Healing To Your Life

by pdsldl

This story begins with Trip and T'Pol grieving for their daughter. Their relationship had just begun. Now they must find a way to rebuild their life with each other and their friends. Will not be completed.

4. Chapter 4

Healing to Your Life – Chapter 4

"Captain. There's a treadmill open now, sir." The crewman must have thought he came for exercise. The room certainly had been full for this early in the morning, but he supposed they all scheduled their time here to watch the extraordinary exhibition he'd just experienced himself.

Wanting details about the sensor modifications Engineering had been implementing he stopped by to invite Trip to breakfast. When he didn't answer his door an Ensign passing by informed Archer that he'd find the Commander in the Rec Room A.

Two figures in full protective gear were in full attack mode on the mats. Their staffs moved with lightening speed as they attacked and defended. One would block a jabbing strike then sweep the other with a quick movement. Having never seen Trip exhibit such control he was riveted to the scene before him until a blow came which would crush his skull. The ease with which it was defended against had barely registered when the pace and intensity increased. The sound and speed of the staffs making contact pointed to hours of practice. Where had his friend learned to move like that? Trip had mentioned he exercised every morning but Thursday and they had talked about this staff practice once, but Jon hadn't heard anything more about it so assumed it had ceased.

He was aware that he hadn't been able to pick up any news about his staff through gossip in weeks. Listening on the bridge to his staffs chatter hadn't brought forth any juicy bits of information either. It was unlikely there was nothing newsworthy happening aboard Enterprise, they just weren't talking about it. Crew rotations for anyone below the rank of Ensign would be coming up in a few months and he had already received several requests for extended deployments. Starfleet discouraged keeping the same forward presence due to training considerations. The admiralty also felt that the relationships formed amongst those who were stationed together permanently would hamper a crew's ability to effectively perform their duties. While observing his staff the Captain had determined that a close crew was not detrimental. While it made things more difficult when tragedy struck, it also made it easier. Support was always available through the good and the bad times each faced.

The noise ceased and staffs dropped in unison as if some alarm had gone off to tell each to stop. Tucker dropped down, his head gear peeled off before his back hit the mat, smiling. T'Pol soon dropped to her knees out of breath. The end of her staff sitting in the middle of Trip's chest. Archer had once thought he and the Science Officer could be more than colleagues. But when T'Pol reminded him they were not in positions that would allow them to become attracted to each other he knew it would never work. He was the Captain and had to make life and death decisions about his crew. He'd already sacrificed a romance with Erika Hernandez and the closer friendship he'd once shared with Trip Tucker for his ship. Duty would always come first. That was a job requirement for a Captain and he knew this when he accepted the responsibility. Besides even though he and T'Pol were close their relationship had little room to grow because they were too alike in many ways and too different in others.

Seeing the silent exchange in their eyes now reminded him that Trip and T'Pol had started off physically attracted to one another. At first Jon could not accept it, but after a time he saw their fighting and friction for what it was. He believed they would have a fiery romance for a short time because they were too different to have a serious relationship. Evidently they disagreed because while he was lost in the mission they were spending time together, which allowed them to become friends, who relied on and trusted each other. Looking at them now he could see they were more alike than he wanted to see before. They're both very private about their innermost selves. They're both stubborn, but about the things that really matter. Their careers and their beliefs. They're both intellectuals, who challenge and tease. He's emotional where she's controlled. He's laid back and easy going where she's rigid and disciplined. They share the same values and interest in new ideas and cultures, which provides each the opportunity to grow. To learn to balance and tolerate the differences.

As he watched the couple head off to the showers he decided to wait and join them in the mess hall for breakfast before their duty shift began.

"Trip why do you even bother? How can you ever expect to win an argument with a Vulcan about Surak's teachings."

Trip shot a slightly agitated glance at Billy. "So just because she's Vulcan her interpretation is the only valid one? You can't really believe that?"

"I'm just saying she's studied this all her life, so she understands it better than we do."

"So just because I haven't studied something for years I'm wrong?" Trip was becoming extremely exasperated with this line of reasoning.

Captain Archer approached. "Sounds like quite a lively debate for breakfast."

T'Pol looked up from the padd she had been studying. "The Commander has yet to learn to master his passions and has lost all perspective."

"Slam dunk. You might as well give up. T'Pol only calls you Commander when she's sure she's won." With some sense of female solidarity Melissa, the young Ensign sitting next to Billy, added her boisterous comment in an attempt to push Trip further into his emotional mindset.

Glaring at T'Pol Trip changed tactics. "I'm arguing from emotion and not reason is what you're all trying to say." They think they have me. "That may be true, but you're all arguing I'm wrong because Vulcans have studied Surak for years and understand it better than humans do, right?" He looked around the table as each nodded yes. "You've all lost sight of the fact that the teachings the Vulcans have been studying for years were based on some distorted ideals that the Kir'shara has proved are not based on Surak's original text." Trip waited for the reaction. He'd been comparing some of the original to the Terran copy of The Teachings of Surak T'Pol had given Jon.

Archer chimed in. "He has a point. The main argument the Syrannites had for finding the Kir'shara was that Vulcan was being led astray by a corrupt Government which had twisted Surak's teachings to met their own needs." That's what T'Pau had explained to Archer while they trekked across the Forge.

"Perhaps I was mistaken in my assessment of Trip's lack of perspective. The recent behavior of Vulcan's does lead one to logically argue that our interpretations of Surak's teachings may be in error." T'Pol had considered this possibility, but had not considered that Trip might have. As she captured each thought passing through his mind she understood he had read the old and the new teachings, but had not given the significance much thought until he was challenged here today. How he and other humans could suddenly make such connections when in an emotional state had always baffled her.

"What do you think I do all those hours you're on the bridge and I'm off-duty?" He smiled inwardly.

"Why have you not discussed your questions with me?"

"The point was to distract myself while you were working not distract you."

She didn't respond, but he sensed her belief that he only read fiction and engineering reports. "Does everyone think I only care about engines?"

"I did not mean to imply you had no interest. You simply have not shared them with me."

"I didn't know I needed to, but if you want to know I'd be glad to share all my interest with you." There was a definite edge to his response.

She sensed agitation from him. "Have I offended you in some way? Is it wrong for me to want to know what matters to you?"

"No....." You've spent 4 years trying to get her to care and now that she does, you're being an idiot. There's nothing you can do about Jon. Trip had tried to get his friend to reconnect with the crew, to talk about it, to remove that dark, lost look in his eyes. But he'd failed. Taking out your frustration on T'Pol isn't going to help anybody. "I guess if you look at it that way we should know what matters to each other. It's just ....I can't just list what interest me. It changes all the time. Right now it's Vulcan culture and Surak. Later it will be some new thing we discover out here or a new idea."

She knew this was true. His concerns about his friend were affecting him. "I share your frustration about the Captain."

"I just keep thinking I should be able to help him like you helped me."

"I helped you because you allowed me to. We became so close we bonded. The Captain does not yet want to be helped. If he did he would accept that which has been offered." Trip, T'Pol, and Phlox had all offered to talk with him, but he hadn't taken any of them up on it.

"I know you're right, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Captain Archer spoke up to state his reason for being there. "Sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but I need an update on the sensors." The staff didn't know yet, but Starfleet had a new mission for them. Several space stations in the outlying regions of the quadrant had been unreachable and Enterprise was to investigate. They needed the sensors working at optimal levels.

"I haven't had a chance to check into Engineering yet this morning." Looking at the chronometer across the room. "My shift starts in 20 minutes, so I can get back to you in an hour or so." Trip replied knowing the Captain probably expected him to go to Engineering right away.

"Trip, we need to run a diagnostic on the tactical sensors before we can make any other changes. The data is on your desk." Billy reported to his boss, breaking the no talk about work rule since the Captain had already done it.

Archer saw that Malcolm must have known of the problem as he just nodded in the affirmative when he heard the tactical sensors mentioned.

His chief engineer used to be so focused on his work that he would have already read the report and had an update or would have immediately asked the Ensign about the information waiting on his desk. At some point the senior staff had all begun to cherish their down time more. This wasn't an emergency he reminded himself, so he shouldn't expect his staff to respond as if it were and give up their off-duty time. Seeing the whole senior staff before him Archer informed them, "Senior staff meeting in my ready room at 09:00. Bring your update with you Trip."

"No problem, sir." Trip responded automatically.

