine remained. He looked at Phlox.
"Doc, I need something. It's like having two migraines at once," he said.
"Let me get you a pain killer," said Phlox.
He walked over to his hyposprays and grabbed one. Returning to Trip, he administered the hypospray to his neck. Within moments the pain killer took the edge off the migraine but it didn't get rid of the migraine.
"It's not as painful but I still have a migraine," said Trip rubbing his temple with his right hand, as his left hand held onto the biobed.
"I am sorry, Charles. Your doubting our bond angered me. Now you understand why Vulcans suppress their emotions in order to deal with them. The intensity of our emotions are far greater than Human emotions," T'Pol told him.
"I believe her lowering of her shields proves that a bond exists," said Phlox. "You are a bonded. Congratulations."
Trip looked at T'Pol then he tried a smile but the migraine turned it into a grimace.
"We need to talk some more," said Trip.
"I am aware of that," she replied then she looked at Phlox. "Is it a completed bond?"
"I believe it is completed but it has not matured as of yet. You should help Captain Tucker develop his mental shields, as well as explain to him some of the effects of a Vulcan bond. I believe he is in need of tutelage and instruction," Phlox stated.
"Indeed," T'Pol said then he looked at Trip and raised her left eyebrow.
"Phlox, I'm going to need more pain killer," sighed Trip.
Phlox smiled.
STSTST
T'Pol and Trip went back to his quarters in silence. When they reached his quarters, he let them in then walked over to his bed and sat down. His head was still pounding, though it was much better, so he buried his face in his hands.
"Do you still have a headache?" asked T'Pol.
"Oh, yeah, it hurts, not the I want to die pain of early, but a decent sized headache," he sighed.
"I can help you with the pain," she stated.
He looked up at her.
"How?" he asked.
"Neuropressure," she answered.
"Isn't that how we got into this problem, T'Pol?" asked Trip.
"Since we are already bonded, I see no problem in neuropressure. There no chance of further bonding. It is only logical I use it now to assist you," she said.
He stared at her for a moment. As always he found her attractive, no, beautiful. There was no doubt that he wanted her. Suddenly along with a headache, he was horny.
"Oh, hell, why not?" Trip replied.
"Take off your shirt and pants, Charles," T'Pol told him.
Self consciousness rose up inside of him. If she started applying neuropressure to him at this moment he'd get an erection and he did not want to have to deal with that. Anyway, T'Pol would probably find it annoying. He needed a few minutes alone.
"I should shower first," he said nervously. "I really think I should shower first."
Since he had not developed an ability to put up a mental barrier yet, T'Pol could feel the sexual desire wafting off of Trip. He desired her, wanted her. It was enticing. Human sexual desire seemed to be continuous, a constant in their daily life. Vulcans went through Pon Farr. It was wild, sexually unrestrained, but it only occurred every seven years of a fully matured adult life and lasted for only eight days.
Trip got up and entered his bathroom. He quickly stripped then turned his shower on making it warm to hot. For a moment he thought of a cold shower, but warm water would help his headache. Stepping under the spray of water, he started to think about T'Pol, which led to an erection that would have been more than noticeable in his underwear. Trip moaned in frustration. That's all he needed to do was masturbate in the shower while T'Pol was in the other room.
Suddenly, he heard the bathroom door open then close. He looked through the foggy glass to see T'Pol stripping of her robes. Seeing her nude body, a sight that made Trip appreciate her shapeliness. She stepped into the shower joining him.
"I could feel your sexual desire and it triggered some desire of my own. It is almost as if you are triggering a form of the Pon Farr, though not a strong since I am still in control," she said and reached for his erection taking it in hand.
"T'Pol," Trip swallowed.
"Charles. We are bonded," she said. "It's only logical that we mate."
"There's still so many questions and...," he started.
She began to move her hand, as she raised her right eyebrow. Instinctively, Trip reached up and touched the tip of her left ear. T'Pol slightly moaned with this gesture.
"Oh, fuck it," Trip mumbled then took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. That was the last piece of control of the situation he had.
STSTST
Archer sat in his Ready Room waiting for a comm from Admiral Maxwell. The communication buoys had increased and the delay in conversation was nearing none, especially in the Alpha Quadrant.
"Sir, I have Admiral Maxwell for you," said his Comm Officer.
"Put him on my viewscreen," said Archer.
A tired looking Maxwell appeared. Archer knew the man well and could tell that he was under a great deal of pressure.
"Jon," he started, "you did well on Andor."
"We are escorting the Kumari commanded by Commander Shran to Earth. There are three Andorian ambassadors aboard," said Archer.
"And they want to deal only with Starfleet not DiploCorp," smiled Maxwell.
"That's right," grinned Archer.
"Okay, I wanted to update you on a few things. Starbase 4 now has twenty ships assigned to it. There are another ten ships that will be assigned once we can. Our shipyards are going twenty/seven building new Daedalus Class ships. On a good note I have convinced them to build another NX ship, the Atlantis. The NX are our best weapon. It appears that the Romulans want to capture one. They tried it with the Challenger and the Excalibur," stated Maxwell.
