Healing to Your Life – Chapter 8
The ride home was uneventful; yet nerve wracking. Taggart arrived with the shuttlepod at a rear exit of Starfleet HQ and loaded the stretcher holding T'Pol. Trip stood by with the supplies silently praying nothing went wrong. The security teams scanned and rescanned the house after walking the perimeter several times before allowing the pair to enter.
Once settled, after arguing about switching sides of the bed with him to prevent his accidentally bumping the wound in her chest, Trip left his wife sleeping. When she decided to be stubborn about something he often didn't stand a chance. He determined he needed to try to understand what things she was likely to be uncompromising about, but things like this confounded him. And people accused him of being bull-headed.
Trip Tucker sat at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea, trying to talk himself into eating. He'd pulled a selection of unappetizing leftovers from the refrigeration unit and dumped them on a plate, but could only stare at the makeshift meal in his weary state.
The door bell sounded startling him, then causing him to run to answer it, so the noise wouldn't wake T'Pol.
"Captain Tucker, I'm Jeff Mukavey." The man said as he offered his hand.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Mukavey. I'm Trip. Would you like to come in?"
Trip dismissed Kaso. "Thanks Sub-Commander, we'll be fine." Trip watched the Vulcan walk back down the driveway.
"I'm Jeff, by the way." He passed him the dish he held in his hand. "Betty thought you could use a meal for tonight. Heard you've had a busy day."
Trip couldn't stop the ironic laughter. "You could say that." Holding the dish against his body he walked back to the table, pointing to the plate sitting there. "I was trying to convince myself this would taste good." The odor now assaulting his nose reminded him he hadn't eaten all day. "Tell your wife I said thanks. She's right, it really seemed like too much work to make anything." He lifted the lid to find what looked to be a vegetable casserole of some kind. Thankful T'Pol could eat it too.
"How's your wife?" Jeff asked lowering his voice.
"She's in the other room sleeping, finally." Trip sat heavily in the chair he'd been occupying before, placing the dish down as well.
Not expecting Mrs. Tucker to be home, the reports of the injury she'd received said it was severe, Mukavey considered leaving. "I wish this could have waited, but there was a reporter at our house today asking questions about you. I thought you'd want to know. Susie got very defensive and told her off before my wife came out and threw her off our property." He really had wanted to wait, but seeing all the activity around the house today had convinced him it might be better to warn them sooner rather than later.
"I'm sorry." His hand swiped through the air. "This place is listed under a shell corporation, so nobody could find our house. Someone must have followed us." Trip was so glad he'd followed Malcolm's advice and set up the dummy company to protect their privacy, but it hadn't worked and now there was something else to worry about.
Jeff could see the anxiety his news had caused. "Actually, Susie says it might be her fault. She mentioned that our new neighbor, the warp engineer, was going to help her fix her scooter. She thinks the reporter is one of her classmates' mother. The woman only asked about you. We don't think she knows you're married. Susie and Jamie have both promised not to mention you to anyone again." He was trying desperately to alleviate some of Tucker's anxiousness.
"Tell her it's okay. She shouldn't have to keep secrets about her friends and neighbors and we're really sorry it's necessary." Not only did he and T'Pol have to keep secrets now he had the neighbor kids doing it too. "Are there any other families with kids nearby?" Couldn't have anyone else being harassed.
"There's the Rogers. They live about a mile back through the woods. They have a boy about Susie's age. Stevie, I think. He comes over to play once in a while but he seems to be the bookish type. Plays indoors a lot." Jeff knew why he'd asked. This only made him want to ask how concerned they should be.
"I'll have my security guys check it out. Make sure nobody bothers them. Guess we need to keep the whole neighborhood safe since we're the reason for all the interest." Trip ran his hand through his hair and downwards to its resting place pulling at the back of his neck. "Can you ask Susie or your wife if they know that reporter's name?"