Crewman Greer stopped by and drew their attention back to the table. "Who picked the movie this week?" Trip watched as a detached Jon left, walking aimlessly out of the mess hall.

"I did?" Melissa raised her hand.

Trip usually knew what genre of movie they'd be watching by who's turn it was to chose it. Malcolm was action/adventure, Hoshi was romantic or cultural, Travis liked car chases or anything that flew, Billy liked westerns, T'Pol liked historical, but Melissa was still an unknown. Her taste ran all over the place. Her last choice Flight of the Red Balloon was in French with subtitles. "So are you going to tell us what the movie is?"

She had this evil smirk on her face "I think I'll let it be a surprise."

"Do I have to read it again?" Malcolm asked almost complaining. He liked to enjoy his movies and reading subtitles meant he had to work at it.

"Maybe." was the only reply they got.

Trip chuckled. He may not know her taste yet, but he knew her well enough to know what her answer meant. "Well, if it's going to have subtitles it better be worth it." Once he got over the initial shock of seeing words at the bottom of the screen he had to admit the film wasn't bad. T'Pol liked it. Malcolm complained loudly, but he had watched it and even made some astute observations later when they talked about it. "Gotta go to work. See you later." Trip winked at T'Pol, who nodded back to him as he left.

_____

Archer outlined their new mission. The first stop would be Deep Space Station K-7. Next they discussed the sensors. The engineering report dealt with a series of anomalous readings from the motion tracking sensors. Trip, T'Pol, and Malcolm began troubleshooting the problem on the bridge.

"There's no pattern to the blips we keep seeing. All the other sensors show no disturbances and they come at odd intervals in different locations." Malcolm was clearly frustrated. If sensors were really picking up something they had no idea what.

"T'Pol can you plot the readings and position Enterprise at the proper coordinates when each occurred?" Trip requested.

"I will put them on the view screen. It may take several minutes." T'Pol busily moved around her station pulling up data and inputting it into the computer.

Trip pulled himself up off the floor. Moving to the Engineering station he studied the Captain. Thinking about what he might try to reach his friend until he noticed Malcolm watching T'Pol as she moved back and forth between her consoles. He moved towards the tactical station and whispered. "Doesn't leave much to the imagination does it?"

Beyond embarrassed the red-faced Malcolm stammered out quietly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be ogling another man's girl." Especially when the other man was right there. He continued to himself.

"It's okay Mal. I like looking myself, but I really hate those uniforms." Trip liked it much better when a woman's clothes left something for his very active imagination to do and it wouldn't hurt if her attire didn't attract the stares of every male she came in contact with.

"Well, at least you know other guys will only ever look."

"Yeah, she's definitely not the type to mess around, and I haven't meet too many men who are brave enough to approach her."

"You did and you're still walking around." Although time, neuro-pressure, and persistence, probably helped in Trip's case.

"Look how long it took before she finally let me get close." Tucker moved behind his friend lowering the tone of his voice. "It's doesn't matter because our bond makes messing around impossible."

At the mention of their bond the already embarrassed Tactical Officer was now extremely hot under the collar. Not only had Trip seen him but T'Pol's excellent hearing meant she heard them talking and probably had tuned in to their conversations through the bond. From the expression on Trip's face that was exactly what had happened.

Hoshi watched the two men as Trip issued what she saw as a mild reminder, about proper manners, without anger or malice. Taking pity on Malcolm who had just mouthed an apology to T'Pol, Hoshi offered up information on their mission. "Commander Tucker, I have the information you wanted on K-7."

Captain Archer and Reed both looked at her with odd expressions. "The Commander asked for information about the space station?" Archer's surprise evident in his question. Trip usually waited to learn about the places they visited first hand unless T'Pol found it necessary for them to know something before they landed on the surface.

Trip was indignant. "What's the big deal? Does everyone think I'm so shallow that I'm only interested in warp engines?"

The Lieutenant let out a laugh. "No, you like movies too."

Trip fought the urge to be upset with his friends at T'Pol's silent request. "A warp 5 starship was part of the reason I took this commission, but exploring space and learning new things was part of it too. It can't hurt to know as much as you can before you meet new people. I've made enough stupid mistakes and I'd like to avoid making anymore." Besides he'd pushed the technology on Enterprise about as far as he could without totally redesigning the ship. He needed new interests if maintaining his engines were all he could do.

Hoshi couldn't believe it. Men got upset at each other, banged their chest, and moved on as if nothing happened. She never understood why they teased Trip about his supposed lack of interests. He'd told her once he wished he had her skill with language, so that he would be needed on away missions. He was eager to visit new places and learn new things. "If you guys are done I'd like to tell the Commander what I found?"

Wanting his bridge crew focused Archer shifted back into Captain mode. "Go ahead Ensign."

"It's a civilian station. There's a Klingon outpost a little over 3 light years away. It's near Sherman's Planet where they are starting to build an agricultural station for the region."

At the mention of a Klingon outpost Trip became more alert. "I don't remember any mention of an outpost nearby in Starfleet's report. You'd think they'd have mentioned the presence of Klingons after all our encounters with them." The fact that Klingons had a High Council and called themselves an Empire didn't seem to have any bearing out in space. They were unbridled warriors and each encounter thus far had involved violence. They had been attacked, the Captain imprisoned, and their doctor kidnapped. They were even threatened when they assisted a Klingon vessel.

"Lieutenant Reed run continuous long range sensors sweeps." Captain Archer ordered. He knew he might still be wanted as a fugitive by some on Qo'noS.

"Already running them, sir. Started when the problem with the motion sensors came up." He'd been running a series of sensors sweeps, but now he would add a couple more just to be on the safe side where the Klingons were concerned.

"Carry on." Archer shook his head as he sat back down in his chair. Lieutenant Reed had developed his own way of protecting the ship. He hadn't verbally told the Captain about the scans, but Archer knew there was a line or two in one of his written reports informing him.

"Captain, perhaps we should reconsider the modifications to the sensors at this time?" T'Pol beat Trip to this request.

"You might be right. Shutting down any systems with Klingons in the area might not be the best plan." Archer contemplated the idea. "Put the upgrades on hold until further notice."

----

"Tactical alert all hands report to you stations."

Trip jumped up when T'Pol shook him. The alert registered and training took over as he pulled on the sweats he'd left on back of the chair when they went to bed earlier. His shirt was no where in sight. He grabbed a clean one out of the closet in the bathroom and he snagged T'Pol's warmest robe on his way out. She had slip on shoes waiting for him at the door, having already slipped her own feet into her slippers.

When they stepped into the corridor they were met with several crewmen sleepily moving through the corridors on the way to their stations while attempting to dress themselves. Hoshi entered the turbo lift in her robe while Malcolm showed up zipping up his uniform.

When the lift opened to the bridge the Captain was speaking to the Captain of a Klingon Bird of Prey. The tactical alert had been quieted, but the weapons systems were still online, but not targeted. Sensing no emergency and knowing that the Captain would have begun issuing orders if they were needed, the senior staff stood behind the tactical station rather than take over from the night crew.

"When was the last transmission received from your patrol ship?" Archer asked the Klingon Captain.

"According to the outpost the last communication was 7 days ago. Sensors place them within 1 light year of the K-7 station 2 days later."

"Several of our stations have been out of communication and we were sent out here to see what the problem is. Have you found anything that might be helpful in determining where we should look first?"

"Our sensors have picked up Romulan warp signatures, but we have not seen any ships." Not seeing them didn't mean they weren't cloaked nearby.

"Bloody hell. Romulans and Klingons." Malcolm let his words slip out in a whisper.

Trip elbowed Reed. "Makes for some pretty scary nightmares, huh." The Klingons ship missing and the Romulans being in the area made it very unlikely that this was going to be a routine case of repairing subspace buoys or communications arrays.

T'Pol sent her disapproval to Trip about the same time Archer turned and gave both men his shut up or else look. "You're welcomed to come along to K-7 to see if we can find any sign of your ship and crew."

"We will of course need to accompany you to the station."

"We'll be in orbit in 12 hours. We can determine our best course of action then." There had been no communication and there were no life signs on the station. Hundreds of people were missing.

"I'll expect to hear from you in 12 hours then." The Klingon said as the transmission ended abruptly.

Archer noted the lack of courtesy all Klingons showed. Turning to look over his shoulder where the senior staff were all standing. "Sorry to have gotten you all out of bed. Someone....." Archer's eyes were directed at the very young Ensign at the tactical station, ..."got a little jumpy and activated the alert. Go get some sleep and we'll talk about the away mission in the morning. 09:00 in the ready room."