"Curtis was a good captain and the Challenger had a brave crew," said Archer.
"I agree," said Maxwell.
"I didn't know about the Excalibur," said Archer with concern.
"Trip is fine, Jon," smiled Maxwell. "In the Excalibur case there were four cloaked Birds Prey, cloaked. He sniffed it out and kicked their ass. Charles Tucker III is turning into one helluva a captain."
"I knew he would," smiled Archer. "I just thought I'd have him as a XO for a few more years."
"Duty calls," said Maxwell.
"Understood," said Archer.
"Oh, Nomura, Admiral Roddenberry, the Chief of Staff, and I have decided that the Enterprise, which is being refitted with everything we have, is yours," said Maxwell. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, sir. I'll keep the Enterprise's reputation sterling, sir," said Archer.
"I know you will, Jon," said Maxwell. "Maxwell, out."
The viewscreen went blank. So, Trip was becoming a great captain. AG would like that. And the Enterprise was his. He had a lot of work ahead of him.
STSTST
Trip woke up to find himself alone in his bed. Turning his head, though, showed him T'Pol sitting on his floor meditating. She opened her eyes and stared at him.
"You wouldn't know what time it is?" he asked.
"04:11," she answered. "I shall be leaving soon to return to my own quarters."
"Okay," he said. "We still have lots to talk about and I have things to learn."
"We shall," she stood up then she walked over to Trip. She sat down on the bed then leaned over and kissed him. "I believe Humans find expressions of affection important."
"Well, yeah, but I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do," Trip said.
T'Pol kissed him again then said: "Understood, adun."
"Adone?" said Trip.
"Adun," she said the word again correcting his pronunciation.
"What does it mean?" he asked.
"The Human equivalent would be husband," said T'Pol.
She stood up and adjusted her robes.
"So, I'm your husband," said Trip.
"Unless you want to break the bond, which is not always possible," said T'Pol. "If the bond is weak, it can be broken. If it is strong then it cannot be broken."
"What do you think our bond is?" asked Trip.
"I believe we will be told by a priest or priestess that it is very strong," she told him.
"Oh," he said then smiled.
"Tonight we will begin working on you developing a mental barriers, mental shields, so that you are not always broadcasting you feelings to me," said T'Pol.
"Okay, sounds good. I'm sorry if I'm causing you a problem," he said.
"I merely have to meditate more," T'Pol. She offered him the Vulcan salute the Taal: "Live long and prosper, Adun."
"I guess I'll see you at breakfast," he said then watched as T'Pol slipped out of his room. Trip put his head back on the pillow and sighed. "I skip dating and go right for marriage. And to a Vulcan, too. Starfleet is going to have my ass."
STSTST
Trip sat down in his chair in the Captain's Mess. He looked at his steward and grinned.
"Tell chef that I want steak and eggs over easy with toast and potatoes," he said.
"Yes, sir," said the steward. He left with Trip's order.
Commander Flynn was sitting there eating scrambled eggs with sausage links and toast along with coffee. Troy was having yogurt with fruit, just as Skon and T'Pol were. Trip said come late to breakfast because he fell back asleep.
"Hungry, Captain?" smiled Flynn.
"Yeah, I worked out late last night. Seems to have given me an appetite," said Trip.
"You're just like Billy. You could have red meat or chicken with every meal," said Troy.
"Yeah, well, my father used to like to use the grill. There were some mornings we'd wake up and he'd be scrambling eggs in a cast iron pan on the grill along with steaks. He look at us and then point at the water and say – eat hearty then go exercise," Trip told them.
"Well, you still at least exercise every day," said Troy.
"Still, you probably shouldn't eat so much meat, Captain," said T'Pol.
Skon looked at T'Pol and raised his left eyebrow. He needed to talk to her about a few things.
"So, Ambassador, I hope that we aren't taking you to Vulcan for anything negative," said Trip.
"No, my wife T'Rama has told me that my sons Silek and Sarek are doing well with their studies. Sarek is doing so well he is going to receive and award and my father Solkar reminded me that beside being an ambassador I have a job as a father. This trip is to allow me some time as a father," said Skon.
"I think that nice," said Troy.
"Also, T'Pau wishes a personal report. I can give one as easily as Soval," said Skon.
The steward came in with Trip's steak, eggs, potatoes, and toast along with his coffee. He placed them in front of Trip then left. Trip picked up his knife and fork and started to eat heartily. His stomach felt as if it was wrapped around his spine. As he chewed the steak he felt a sense of annoyance and knew it was coming from T'Pol. Either, she didn't like him eating too much red meat or he had done something else. I really got to learn how to put up mental shields, he thought.
Flynn caught the steward's eye and motioned for more coffee. He brought out a cravat and poured him a fresh cup.
"Sir, I'd like to have Lieutenant Wallace to run through some simulations. I think our firing times can be improved," said Flynn.
