Story 2: New Beginnings
The bridge was completely silent, the corridors held that deserted feeling, and the Mess Hall felt unused and forgotten. The only sounds drifting through the ship were emanating from Cargo Bay 1.
"Alright everyone, settle down." Malcolm Reed stood in front of the amassed crew attempting to calm them down for Captain Archer's announcement. The soft murmurings of the crew died down and silence once again reigned throughout the ship. Jon stepped forward and took Malcolm's place with a brief nod of the head and a clap to the back of his armory officer.
"I stand before you with a heavy heart." Jon paused to gather himself. He had practiced a dozen different ways to make this announcement and none of them seemed to be enough. He decided to just tell them, no sugar coating, no hand holding. "Our recent trip through the subspace corridor has brought us back in time. We've been thrown out of our own time by 120 years. As of this moment I am revoking all non-fraternization rules. That being said, use discretion and this should not interfere with regular duties. It is going to be up to our descendants to save Earth. We're a family now, in more ways than one. Although our time has changed our mission has not. Though it will fall to our children and our children's children we cannot allow ourselves to become relaxed in our duties. Our most important aspect of the mission now is to form alliances with other species to ensure our continued safety in the Expanse. Have hope, we may yet prevent the initial attack that brought us into the Expanse. Dismissed." Jon and the Senior Staff moved out of the Cargo Bay in a large group. The questions and exclamations of the rest of the crew went unheeded by them.
One Month Later
Jon ran a shaky hand across his tired eyes. "Report." He looked over to T'Pol who was holding a PADD in her hands. She looked fatigued but Jon let it pass, everyone on the Senior Staff had been pulling triple shifts and it was beginning to wear them down.
T'Pol cleared her throat. "We have received reports of altercations in the mess hall. It would seem the fraternization among the crew has not been met with the same calm we had hoped for. The crew is only one third female and the male crew are making efforts to impress their female crew mates." Jon sighed.
"Alright, we'll make a ship wide announcement letting them know that such behavior won't be tolerated." T'Pol nodded. Jon looked over to Phlox. "Doctor?"
Phlox smiled brightly at them. "Yes well, it would seem as good a time as any to make this little announcement. Corporal Price is three months pregnant." The shocked expressions on the faces of the crew were accompanied by the sounds of the air being quickly sucked into the lungs of those present.
The Captain furrowed his brow. "Three months?" Phlox nodded. "It would seem the MACO's weren't following frat. regs. before we were thrown back. I can't exactly be angry now but- who's the father?"
Phlox shifted slightly in his seat, he felt as though he was turning in a friend for doing something bad. "Corporal Chang." Phlox decided to continue with his report, hoping to quell the anger the Captain was clearly fighting with. "With Commander Tucker's assistance sickbay has been retrofitted with the necessary equipment and facilities for obstetrics. The supplies we received from the Maracan traders proved to be very useful."
The Captain nodded. "Good. Keep me informed of all of the pregnancies." Phlox made to protest but Jon held up a silencing hand. "Doctor, that information is necessary for the continued success of this mission. I need to know." Phlox nodded in acceptance. "Trip?"
Trip stood up and walked over to the display screen on the wall. "I've been looking at all of the schematics trying to figure out living arrangements. We should convert Cargo Bay 4 into a classroom, we can even separate the different age groups if need be." He pressed buttons displaying his revised plan for the ship. "As people start, uh, pairing up, we can begin combining quarters. Some of the crewmen are already hot racking it so those living situations will be more difficult to rearrange. The quartermaster has already received requests from several people for a change of rooms. My engineering teams are manufacturing larger beds and we can begin working on cribs. So far it doesn't look like it will be impossible to turn Enterprise into a generational ship. Travis has really taken the lead on this one." Trip motioned over to the Ensign who was currently blushing.
Jon nodded. He could feel the fatigue setting in and he knew he needed to sleep. "Sounds good. Why don't you all take the next two days off?" He didn't know what surprised him more, the fact that he made this suggestion himself without Phlox pushing him, or that none of his staff fought him on it. Everyone left quietly and headed for bed.
Trip sat up straight on the edge of T'Pol's bed waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom. "T'Pol, I told you that it's fine. You need sleep, I need sleep. I can always come back another time." He looked up at the sound of the bathroom door sliding open.