Having returned to their quarters Trip couldn't stop tossing around in bed. "Darlin, I can't sleep. Maybe we could do some neuro-pressure."

"I am unable to sleep either. Neuro-pressure might relax us enough to return to sleep." T'Pol moved and began applying pressure to Trip's back.

Feeling the tension release from his neck Trip voiced his thoughts. "Something about this whole mission's starting to make me uneasy. Why would Romulans be causing trouble way out here?" Cutting off communication to a bunch of stations on the border of the quadrant produced no strategic gains for anyone. Involving the Klingons made even less sense.

"We will not know anything until tomorrow. Let's get some rest." T'Pol said as Trip became aware that the pressure she was applying was not relaxing him in the least. In fact it had much more of a stimulating effect.

The bond pulsed. "Are you trying to tell me something, darlin?" There was no doubt about her intentions as she began to kiss the back of his neck and down his spine.

"I believe I have a much better way to relax. Do you have any objections?" She continued knowing his answer.

"Relax us anyway you want." The desire coming through the bond quickly overloaded his senses and all thoughts of sleep were gone.

----

"We've lost all communications, except to the Klingons, sir." Hoshi reported as she continued to try sending a transmission.

"Ensign Sato get me Captain Grek and Lieutenant Reed go to tactical alert." Enterprise hadn't been able to reach the station, but had been able to contact Starfleet just two hours ago to update them on the situation.

"Captain Grek for you, sir." Hoshi opened the transmission and the Klingon's face appeared on the vid screen.

"Captain, we've lost all communications, except with your ship and our sensors show no life signs on the station. We've gone to tactical alert, may I suggest you do the same." Having the Klingons weapons online wasn't something Archer wanted, but they needed to be prepared in case of an attack.

"Our communications should be able to reach our outpost, but they are no longer responding." Three light years should be no problem for the Klingons ship without the need for any subspace buoys or boosting of the signal.

"We've found a docking port we can operate manually. Once our shuttle is secured they'll open a docking port for yours. My Science Officer will send the coordinates. We'll meet you there in 30 minutes."

Archer ordered. "Commander Tucker, go get your tool kit. Meet Commander T'Pol and Lieutenant Reed in shuttle bay one. Malcolm get three of your people to go with you. You've got 30 minutes so let's get going."

Trip went to retrieve his tools from Engineering, complaining loudly. "T'Pol you need to stay here until we see what's wrong. The Captain said you weren't going on away missions until we knew you'd be safe." Trip couldn't argue the point with Jon without raising questions about why it was any of his concern and he knew T'Pol wouldn't, but he tried to convince her anyway.

"You and Malcolm will both be there." T'Pol would rather go than let the Captain go. There were Klingons who weren't happy about his escape from their penal colony. And then there was the fact that Trip was going. She always felt better if she went on away missions with him. It was less likely he'd get hurt.

"Something just doesn't feel right." That uneasy feeling in Trip's gut hadn't gone away. He'd never be able to get T'Pol to believe in his gut feelings, but he'd learned to pay attention to them. It saved his life on many occasions.

Trip managed to get the manual override to work in the docking bay after several attempts. As the away team exited the pod T'Pol began scanning for signs of life. Malcolm and Trip found the controls for the docking bay next door opening it to let the Klingons land their shuttle.

By the time the door to the Klingon shuttlepod opened Trip had managed to look as stoic as T'Pol did. Malcolm was impressed as he'd listened to his friend's tantrum regarding trusting the Klingons and T'Pol being with them, since undocking from Enterprise.

After several minutes of discussion Malcolm gave the Klingon's Commander Krejal a communicator and the two teams split up, heading off in opposite directions. At the end of the corridor Malcolm and his team went to the left and Trip and T'Pol went right. The tricorders was picking up energy signatures in both directions. Malcolm's team followed the readings down the corridor to the cargo bays. After several unsuccessful attempts to open the doors a phase pistol was used to try to burn through the locks.

Meanwhile, Trip heard a noise coming from a small room off the corridor leading to the control room. As T'Pol continued to move forward Trip quietly entered the room. Before his eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness an arm reached out and grabbed him from behind. Immediately he felt a presence in his mind searching through his thoughts and memories. Training with T'Pol made raising his shields to protect himself a mechanical response. His arms shot up to loosen the hold as he stepped forward with his left foot. Ignoring the stab he felt in his side he drove his right elbow into the chest of his attacker as he dropped his body low and turned himself around taking the weapon from his attacker's hand and jamming the sharp end into his stomach. Face to face Trip initially believed he was fighting with a Vulcan until his face became visible. When the weapon dropped to the floor Tucker smashed the palms of his hands up into the throat of the assailant throwing him backwards. As the lights came on Trip raised his weapon and the body dematerialized. T'Pol stood in the doorway. Trip's shields dropped bringing intense pain from his connection to her. The suddenness of closing his mind off caused her great distress.

"Are you alright, T'Pol?" Trip moved closer. Wanting to hold her, but knowing she wouldn't be comfortable if he did, he stopped short of touching her.

She touched his arm with her two fingers. The physical connection would help to alleviate their pain as their bond would be reestablished quicker. She wanted to hold her mate also, but would not allow herself to indulge the urge while on duty. "I'm experiencing pain. Why did you use your shields?"

"Whoever attacked me was telepathic. He felt our bond. I think he tried to find who I was bonded to." Trip closed his eyes, taking in deep cleansing breaths. Trying to focus on making the pain stop. "He looked a lot like a Vulcan, but he wasn't."

"Tucker to Lieutenant Reed."

"Reed here."

"We've encountered an intruder. He transported somewhere." Trip's head was pounding now and he wanted nothing more than to get some sleep. Focus and breath kept running through his head.

"We'll keep our eyes open. Stay out of trouble." Malcolm's anxiety level jumped and he became more alert.

"We're trying. Let the Klingons know and find out what they've found. We'll contact you once we get to the control room."

Trip then let T'Pol see in the attack in his mind. Wiping off his hands he saw the blood on them was green. "Are there Vulcans on some other planet somewhere?"

T'Pol froze up inside. The ramifications of this revelation could be disastrous throughout the quadrant. "There are ancient stories, but they are thought to be untrue." T'Pol tried to recall the stories she'd heard as a child. "We must proceed with caution."

They needed to know if that was a Romulan or some other race that may be related to Vulcans. "We'll talk about it before we decide what to do. Let's do what we came here for." He'd interrupted the intruder before he completed the rigging of an explosive device. The engineer decided to leave this for the Tactical Officer as he didn't often get to order him to prevent something from blowing up.

In the control room T'Pol found power being rerouted to a large metal box near what appeared to be the main controls. Trip pried it open. "How is it we keep finding species with portable dampening fields all over the Alpha quadrant, but we haven't snagged one before now?" The invaders, several light years away, who'd tortured T'Pol, Phlox, and the Captain had a similar device.

"I do not know. Once we disconnect this one we will be able to transport it to Enterprise. You and Lieutenant Reed will have something to play with." Teasing him yes, but T'Pol had begun to see that Trip was running out of things he could improve upon on Enterprise.

"Just because I find my work relaxing sometimes doesn't mean it's play. It's technology we need, especially if this came from the Romulans." It would help level the field if they ended up at war with them.

"Reed to Commander Tucker."

"Tucker here."

"Commander, I believe we've found the civilians in the cargo bays, but we have been unable to get the doors to unlock."

"I'll come look as soon as I can. We need you to come take care of a bomb while we disconnect the dampening field we found."

Commander Tucker left Malcolm with the explosives when he arrived. T'Pol had traced all the lines running into the device and had begun disconnecting them. Reed ran when he heard a piercing scream he was sure came from Tucker. He found him attempting to get across the control room holding his arms around his midsection and calling for T'Pol. The Lieutenant held Trip upright until his chest stopped heaving.

The minute Trip saw T'Pol against the far wall his adrenaline kicked in and he rushed to her side. He knew she was conscious, but in pain. He could see burns on her hands and arms and blood coming from a cut on the back of her head. When he touched her cheek he felt the discomfort of the bruises forming where her body had made the most impact with the wall.