"Agreed," nodded Trip, as he dipped the toast he just buttered into the egg yoke and took a bite.
"I heard from Vulcan and was told that the Excalibur would be staying in orbit until I am ready to return to Earth," said Skon.
"Yes, sir. I was told to act as a liaison while there, though I wasn't told what I'd be a liaison to," said Trip.
"I believe High Councilor T'Pau would like to get to know Humans better, as well as others on the High Council," said Skon.
"Oh," mumbled Trip.
"Do not worry, Captain. My father is a member of the council, as well as Kuvak and others who appreciate our relationship with Earth," said Skon. "I do recommend you are lodging on the planet for the times that you are too busy to return to the Excalibur."
"Are they building an Earth embassy and compound on Vulcan?" asked Trip.
"Building, not built," nodded Skon.
"Captain Tucker can stay at my family home, when he needs to be planetside. It will be convenient for him since the home is in Shikahr, which is the capital city," said T'Pol.
"That's not necessary, T'Pol. I wouldn't want to be imposition," said Trip.
"My mother is an aide to T'Pau. She will understand the logic of you staying," said T'Pol.
"It is an excellent idea," said Skon.
"Well, I guess I have someplace to stay when I have to be planetside," said Trip.
There was a feeling a triumph that Trip felt, which definitely was coming from T'Pol. This bond was going to annoy him until he learned how to control it.
STSTST
Skon asked T'Pol to take a stroll with him through the ship. As they walked he started to speak Vulcan to her knowing full well that Vulcan was not part of the universal translator.
"T'Pol, you have a tel with Captain Trip," he stated.
"How are you able to tell?" she asked not arguing with him.
"I know through observation and also I have a high PSI rating. I could feel it at times," Skon told her.
"That will be a problem on Vulcan," T'Pol stated.
"No, it will not. There are many bonded on Vulcan, so that picking up your bond with Captain Tucker will be more difficult. It is easy in a room where you are the bonded couple. I do recommend that you are not in the room with Captain Tucker in the High Council. T'Pau is sensitive as is Councilor Sapek and my father," advised Skon.
"Thank you for the advice," T'Pol said.
"Did you mean to bond with a Human?" he asked.
"No. It happened by accident, but I find it more fulfilling than the weak bond I had with Koss," said T'Pol.
"Strong emotions such as love can strengthen a bond. You must be attracted to Captain Tucker," he observed.
"I am," she admitted.
He nodded then said: "IDIC. You are an example of it with your relationship with Captain Tucker. If this was to become a problem for you, if some decide to act with prejudice then consider me as a advocate. I believe I can also say the same for Solkar."
"I am honored," said T'Pol.
"The road you are taking is a difficult one, but if your bond Is strong and true, it is one worth taking," said Skon.
"Thank you, Skon," said T'Pol.
STSTST
It had been a long day of simulations and reports that needed to be reviewed. Crewman Sustad did a great job of doing most of the work for Trip, which he was thankful for. He had Sustad retrieve dinner for him and bring it to his Ready Room, so he could finish up his work. By seven o'clock, he dismissed Sustad and readied himself to meet T'Pol in his quarters. She was going to start teaching him how to strengthen his mental defenses and develop mental shields. Putting away PADDs he stood up and headed out of his ready Room.
By the time he got to his quarters, which was only down the corridor from his Ready room, T'Pol was standing outside it. He let them both into his quarters.
"Ambassador Skon knows about our bond," she told him.
"Shit," sighed Trip.
"He is not unfavorable to our bonds. Skon has also offered to be an advocate if some find out about our bond and are against it," said T'Pol.
She began to remove her robes. Underneath she had what appeared to be a sports bar and yoga pants. Trip found his mind thinking of removing all her clothes. He tried to fight it.
"You want to go to this Gol to have a priest or priestess check it out, right?" asked Trip.
"I do," said T'Pol. She could feel him getting sexually excited.
"Okay, I guess we should arrange for that once I know my schedule," said Trip. Trip thought he had himself under control, even though he found himself looking appreciatively at T'Pol's body.
"That would be satisfactory," said T'Pol.
"You know I'm having doubts," said Trip.
"I am aware of that, Charles. Let us start your lesson on building up your mental shields. It will help you," said T'Pol. T'Pol felt his sexual desire deepen suddenly as she began to stretch her muscles in order to ready herself to deal with teaching Trip.
"And after that, you said you wanted me to learn how to meditate," said Trip. "I'll give it a try. I think meditating might be a good idea for me."
"Excellent. Although I think we should have sex before meditating. I believe it will relax you," T'Pol said.
"Sex. You want to make love before meditating. My Human sexuality is effecting you again, isn't it?" said Trip.
"It is," she purred.
"Sex strengthens our bond, doesn't it?" he asked.
"It does," she agreed.
"Oh, hell, who needs to live a simple life," Trip said then he reached up and began to message the tip of her left ear. He swore that T'Pol purred. "How about sex first then mental defenses and meditating?"
"I agree, Charles," she said then grabbed him and kissed him.