T'Pol emerged dressed in her normal sleeping attire. "Do not be ridiculous, neuropressure will assist both of us in sleeping tonight. There is no logic in rescheduling something designed to help us in a situation like this. Now please," she motioned to the meditation mats on the floor, "take your position and we will begin." She knelt down on her own mat and waited for Trip to take off his shirt and kneel facing her.
He just sighed and began taking off his shirt. "Fine, but at least leave me with enough energy to make it back to my own quarters." T'Pol nodded. She had no intention of letting him return to his quarters. Her bed was larger and closer, it was only logical that he sleep here, in her quarters. It would not be the first time, nor the last if past experience were anything to judge by.
They began going through the normal postures, T'Pol could feel the tension leaving her body. Fatigue was settling over her and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She could see that Trip was struggling as well but he was stubbornly trying to keep his eyes open.
His sleepy voice broke through the silence that had enveloped them. "T'Pol, you said you wouldn't keep me here tonight." He was swaying and was fighting back sleep. He was obviously losing.
T'Pol raised a tired eyebrow at him. "Trip, just lay down on my bed. It is illogical for you to travel to your own quarters when I have a bed here that you can use."
Trip scrunched his face in confusion. "What? You want me to sleep here?"
T'Pol stood slowly from her position in front of Trip and walked over to her bed. She climbed in a motioned for him to join her. Trip simply shook his head and removed his jeans. "Fine, but no funny business." He smirked at her and she simply repressed the urge to roll her eyes in a very un-Vulcan display.
Trip laid down on his back next to her, being careful not to touch her. He needn't worry too much since she rested her head on his chest and draped an arm over his stomach. "Good night Trip."
He nodded sleepily, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Good night Darlin'."
They both drifted off into sleep with contented expressions on their faces.
Two Weeks Later
Trip awoke to the ship rocking beneath him. T'Pol jolted awake as well and they both made quick work of their uniforms. Trip had been sleeping in her quarters every night for two weeks and had since moved a few of his uniforms into her closet just in case he needed to get dressed quickly. They ran out of her room and into the corridor. Trip turned and ran towards engineering and T'Pol ran towards the turbolift to take her to the bridge.
Trip ran as fast has his feet could take him. The ship rocked yet again and Trip stumbled into a wall. He regained his balance and burst into engineering. "Hess, report!"
Janet stuck out her head, grease smudged on her cheeks. "Not good boss. Apparently we're being shot at, they've already taken out the deck plating on C Deck, primary intake manifolds are working past capacity, and warp drive is down. Life support is still holding but it won't last forever. I don't know how much more of this we can handle."
Trip nodded and swayed as the ship was once again hit by a volley of enemy fire. He prayed to whatever deity there was that this ship didn't explode, at least not while he was still on board.
"Target their engines and fire!"
Jon held tight onto the arms of his command chair as Travis took the ship through some evasive choreography. The soft rumble of torpedoes launching told Jon that Malcolm had indeed heard him and followed his orders. The Maracan cruiser firing at them took a hit to their engines. "Captain, their engines have been disabled." T'Pol reported from her science station. The sound of crackling suddenly emitted from it and she moved quickly away from it before it exploded. She had been so preoccupied with her science console exploding that the blast from the display screens behind her caught her off guard. The explosion hit her square in the back and sent her tumbling forwards.
The painful thud of T'Pol hitting the deck plating was met with yet another volley of enemy fire. Jon rushed over to T'Pol's crumpled form and shouted his orders to Malcolm. "I don't care what you have to do, get them to stop firing at us!" He looked over at Hoshi, a silent question on his face. "Phlox has already been alerted and a medical team is on the way." Jon nodded and looked back down at the bleeding and damaged body of his first officer. If she died he didn't know what he would do. She was his rock in all of this. Trip would probably lose it too, Jon had noticed that they spent a lot of time together, he'd heard the rumors. If T'Pol died, Jon would lose both of his best friends.
The emergency medical team exited the turbolift and rushed over to T'Pol, they gently lifted her onto a stretcher and whisked her away. Jon watched them go and then turned and stared at the puddle of green blood on the floor beneath his feet. He stood there for several moments looking at the blood of his best friend before he realized they weren't being fired upon anymore. Jon turned to Malcolm. "Report."
"Sir, the Maracan ship has been destroyed." Malcolm looked relieved.