T'Pol looked up at Trip. The pain through the bond had abated. T'Pol was actively blocking it from him and he knew it, but let her do what she thought she needed to. It only served to give her something to concentrate on so she herself could ignore the pain until she could muster the strength to get her pain and emotions under control.

"You really need to stop doing this to me. I'm the one who gets hurt on these missions, not you." Trip preferred to be the injured one. He could handle his own pain much better than he could deal with T'Pol being hurt. Ironically, T'Pol had the same thought about him getting hurt.

Trying to lighten his mood a bit. "I believe I discovered why these devices have not been found before." She could see the inside of the container that enclosed the device. The electrical charge that had been released when she reached to break the last connection caused an explosion that melted and fused the inner workings into a solid usable mass. Had she been touching the wiring at the time she would have received enough of a charge to stop her heart instantly. Instead the force sent her flying across the room.

"Next time could you demonstrate your discoveries without hurting yourself." Trip could feel her attempts to make him feel better. It didn't work, but he'd let her try.

Malcolm watched as the two Commanders tried to maintain a professional demeanor. Trip had been able to keep the worry off his face, but not out of his eyes or body language. T'Pol's face was blank, but her eyes were far from it. "You two aren't acting very professional. Get it out of your system before anyone else joins us." Reed gently reminded them. He hoped the lapse was only because they knew he was the only one present.

"Tucker to Enterprise."

"Archer here."

"Captain, you need to transport T'Pol to sickbay."

"How bad is she?" Archer was concerned that his first officer had been injured again.

"She's got burns on her hands and arms, possible concussion, cuts and bruises. She'll be okay."

"How's everyone else?"

"We're fine. We haven't seen the Klingons since we separated, but we think we've located the civilians."

"The transporter is ready." Malcolm stood next to T'Pol.

"Okay, go." Trip moved away from T'Pol and looked to Malcolm as he continued his report to the Captain. "We need to go open the cargo bay doors. If hundreds of people are crammed in those bays they'll want out as soon as possible. We'll be in touch once we have them out."

Trip worked on the locking mechanisms trying to open the bay doors all the while cursing Malcolm for using his phase pistol on them. Pulling wires out trying to determine which ones he might be able to connect to allow the lock to function. After a dozen attempts while groaning from the slices in his skin as the jagged edges of the metal cut into his fingers, his temper got the best of him. Smacking the wall he practically growled at Malcolm. "You get to explain to these people why we had to cut holes in the doors, and they have to replace them as well as the locks." The phase pistol had caused so much damage it was impossible for the engineer to cross wire the unit. "Shooting things isn't always the answer." He removed the cutting torch from his tool kit.

Reed waited until Trip had calmed himself. "She'll be fine, Trip."

"I know that." The doc wasn't done scanning so he couldn't feel her. It was physically painful when they had to totally block out the bond, but it also hurt when they were too far apart. This was supposed to get better with time, but it hadn't improved yet. Trip was beginning to think his human brain wasn't quite up to the challenge of a mating bond the way a Vulcans would be. T'Pol only suffered during their separations because he did.

"Are you ready to get these people out of there?" Malcolm tried to redirect his attention.

"You really have to stop trying to shoot your way through things. And if you're not going to listen to me at least do it right." If he'd used the phaser to cut the lock out instead of cutting holes through it the door would be opened already.

"I'll try to be more considerate in the future." Patience wasn't one of his best qualities, but he could try.

"Mal, do you still have any contacts in Section 31?"

Distressed at the question Malcolm searched Trip's face. "Why?"

"Could you find out what they know about the Romulans? From what you've told me they usually know more than the rest of us."

"I might be able to ask some questions. What exactly do you want to know?" The former spy still had contact with a couple of his former associates.

"I don't want you to do anything if it will cause problems for you. I know you don't want to get mixed up with them again, but if you can discretely make some inquiries I'd appreciate it." How much should he say? "If I need you to could you see if they know where they came from? What they look like?"

Malcolm noticed the cut in Trip's side, but hadn't asked where he got it. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

"I saw who attacked me It might have been a Romulan, but I can't say anything until I talk to..." Who? He needed to talk to the Vulcans. See if they had any information on the Romulans. "..I guess I need to talk to the Vulcans, but I don't know who."

"You think the Romulans have something to do with the Vulcans?"

"I don't know, but it's possible. Don't do anything until we talk to T"Pol. She'll know who we can ask." If the Romulans were related to the Vulcans why hide that fact? Do the Vulcans know about them? If they are related why were they so aggressive? Vulcans may have been less passive under V'Las, but they weren't out to conquer the universe. None of this made sense.

"You're going to leave out that you saw your attacker?" Malcolm wasn't sure if he was comfortable with that.

"We should be able to confirm it was a Romulan. My description wouldn't help do that anyway. Until we know what the fallout could be I'd like to keep it quiet." He hadn't mentioned the telepathy. Trip had to make himself stop thinking about this until later. One question lead to ten more.

"I'll keep quiet until we can talk about it." The tactical officer had a duty to report this to the Captain because it affected Enterprise and Starfleet, but he would give his friends a chance to explain their reservations. If Trip was considering asking him to contact Section 31 knowing how he felt about his past dealings with them there must be something he was missing here.

The Klingons arrived in the corridor demanding assistance freeing the crew of the patrol ship immediately. They'd found the ship locked in one of the docking bays down one level on the other side of the station. The crew remained locked in the bay with explosives rigged to the locking mechanism on the door. Evidently the Klingons lacked the expertise to disable the bomb.

Trip listened to their insistent demands that someone assist them. He swallowed hard as he pushed the anger aside. Get yourself together Tucker. Where's all that Vulcan control you've been practicing for weeks when you really need it? T'Pol will be upset if you're not acting like an officer. He forced a false sense of calm into his voice. "Commander Krejal if you can wait a few minutes Lieutenant Reed will go with you to rescue your crew."

The Commander didn't respond with anything but a grunt of sorts. Malcolm continued to pull on the metal where the engineer had cut through to make a large opening in the first cargo bay door. He and two security crewman entered the bay first. The Klingons went to the other bay door and began pulling the metal back to Trip's amazement. He was sure they hadn't helped out of anything other than self-interest, but he thanked them as he entered the bay.

The closest thing Trip could think of to compare the feel of the air to was a local pet store he had visited often as a kid. Added to that was the smell of humans packed in a small, warm, moist space for several days without food and water. He contacted Enterprise requesting anyone with medic training be sent down to assist with these people.

After a long day of repairing the most immediate damage done to the Control Center Commander Tucker finally made his way back to Enterprise. Slightly dazed he stumbled into sickbay in search of T'Pol. The connection to her mind had been reestablished hours ago, but he needed to touch her. Pushing back his emotions and his need for his mate had taken it's toll. He hardly noticed the doctor's hands tending to the wound in his side and cuts on his hands. T'Pol was not here. He began to search for her in the bond. Letting her move from the back to the front of his mind. She had gone to her quarters and had kept that from him, knowing he would worry less if he thought she were in sickbay under the watchful eye of Phlox.

He looked down at his chest. The doc must be done. "I'm going to get some sleep Doc, see you later." Trip said without thinking as he left sickbay.

When the door to their quarters slide shut T'Pol felt the floodgate of his repressed emotions burst open. They pounded at his psyche. His body ached from the physical exertion of the day, but the mental exertion had taken a much greater toll on him. Pushing his emotions back so he could do what he needed to do all day would have been difficult on its own. The added strain of T'Pol's injuries, losing the bond while Phlox scanned her, being out of physical contact for several hours and so far apart required every ounce of energy he had to ignore the bond and his own needs.

T'Pol led him to the shower. When she reached to turn on the water he saw the bandages and burns on her hands and arms. He knew she couldn't get them wet. Phlox wouldn't be able to treat them with his ointments until tomorrow and until then they had to stay clean and dry.

Caring for him would only cause more pain and risk infection. This shook him out of his stupor. "Darlin, I can do this myself. Go rest and I'll join you when I'm clean."

T'Pol reluctantly left him to his shower. She could feel his internal struggle. He was physically more fatigued than she had ever seem him. She also sensed he was psychologically and emotionally exhausted. Probing their bond she became aware that her mate had learned to hide things from her. She caught pieces of thoughts as they flicked across his conscious mind. Fear for her and of the Romulans. Disillusionment with life. To find what caused these worrisome thoughts T'Pol would need to delve farther into his mind, but she wouldn't do this without asking first. She would wait and speak to him.