Hoshi piped up. "Reports are coming in from throughout the ship. Hull breaches on C and D Decks, thirteen wounded, three critical, no fatalities. Warp and Impulse drives are both down. Damage control teams are en route to the breaches. We're immobilized, sir."
Jon sat in his chair gently, unable to remember when exactly he received a cut to his left leg. "Who are the critically wounded?"
Hoshi typed on her console. "Ensign Barrens and Commanders Tucker and T'Pol."
"Damn." Trip was needed to lead the repair teams but if he was injured that left- "Archer to Lieutenant Hess." Jon lifted his finger from the depressed comm button.
The crackling voice of Janet Hess came through moments later. "Hess here sir." He could hear the whining of the engine and the roaring of fires. She definitely had her hands full in engineering.
"How are things down there?" He desperately needed to know how long he had until the repairs were done. If another Maracan ship dropped out of warp and decided to finish what his buddies started Enterprise was done for. The trade disputes on their world had already followed them many lightyears away, now they were sitting ducks in the debris of a battle with a trade vessel that was surely going to be missed soon.
"It's hard to tell sir. Right now we're trying to contain the fires. Commander Tucker took quite a tumble when the EPS conduits exploded. Hopefully when he's back from sickbay the fire will be out and the hull breaches on C and D will be done. I estimate another three hours until those breaches are properly sealed, at least internally. We need to send teams in EV suits to seal the breaches from the outside as well, otherwise we run the risk of micro-fractures during warp and that could compromise the stability of our warp bubble. Life support and weapons are still at nominal."
"Keep at it, there's no telling how long Trip is going to be in sickbay, you're in charge until he is released."
"Understood sir."
Three Days Later
"The hull breaches have been sealed and everything is gettin' back into shape." Trip adjusted his grip on T'Pol's hand. "Once you're up and about you can inspect all of the repairs and point out where I've messed up." He smiled. T'Pol had been unconscious for three days and after he had woken up on the first day he jumped right into work. He didn't know that T'Pol was in sickbay, no one told him. He returned to her quarters that night and began cleaning them up. He expected her to join him after his shift ended but she never returned. He searched for her biosign and found it in sickbay. He didn't even stop to think about what it would look like. He ran to sickbay, frantically searching for her. Phlox caught sight of him and gently approached him. After Phlox took him to T'Pol's biobed and explained her head injury Trip had only left her side for his duty shifts. He had slept the last two nights at her side and had eaten what meals he took in sickbay.
Jon walked in and saw Trip at his usual place next to T'Pol's bed. He didn't know what exactly was going on between his two friends but he was determined to be happy for them. Trip looked up when he noticed Jon standing on the other side of the bed. "Cap'n?"
Jon sat down in the available chair. "How is she?" Jon looked down to her face and Trip followed his gaze.
"Well, Doc says the brain waves are showing signs of improvement. He says maybe a few more days and she'll be right as rain. Her back is healed up nicely, we're just waitin' for her to decide to wake up." He smiled affectionately towards her. "You know how stubborn she is, she'll do it on her own time." Trip chuckled and Jon smiled.
Jon was watching Trip closely. He couldn't help but feel a little left out of whatever was going on between them. "You're right, she never did do anything we asked her to. She always was pretty stubborn." He laughed.
Trip grinned. "Well, she is Vulcan. I'd bet my last credit that her whole species is like that."
"If you are attempting to bait her out of her coma by insulting her, it won't work." They both turned to see a smiling Phlox watching them.
Trip shrugged. "Who says we were trying to insult her, we were just being observant. She'd probably appreciate that." All three men chuckled.
Phlox smiled even bigger. "I highly doubt that." Phlox moved forward and scanned the readouts from her monitoring equipment. "However, it would seem your presence has done her some good. She has continued to improve faster than I first predicted. I would say that we can attempt to wake her tomorrow."
Trip beamed and smiled down at T'Pol. "You hear that? You're gonna be up and about, bickerin' with me in no time."
Phlox smiled a big smile. "Yes well, perhaps bickering will have to wait, hmm? Now if you excuse me I have to see to my student."
Jon wrinkled his brow. "Student Phlox?"
Phlox smiled at him and shrugged. "Corporal Cole is a trained physicians assistant and currently serves as the MACO paramedic. She simply expressed a desire to further her medical knowledge. Apparently she was supposed to be in medical school before being recalled for this mission."
Trip could feel his face turning red. Amanda still made it quite clear that she thought Trip was a worthy pursuit, even after T'Pol bruised her up. Maybe she'll take the hint and leave them alone. He hoped that Phlox could distract her long enough for Trip to figure out just what he and T'Pol were, then Amanda could be dealt with.
Phlox turned to go. "She is a remarkable student. I will be by at the regular time to check on the patient." Trip nodded and watched the doctor go.
Jon looked hopefully to his best friend. A feeling of anticipation and the acceptance of disappointment already at war within him. "So Trip, how about dinner?"
Trip sighed, looked down at T'Pol's unconscious form and then back at Jon. He hadn't really spent much time outside of sickbay in three days, maybe a change of scenery wouldn't be too bad. "Alright Jon, dinner sounds good." Jon's face lit up and Trip almost felt bad for the condition he was about to set. "But only if you don't ask any questions about this." He motioned between himself and T'Pol.
He would be lying if he said he hadn't hoped to get some information out of Trip but he also really wanted to spend a meal with his best friend. He had been neglecting their friendship since the start of this mission. When Trip needed him most he had begun to push him away. In a lot of ways that's why T'Pol was so important to Trip, she was there for him. "Fine Trip, no questions about whatever this is, just dinner and catching up. Deal?"
Trip nodded. "Deal."
The Next Day
The world was slowly coming into focus. The bright lights of sickbay pierced through the heavy fog that blurred her vision and dulled her brain. The first thing she noticed was the pounding ache in her right temple and the second was the comforting warmth of someone's hand in her own. She looked over to the presence she knew would be there when she awoke and suppressed the urge to smile warmly at him.
He smiled at her as if he knew what she had denied herself. "Hey Darlin' ready to wake up? I think you've had more than your share of beauty sleep."
She tried to speak but her throat was very dry and her voice caught painfully in her throat. Trip helped her sit up and then held a cup of water to her lips. She drank thankfully from it and let the refreshing water wash away the last vestiges of her unconscious state. "Indeed. How long have I been in sickbay?"
He set the cup down on the tray by her bed. She noticed a small bowl of Plomeek broth and her stomach reminded her that she had in fact been unconscious for some time and would be in need of food. He turned to her. "Four days." She looked at him letting this information sink in. Her internal clock had been thrown off by her head injury but she did feel as though several days had passed. "We were worried about you for the first day or so but you're too stubborn to give up." He smiled at her.
She squeezed his hand. "Stubborn? Perhaps I am just not ready to let you take over my duties as First Officer." Trip laughed and she felt an unexpected warmth brush hr cheeks. Was she blushing? Why did he have this affect on her?
"Well whatever it is I'm glad you're alright." He cupped the side of her face before dropping his hand again. He suddenly seemed uncertain about himself and his actions. He made to pull his hand out hers but she held tight.
She felt guilty about his reaction. Of course she was at fault for his confusion about what they were to each other. How could she possibly tell him that she loved him when she herself wasn't sure what that even meant? How could she explain that she had panicked after their one night together? That it wasn't some experiment and that her excuse sounded lame even to her ears? Why had he believed her? Then she remembered that he had just accepted it, he hadn't fought it. Maybe he didn't feel anything for her after all. Maybe he was grateful for the excuse she used. Maybe he would rather be with Corporal Cole. They seemed to have so much in common, he had even confided in her. No. That wasn't it at all. He had trusted T'Pol with the most wounded parts of himself. He cared for her, she knew that. His presence now, his fear and confusion, even his sadness, was all proof that he did in fact feel something for her.
She looked up into his eyes, blue orbs filled with unshed tears and questions she wasn't quite ready to answer. "Trip, please do not go. Do not leave me." She hoped that he would understand what she really meant by this. She wasn't asking him to just stay with her today, to not leave her bedside. She was asking him to stay with her always. To never leave her again. She hoped that everything she felt for him, all the love and joy, was properly expressed in those two sentences.
He looked back at her, realization slowly crept across his face and he smiled sweetly at her. "Of course T'Pol, I won't leave. I'm not going anywhere." Trip sat back down and contentedly related the events of the last few days to T'Pol. He couldn't help but feel like today, this moment, was a new beginning for him. A new beginning for them.