As she laid out cushions and prepared the room for neuro-pressure she felt a jab of pain, for mere seconds. Focusing her mind on the source she was startled to discover that Trip had subconsciously been taking on some of her pain and lending her his strength. It must have begun as soon as the bond was reestablished in Sickbay. Being distracted with keeping her shields up and the bond flowing smoothly allowed his mind to secretly aid her. Her own concentration had been on controlling her pain and not distracting Trip so it had gone undetected until he became to drained to maintain uninterrupted control.

The water flowed over his tired, aching body washing the smell and filth of the day off. If only it could remove it from all his senses. Letting go and allowing the relaxing effects of the water to ease the tension in his mind and body Trip felt a jolt in the deepest part of him, as if it had momentarily lost its grasp on something very important. An overpowering sense of protectiveness towards T'Pol inundated his being.

T'Pol felt his need. His instinct was to protect and care for her with total disregard for anyone and anything else. Humans acted on instinct from what Trip had explained as their subconscious. Vulcan training had taught her that examining each and every action with logic prevented one from acting without thought. She had studied this idea of subconscious but found the idea of a mind acting without conscious thought to be dangerous, especially for Vulcans who must be in control. She had no way to prevent something she did not understand. The only thing left to do was to give him time to rest and re-energize himself.

Examining this inherent need to keep his mate safe and well cared for brought a new understanding of how this bond worked. His mind often acted without conscious thought where T'Pol was concerned. These actions were outside of the bond, a part of the man he was before he met the Vulcan. The bond acted on the wants and needs of the bondmates based on their emotions, dreams(which was the subconscious attempting to bring things into one's awareness) and thoughts on a conscious level. And Trip was beginning to believe the strength of the bond was drawn from the strength of the emotions that allowed it to be. He doubted T'Pol had come to this realization because Vulcans spent all their energy denying their emotions and would not wish to admit or discuss the emotional connection the bond represented. They felt it but they just couldn't say it in words. If they could, expressing emotions to their bondmate wouldn't be so difficult.

When he entered the room he saw her waiting ready to give him the care she could sense he needed. The impulse to argue because of her injured hands was squelched. He simply laid down and whispered a thank you and requested she be careful.

The door chime sounded. T'Pol threw a blanket over the sleeping body on the floor, covering his lack of clothing, so the assertion that he had fallen asleep from exhaustion during their neuro-pressure session could appear feasible.

The door opened. "May I come in T'Pol?"

"Of course, Malcolm." T'Pol stepped back allowing him to enter.

"I came to talk to you and Trip about...." His voice trailed off when he saw Trip sleeping before him.

She knew Trip had asked him to wait before discussing all the details of the day with Captain Archer, but Trip and T'Pol needed to talk first. "As you can see we will not be able to talk until Trip has rested. He returned suffering from exhaustion and we have not discussed the events of today."

"I don't know what he's afraid of, but something spooked him. All I know is it has something to do with Vulcans and Romulans. Has he told you anything?"

"I have picked up hints of what he's thinking about, but he has mastered keeping things from me very well. After he has slept for several hours and has a meal he will tell me what's wrong." She knew he would wake during the night. He rarely slept more than 6 hours at a time unless the doctor gave him a sedative. She already planned to slip out to the galley to retrieve dinner for them.

"Can we met for breakfast?" The sooner the better was Malcolm's thought. They'd already reported to the Captain and Trip did tell Archer everything, but that he'd seen the attacker. Reed needed to know why his friend felt it necessary to withhold that piece of information.

"Archer to Trip." The hand held by the bed sounded.

T'Pol looked down at the sleeping Trip. She did not want to wake him, but if the Commander did not answer the comm the Captain would worry and show up at his door.

Malcolm stepped over Trip, reached for the unit, and opened it. With a slight whisper to his voice. "Captain this is Lieutenant Reed. Trip and I were talking and he fell asleep."

"Is he alright?" Jon could just imagine. Trip often drove himself until he passed out from lack of sleep.

"Yes, Captain. I think he just needs a good night's sleep."

"I'll catch up with him in the morning, then." Archer had seen how worn out he was and Phlox said he left Sickbay in a daze.

"Goodnight Captain."

Trip began to stir. T'Pol knelt beside him and closed her eyes for a second as Malcolm looked on. He had observed them touching without her being aware, but now she massaged the inside of his wrist then stroked through his hair as she whispered softly into his ear. Whatever she was saying calmed him back to a restful sleep.

--

The room was dark when he woke. T'Pol was snuggled up to him in their makeshift bed on the floor. He remembered laying down. T'Pol had used her elbow to apply pressure to several points on his back. When she got to his shoulders there were two points that released an enormous amount of tension and then he must have fallen asleep. That was 5 hours ago. His stomach growled and he felt lightheaded due to lack of food. He hadn't eaten since breakfast the previous morning. Thoughts of the unappetizing offerings he could find in the galley told him he'd have to wait several more hours for breakfast. As he began pushing aside his hunger he heard T'Pol letting him know dinner was on the desk.

After their impromptu picnic, in the middle of the night, the couple cuddled together on the bed. T'Pol had been thinking of questions, when Trip began to talk.

"I understand why Vulcans don't talk about being telepathic. It would make too many people nervous if they knew Vulcans can read their minds. But why do they keep bonding a secret?" Trip had begun to formulate his own thoughts on Vulcan's lack of sharing.

"It is considered an intimate thing between parents and children or bondmates. My father told me it was also a matter of security. If it was known that Vulcans are bonded to their children and their spouses it could be used against them." Suddenly T'Pol understood Trip's concern.

"T'Pol we need to talk to somebody on Vulcan. If that was a Romulan then we have a big problem. He was telepathic and he knew about bonds and that means the Romulans know I'm bonded and it's not going to be too difficult for them to figure out to who."

T'Pol tried to look at this logically, but between her mates emotions and her own she found it difficult. "That puts us and Enterprise at greater risk." She knew they would have to talk to someone connected to the High Council. "We need to contact Ambassador Soval."

"We need to speak to him face to face not over subspace. I know we can get secured transmissions, but I don't want any records and there are still too many ears out there." Section 31 came to mind. Malcolm told him they had gathered too much information on any number of people and issues that could not have come from normal channels. They had to be eavesdropping on private conversations and he was not going to take any chances with T'Pol's safety.

"I will have Ensign Sato contact him today. Do you wish to be present during our discussion." T'Pol already knew he would say yes, but asked anyway.

"Yeah, I want to see him when he answers a couple of my questions." Vulcans were known to be expressionless, but Trip had learned what body language they weren't so practiced at hiding. "We have to know if it's possible that Romulans are in the Vulcan family tree." Trip had the weapon the attacker had used. It had his blood on it, but it also had the attackers. If testing were needed to confirm the lineage then he wanted the DNA available.

T'Pol had all the same questions Trip had. "If Romulans are related to Vulcans why would they hide that fact? It would serve to plant the seeds of distrust between Vulcans and all other species." All they had learned of the Romulans said they were only interested in expanding their empire, so why not do whatever they could to destabilize the quadrant?

"I don't know, but until we know for sure what's going on, we need to be very careful. We'll have to tell Malcolm about this so he can be prepared." Being captured and tortured by the Romulans was not part of the future Trip wanted to think about.

"We are to have breakfast here with him. He stopped by earlier. The Captain thinks you fell asleep in your quarters while speaking with him." T'Pol explained about the Captain's call.

At breakfast Malcolm agreed to keep the quiet about Trip's encounter on K-7. If what he and T'Pol suspected were true and if the Romulans knew about Vulcan bonds then his job just got harder. He had to protect both of the Commanders without making it obvious.

--

Frustrated Trip complained. "T'Pol I need you here. There has to be a better way to rewire this mess, but I need you to help me figure it out." She always made his work easier when he needed to bounce ideas around or find alternate solutions.

"The Doctor have determined that I must remain in my quarters for 2 more days and the Captain made it an order. We are on duty you should refer to me a Commander."

"You're not on duty."

"You are Commander Tucker; therefore; you must remain professional."

He burst out laughing. "I'm not going to be all formal and professional when I'm talking in my head." She could be so damn exasperating at times. No one could hear... Irony. That's what Malcolm kept calling her humor.

The others in the room all looked at him with questioning eyes. "Great, now they all think I'm losing my mind. Thanks darlin."

"You are very welcomed." T'Pol teased.

"Now that you've had your fun for the day I still need help." There were no schematics to send her, so that was out.

She appreciated the fact that he would ask for her help and offered a suggestion. "You can let me see what you are working on."

"What? How's that supposed to work?"

"I can see inside your mind and ..."

He understood. "I just need to visualize it in my head and project it to you like a memory." He tried to form a picture in his mind of the wiring mess in front of him and project it to her.

The strain on him was too much. "Trip, stop for a minute. I need you to search deep within your mind and find a connection you have there with me." She knew she needed to make him aware of it soon anyway. Because he had been giving her some of his strength her wounds were healing faster than normal. If it continued she would have to come up with an explanation for the Dr. Phlox.

Why would he need to look for the bond it was right there? "What connection?" Trip began to search through his own mind. Sure enough there it was. He knew it immediately. Some part of him felt it when he was in the shower, but had chosen to ignore it.

He'd found it, she knew. "You must sever the connection. You have done all you can to help me with the pain." She had her control back now.

"I don't know how to stop it." He hadn't knowingly started it, but really liked the idea that he acted without really knowing it.

"Just concentrate on the flow of energy and redirect it back to you until it stops." This was how a healing trance worked. You directed the energy where you needed it to go and then you directed it back at itself when you needed it to return to normal.

As he did what she suggested he felt the energy return to his own body. Her pain spiked until she brought it under control. He again attempted to visualize the images and projected them to her.

----

The discussion with Ambassador Soval had been cryptic and short. Trip brought up their previous communication and the mission only to be interrupted by the Ambassador. Soval held his hand up and simply stated he had other obligations that needed his immediate attention and he would be in touch very soon. When the transmission ended the couple found they had more questions than they had before.

Two days later Enterprise headed to the Deep Space Station 12. Malcolm was becoming anxious about completing the recalibration to his targeting sensors. The bridge crew was intently working on what had become their top priority again. T'Pol mentioned to both the chief engineer and tactical officer that the motion sensors had continued to consistently log the blips as before, until she picked up a Vulcan battle cruiser on long range sensors scans. The gut feeling of Trip's got stronger.

The chief engineer was in a forward Jeffries tube working on tweaking the sensors. He contorted his body around to see who had opened the door.

"Hey Hess, what's up? Did you get that diagnostic done?" Assuming she had come for a new assignment.

"Not yet, sir. Captain Archer wants you to met him in docking bay 2. Seems we have visitors."

Trip placed his tools back in the kit. "I'll finish this when I get back. Keep everyone out of... Is Billy free?"

"He just finished the adjustments you asked him to do. He's got that down, getting to be almost as quick as you."

"He's coming along. Gonna make a hell of an engineer. Send him over here and tell him to finish from where I left off." Trip had gotten about halfway through the adjustments. He wanted to see if the Ensign could determine where to start and if he would ask for assistance when he got to the part that only Trip could complete. Making on the fly changes was a trademark Tucker move and his engineers had to be confident enough to ask for help when they needed it.

On the way to the docking bay Trip felt T'Pol giving him a mental jab. He'd placed her and the bond to the back of his mind. She had something to tell him that couldn't wait and he hadn't responded to her normal attention getters.

"T'Pol please stop smacking me."

"If you did not ignore me I would not have to 'smack' you, Commander."

She seemed a little testy. Calling him Commander was a sure sign of something being wrong. "Did I do something to make you mad?"

"No, Ambassador Soval is on the shuttle."

He could feel her apprehension. "What are you upset about?" It was usual for him to just stop by light years away from anything of interest to Vulcan. Maybe it was the fact that Vulcans would be boarding the ship. The bond. "We have to shield them out." Trip started putting up some of his shields right then. No use taking the chance of projecting his thoughts in case they were close enough to hear them.

T'Pol listened to his conversation with himself. She found if she just waited his brain would catch up to his words and he'd answer his own questions. "Once the doors open on the shuttle you will need to do as we have been practicing. There can be no communication through the bond unless there are no Vulcans in the same room." The bulkheads would serve to block telepathic contact of non-bonded Vulcans.

"I know Commander." He slipped right up next to her as she passed the corridor he stood waiting for her in. "I'm ready." All their shields went up.

Captain Archer joined them in the docking bay. "T'Pol do you know what Soval wants?"

She had no idea, but the Ambassador made it to Enterprise in 2 days. "The Ambassador does not confide in me regarding his duties. Captain." If this visit had anything to do with their communication with him, what official reason would he give Captain Archer?

Soval stepped out of the pod followed by Captain Talvan and Sub Commander Sagorn. His hand formed the ta'al. "Live long and prosper, Captain Archer." He turned the Commanders. "Live, long and prosper, Commander Tucker and Commander T'Pol."

Both Commanders returned the ta'al with the standard 'peace and long life' while Archer responded with 'nice to see you Ambassador'.

"Captain, I have much to discuss with you and your staff. Would it be an imposition if I were to remain aboard until I have concluded my business here?"

"I'll have Commander T'Pol take you to your quarters. I'll call a staff meeting in 2 hours if that's all right. I'm afraid I have a scheduled call with Admiral Gardner." Did Gardner know Soval was here? That must be why he was calling.

As if he heard the unasked question. "Tell the Admiral I will return to the Consulate in 3 days for our meeting."

The Captain headed back to the bridge leaving Trip and T'Pol with Soval. "Ambassador, if you don't mind I'll walk along with you and T'Pol."

Not wanting to speak in the open corridors. "I need to speak to both of you. I will come to Commander T'Pol's quarters this evening after dinner."

"Okay, then I'm going to go back to Engineering." Looking to T'Pol. "Commander could you have someone remind me before the meeting starts." T'Pol had gotten into the habit of giving him a reminder of the time when he was concentrating on some task at work and there was somewhere he was supposed to be. Without the bond she would have to comm him or his staff. Leaving them meant he could relax some of his shields. Keeping them all up was not like keeping some of them up to keep things to himself. He didn't have years of practice to make it an effortless undertaking like the Vulcans did.

The staff meeting went well. The Vulcan High Council sent various reports of Romulan activity and sensor blips, similar to the one's Enterprise had been experiencing, believed to be connected to the Romulans. After dinner Trip and T'Pol went to their quarters to meditate and await Soval's arrival.

The chime sounded and Trip felt as if someone reached inside his chest and grabbed hold. Trying to breath he wrapped his arms tighter around T'Pol. "It's alright darlin, relax." Fear hit with such force it startled him. "I'll get the door and you calm down." As he answered the door he put his shields back up.

Ambassador Soval stepped into the room. "Good Evening Commanders."

"Evening Ambassador." Trip answered back. T'Pol who was standing ramrod straight with her hands tightly clasped behind her back with her stoic face on only nodded to the guest. Trip offered Soval a seat and tea before he sat down on the bed.

T"Pol considered the other chair in the room before she also sat on the bed. Not knowing how else to cut through the tension in the room Trip opened his mouth and started talking.

"Ambassador, there a a couple of things we need to discuss, but before I begin I need your word...." He had no basis on which to ask for his word. Normally he would ask based on friendship or if he were a doctor he'd used his oath, but he was a Vulcan Ambassador. "...Well we need you to keep some of what we have to tell you private."

"I cannot give you my word until I know to what you are referring."

Trip decided to jump right in. "This is going to sound like a strange request, but I need you to drop your shields." The reaction was about what he'd expected. Shock registered from Soval, but it also came from T'Pol. "Not all your shields just the ones that what your thinking right now come through."

The Ambassador didn't know what to say. Trip had never seen him speechless before. "Commander, I do not think it wise to allow my thoughts to be heard by anyone at present."

Trip took that to mean he wasn't thinking anything nice at the moment, but he pressed on anyway. "Can you read my mind without touching me Ambassador?"

oval thought him rude, but also wanted to know where this line of questioning was headed. "From your question am I to understand that you are aware of Vulcans mental abilities?" He gave T'Pol a severe look as he asked.

Trip dropped his own shields. "If you'd do as I ask you'd have your answer." Challenging the Vulcan to comply.

Soval relaxed his barriers. He was not a strong telepath, but being this close he could hear Tuckers thoughts. Then he felt the Commander tug at his mind. Not invasively, but just enough to let Soval know he was there before he left. "You are a telepath Commander?" Vulcans believed Humans were incapable of forming telepathic connections.

"I seems I am. Kinda surprised me too." "Darlin can he hear us talk to each other?"

"No, but he will feel the connection between us." No Vulcan could hear their words. They could only feel the connection like a vibration in the room.

Soval felt their bond. Looking to his Vulcan protege'. "Are you bonded to him?"

"Yes." T'Pol dropped her eyes.

Soval knew they were close by watching the Commanders increasing use of Vulcan techniques of meditation and relaxation and he'd suspected they were closer than friends, but having it confirmed was still a shock. A Human and Vulcan as bondmates. "Does anyone else know of this?"

Trip saw his mate's reluctance to discuss their bond. "Lieutenant Reed and Dr. Kievel are the only ones who know. Malcolm because he's our friend and the tactical officer and the Doctor you know about."

Looking directly at T'Pol again Soval inquired. "Did you seek to form this bond?"

Discussing the bond was one thing, but invading what T'Pol considered private between them was another. "The details of our bond are private. We're bonded and that's all we're going to say about it." Trip stated forcefully.

The Ambassador was impressed that this young man would so adamantly protect his mate and her culture. "You are correct your bond is private, but there must be some reason you found it necessary to inform me of it."

"First, we need to know what you and the High Council know abut the Romulans. Like where did they come from? What do they look like?"

"Why would you think we know anymore than you do about them?" Soval did know more, but he needed to understand why these two wanted to know.

"If you read our report you know I was attacked on K-7." Soval had read the report and nodded in the affirmative. "I left out one important detail. When I first saw his face and ears I thought he was Vulcan. Then I saw the ridges on his forehead, which said he probably wasn't a Vulcan, but maybe he's a distant cousin." Trip watched his reaction.

The report did not mention seeing the attackers face. "So you think this attacker was a Romulan and may be related to Vulcans?"

"That's what we need you to tell us, if you know."

"The Commander felt it necessary to protect Vulcans if this is true as the ancient stories suggest." T'Pol finally joined the discussion.

"There is much we have recently learned of the Romulans." Soval told them of the recent discoveries of Romulans posing as Vulcans on their home world. V'Las had been working with a Romulan named Valdore. They are the descendants of a group of Vulcans who separated from Vulcans thousands of years ago, in a desire to retain their aggressive nature.

"If they're related then why hide that fact?"

"We do not know why they hide their appearance. We only know they wish to conquer this quadrant and reunify our two peoples." The goals of the Romulans had been the subject of many discussions amongst the High Council.

Trip could accept that. The Romulans were more secretive than the Vulcans. "Well then our other problem is that this Romulan was telepathic. When he touched me I felt him in my mind trying to find out about our bond until my shields went up."

"Did he discover who your bondmate was?" Concern became evident in his eyes.

"No, he didn't, but how hard is it going to be for them to figure that out. There's only one Vulcan on Enterprise. If they know that then it makes us targets."

Soval considered his statement for a minute. "I assume you're worried for your safety and that of your crew."

"Yes, but mostly I'm worried about T'Pol. I won't let anything happen to her, but I'd like to keep us both safe without discussing telepathy or bonds or anything else Vulcans consider private and intimate." He remembered another question he had. "By the way if Romulans are telepaths why did they need Gareb or the Aenars to pilot those drone ships?"

"From what we've been able to discover about the Romulans they are xenophobic and very loyal to their own kind. They may kill themselves to keep from being captured to protect their Empire, but they would not harm another Romulan citizen and bring about their eventual death that way. It's possible that they are only touch telepaths as many of their ancestors empathic and telepathic abilities have been lost over the years, but that they knew enough to develop such technology and seek a being with much stronger telepathy." Over generations their biology would alter itself to eliminate the unused abilities, leaving smaller and smaller numbers of those with any telepathic tendencies each generation.

"So what now? We have some answers but there are still a lot of questions." Trip was really worried as to why every conversation about the Romulans made that feeling in his gut grow stronger?

"I will honor your request and keep news of your bond to myself." The Ambassador knew there were decisions the Commanders were going to face very soon, but he also realized they knew this also. There was no advice he could offer without asking too many personal questions of the pair. They knew the dangers and would have to act accordingly. "Until we understand their motives we must keep Vulcans ties to the Romulans quiet and you must find your own path through the many problems you may face." The High Council had already begun to conceal their infiltration of Vulcan society as much as possible. They could not afford to lose the support of the already weakened Coalition of Planets if there was to be a war.

Ambassador Soval returned to the quarters assigned to him. After meeting with Captain Archer the next day he boarded the shuttlepod and left.

Once the goodbyes were over Commander Tucker sat in his office waiting for a transmission he had asked Hoshi to arrange.

"Trip Tucker, I haven't heard from you in months." The Commander was surprised to be hearing from his old friend. Trip hadn't been in touch since he transferred to Columbia and he always sent written messages. They hadn't spoken in 2 years.

"Sorry about that Scott. It's been a rough few months. I hear you're in R&D now." Lieutenant Commander Scott Nielson had been a friend since their days at Starfleet. They were in engineering and became fast friends. Scott chose to stay planet side as he liked having his feet firmly on solid ground.

"I've ranked out and Mags wants another baby, so I needed to make the move to bump up the pay scale. So what do you need?" Trip must need a special favor or he would have just written.

"You always were the get to the point kind of guy. I need you to do some investigating for me. See what you can find out about any opportunities I might be interested in on Earth." Trip knew his friend had the connections in Starfleet to find out for him.

"I thought you were happy out there in space? Wanted to see new worlds and meet new people." Scott had been there when Trip got his commission to Enterprise. He'd been on top of the world.

"I like it out here, but things change. I need to know what my options are." He couldn't tell him anymore. "Just see if there's room for me in any of the warp drive development teams."

"Should I keep your name out of it or can I say who's interested?" Commander Nielson could find out, but if he could say who he was inquiring for it would make it so much easier.

"Be discrete. I haven't said anything to Jon and I really don't want to unless I'm ready to leave." He hadn't spoken to T'Pol either. He didn't even know if she'd want to go to Earth. Maybe she'd prefer to stay on Enterprise or go to Vulcan.

"Got it. How is Jon these days. I haven't heard from him in two years. You guys went into the expanse and that was it." Trip had kept in touch writing at least once a month. Didn't say much, beyond what could be found in the reports to Starfleet, but he had kept in touch.

"He's better, but he's still not good. I've tried to help him, but I can't. We're not as close as we used to be."

"I told you what would happen when you decided to ship out with him as your superior officer. What was it you said? We've been friends for years, we'll be fine."

"You were right. He can't be my Captain and my best friend at the same time. If the Xindi hadn't attacked we might have pulled it off, but that changed everything." Trip got a far away look in his eyes. That's why he was so adamant about this. He could not lose anybody else.

"How are your folks? I saw them last year at the memorial service in Florida. They didn't look as if they'd gotten over Lizzie's death." The dark circles under their eyes and almost robotic movement the whole time they were there told him they were still mourning her loss.

"We don't talk about her. I haven't talked to them since the service for Elizabeth. It's taken me a while to deal with everything and you're right they still haven't let Lizzie go." He'd been out of touch because he wasn't ready to tell them about T'Pol. They would accept her, but they needed time to be a couple without having to define or defend themselves.

"Well you seem better." Scott heard someone interrupt Trip.

"I am better. Hey, Scott I have to go. One of my guys needs help with some of my modifications."

"Yeah, I remember what it's like trying to work on something that you redesigned." Trip Tucker changed specs all the time, but never wrote them down. Some things never change, and in this case it was probably better that it didn't. Starfleet came to the point of seeing that if Trip had to spend time documenting his work he'd never have time to brainstorm some of his most innovative ideas and warp engines would never have gotten past warp 4. "I'll be in touch." The transmission ended.

Trip went with Ensign Billy Rivers to help him complete the sensors tweaks.

Enterprise made several stops at the space stations Starfleet had assigned them to visit. The communication problems had disappeared, but they were ordered to continue and survey the area as they went. Trip and T'Pol had been working with several Vulcan engineers via the comm link to work out what the blips on their motion tracking sensors were. Because several ships had reported the same phenomenon it was determined the cause was not a system failure or glitch. Ambassador Soval convinced the High Command that working on the problem together was the best route to finding a solution. That they agreed was a pleasant surprise for the chief engineer. He enjoyed having fresh perspectives when problem-solving and he also found he had developed as easy camaraderie with his Vulcan counterparts. Vulcans still had too much classified and hidden from the Humans, but an engineer was still an engineer no matter what his species. And whether they showed it or not many of them did have a sense of humor behind all that emotional control. It helped that he had acquired a new perspective regarding Vulcans, since becoming involved with T'Pol.

Captain Archer commed Trip to come see him immediately. When he entered the ready room the feeling in the air was chilly. The stern look on the Captain's face snapped the Commander to attention the minute the door closed behind him. He stood there silently waiting to see what had brought this mood about.

"Commander, Admiral Gardner has just informed me that word is you are looking to be transferred off Enterprise."

His heart dropped to his stomach. He turned slightly and banged his head against the wall. "Damn, Damn, Damn." T'Pol is going to kill me came first, then came Jon is pissed right behind it. T'Pol should be here for this, but I.... "I'm sorry Captain I'll be back there's something I have to take care right now." Trip exited the room in search of T'Pol leaving his captain sitting at his desk asking himself if he should have Malcolm find his wayward chief engineer and escort him back here.

When Trip stepped on to the bridge looking at the science station he already knew she wasn't there. She had been working with Malcolm on repairing a sensor in the command center. Reed for the first time had no active repairs, modifications, or requests for the armory or tactical stations, so he volunteered to assist her. Locating her through their bond the young man went to speak to her, all the way there trying to decide how best to approach her. The minute she saw him she knew something was amiss.

"Commander, is there a problem?"

"You might say that. We need to talk."

"We are on duty Commander, we can talk later."

"No, T'Pol we need to talk now and not here." Speaking through the bond was not private when they were both bound to get emotional and this conversation would most definitely make her emotional.

Trip walked down the corridor to a small room. T'Pol followed closing the door as she entered.

"Darlin, I'm sorry but I've done something and the Captain found out. I contacted a friend back on Earth..... I know I should have told you about it, but I wanted to wait until I knew if there was a possibility before I talked to you. This friend must have asked the wrong person questions and now Admiral Gardner knows."

T'Pol stood there listening to his rambling trying to piece together what he was trying to tell her. The only thing she had any clue about at the moment was that her bondmate was terrified she was going to be angry at him. "Trip."

"I'm really sorry T'Pol..."

"TRIP."

He looked up. "What?"

In an attempt to get him to refocus. "What did you do?"

"Well, I got really worried about the Romulans and I asked a friend to check around and see if there was a planetside warp drive position for me. I thought maybe we could transfer back to Earth or Vulcan, except I can't ask about anything on Vulcan. But if there aren't any jobs on Earth or you would rather go to Vulcan you can..." He verbal excursion ended when he realized nerves had taken over and he had no idea what he was saying.

"So you inquired about a possible transfer to Earth?"

He could hear all her unspoken questions. "Yes. I should have told you about what I've been thinking about. I planned on telling you, but now Jon is waiting to talk to me about this and I thought you should be there too."

"You wish to leave Enterprise?"

"We can talk about it, but yes I think I want to. I want more than this with you and a starship isn't safe at the best of times, but the Romulans make it an even a bigger risk than I'm willing to take with your life." If they were going to remain a ship of exploration staying would be acceptable for a while, but they both needed new challenges and while a secret romance was exciting in the beginning it got old real fast.

"You plan to tell Captain Archer of our relationship?"

If she wanted to stay where they were they couldn't tell him. "I guess that depends on what you want to do. I wish we could take the time to discuss this, but I just left Jon sitting there and came to talk to you."

"If you want to then we will leave, but we need to discuss where we are to go." T'Pol hadn't thought about where they would go after Enterprise and to make a choice they would need time to study the possibilities. Why he chose to keep this from her was a matter for further discussion, but not now.

"Then we both go and talk to Jon and tell him about our relationship?"

"Yes." T'Pol turned and exited the room in the direction of the bridge.

Walking beside her Trip sought any feelings of anger or disappointment and found none. There were no signs of her suppressing her emotions and he was baffled. He'd expected her to be furious and do her version of yelling, which included withdrawing from the bond and giving him a hellacious headache. In the turbolift he extended his two fingers. When she reciprocated he quietly said "I'm really sorry."

Jonathon Archer had reached his boiling point. Just as he reached for the comm button to summon Lieutenant Reed the door chime sounded. "Come in."

Trip stepping though the doorway was expected, but T'Pol close behind was not.

"Sorry Captain. This conversation doesn't just involve me. T'Pol needs to be here too."

Archer had this sinking feeling in his stomach. "Is what Admiral Gardner heard true?"

"Yes, sir. I asked a friend to quietly make some inquiries for me about planetside positions with Starfleet."

"You want to transfer again? Do I get to know why this time?" Trip refused to say why he left for Columbia and he didn't say why he came back either.

"Well, a lot has changed in the last couple of years and...."

T'Pol could see another rambling explanation so she stepped in and took the direct approach. "Captain, the Commander, Trip and I have become involved and we find we can no longer perform our duties and remain in this relationship; therefore; we have decided it would be best if we were to leave Enterprise." She looked at her mate to see a grateful look in his eyes.

"You can't date and still maintain a professional relationship? You have been discrete, but I do know you've been involved for some time now and it hasn't been a problem."

"We aren't dating Jon. We're together." Trip clarified.

"What does that mean? You're together."

"It means we're in a permanent, lifelong relationship."

"Okay, so why can't you keep doing what you've been doing?" He was willing to pretend this conversation never happened.

"Because every time T'Pol goes on an away mission I can't think straight because I'm worried something is going to happen to her. I can't sleep and I don't eat because I miss her when she's not here." Trip wanted her as safe as possible.

Trip being overly emotional about a girlfriend wasn't unusual, but T'Pol wasn't emotional and she wasn't objecting to his sentiments. "You agree with him T'Pol?"

"It has become difficult for either of us to work when we are separated. My health is of great concern for both the Commander and myself. He has been severely injured or ill several times and we feel it would be best if we no longer worked in space." T'Pol told the truth, but left out the details.

"You're in love and want to get married?" Maybe he could get Starfleet to make an exception.

Trip glanced at T'Pol. "We haven't talked about a marriage ceremony. We just want to see what the possibilities are so we can decide what we want to do."

"What if I could get Starfleet to allow you to stay on board and get married?"

"It wouldn't change anything." Trip was frustrated that Jon didn't want to accept this.

"If you were married you could share quarters. You're the engineer you could remodel to make more room." When he said it he knew there was something he wasn't aware of, but refrained from asking.

Announcing they were living together like this seemed wrong, so Trip let it go for now. "Jon, we need to leave and I wanted to wait until we knew what we were doing before I talked to you. We just got back to being friends and I don't want to do anything to mess that up, but this is what we need to do. I hope you understand."

"I'll try Trip, but it's just not the same when you're not here." They hadn't been as close, but it was still better than when he transferred last time. There was still time to change their minds.

"I need a favor?" Trip felt a little guilty asking now, but he didn't see any other way.

"What?"

"I need you to keep our relationship to yourself for a while. If Starfleet finds out before we're ready it makes the chances of us getting transferred together less likely." Trip didn't know how they were going to manage this if they went to Earth, he just knew they needed to keep it a secret until they were settled somewhere.

When Jon agreed Trip assumed it was out of friendship, but Jon wanted him to stay on Enterprise and that would be impossible once Starfleet got involved. He couldn't even imagine what would happen if the Vulcans got wind of this.

The bridge crew continued to work on increasing the sensitivity of the motion sensors to enhance their tracking and recording of the blips. Archer observed the previously un-emotional face of his chief engineer return to the expressive appearance he was accustomed to. There were no angry, over-exuberant outburst or any kind, but the happy, content smile had returned.

Admiral Gardner was upset that the Commander wanted to transfer off Enterprise. This meant he and Archer would have to find someone to replace him and the choices were limited to a group of Lieutenant Commanders who had no hands-on experience or putting Lieutenant Hess on a fast track for promotion. The two chose to ignore the problem and hope it would simply go away, but Trip refused to cooperate. He contacted Scott again relaying the news that he was looking for a planetside position openly.

Then everything changed. Captain Archer received a report from Starfleet command. The Romulans attacked and destroyed all of Starfleet's ship building stations in orbit or located on moons or planets near Earth. Earth formally declared themselves at war with the Romulans.

A/N: I started off intending to keep Trip and T'Pol on Enterprise. Some part of me must not believe they can stay aboard a ship at war and be bonded and in love.

Deep Space Station K-7 was home to one of my favorite original series episodes (The Trouble with Tribbles).