Trip's arm dropped to his side as his head snapped toward the bedroom. "Excuse me." Trip said as he stood and raced out of the room.
"Dammit, T'Pol you're supposed to be sleeping." He moved to assist her, but stopped short when she glared toward their guest. In a whisper he snapped at her. "You're hurt. I think you can forget the no touching and let me help you."
Her arm came up to stop him. "No. I'm fine. I wish to lay on the couch. Could you bring me a cup of mint tea?" Wanting to give him a task to help relieve his worry.
Trip stood there trying to decide what to do. Ignore her edict about no touching or comply and get her tea. Seeing the determination in her face he turned to the kitchen muttering under his breath. "Damn woman can be so damn......" His gaze went to the table where their neighbor was still sitting. "Sorry about that. She can make me so totally irrational, like that." He snapped his fingers.
Jeff cracked a knowing smile. "I completely understand. You've met my wife, Betty. She's a ball of fire when she gets worked up, so I know exactly what you're talking about." He tried to be supportive as he watched Trip slam the cup onto the counter before he poured water over the teabag. "Maybe I should come back some other time. It looks like you've got your hands full and what I wanted to ask about can wait." Jeff pushed the chair back from the table and started to rise.
Trip was sure he knew what he wanted to talk about. He might as well get it over now. "Hang on. Let me get her settled and then we can talk. It'll give me a chance to cool down before I manage to make things worse." Trip took several deep cleansing breaths trying to reign in his anger as he grasped the teacup, so tightly his knuckles turned white, and went to do what he could to help T'Pol.
He came back and again sat down at the table. "If I were I'd be worried about the safety of my family with all the attention your new neighbors seem to be drawing." Trip could see the look of understanding from the man across the table from him.
"Yeah, 24 hours of news coverage about the heads of the new Warp Development Project, your records aboard your ship, and all the aliens you're working with seems to be all anyone wants to talk about." Jeff Mukavey couldn't believe the press coverage. Colleagues at the office had been abuzz about them all day. It was worse than when they won the war with the Xindi.
"Your security teams have been fairly thorough checking the neighborhood today. The kids think it's all some big game. Jamie even asked if he could get you to teach him to fight with the sticks you were using the other day when they were here."
Mukavey paused for a minute. "I just need to know my wife and kids are safe. Will your security teams keep them out of harms way if something happens? Because I don't think it's going to work if we just forbid Susie and Jamie to come over here?" All they talked about was the engineer who was so nice to them and his Vulcan wife, who wasn't mean and did touch sometimes. They liked the couple and he and his wife would have to lock them in the house or move to keep them away from their new neighbors.
Trip half expected him to say he didn't want his kids to come around anymore. "We have a safe room, under the garage. If there's any trouble they'd be locked in there until it's safe. If there ever is any trouble you can come here or call here and security will help you. I'll talk to them and see what they can come up with. They might already have plans in place. I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet."
Trip refilled his lungs. "We'd be happy to explain all this to Susie and Jamie. And just so you know the Vulcans have taken over security for both T'Pol and I, so you'll being seeing more of them around." Trip had no idea if telling him all this would ease his mind, but it was the best he could do at the moment. He'd fought with Malcolm about using converting room in the basement, insisting Mal was being his over cautious over the top prepared self again. But now he saw the need for it.
"They're very formal aren't they? They strike me as very no nonsense.... but very good at their job." Jeff watched as Trip smiled slightly and nodded 'yes'. That made him feel better somehow. "I'll talk to the kids, but I'll let you explain all this to them. They might take it more seriously coming from you. If you can get to that reporter maybe we won't have to worry about this, at least for a while." Jeff wasn't naive enough to believe that the press wouldn't eventually find them, but maybe they could postpone it until things died down some. The news reports hadn't mentioned the Tucker's personal relationship, so maybe they didn't know about that, yet. Several little explosions of interest were preferable to one big one.
"I'll let T'Pol talk to them. That no nonsense attitude should work well with kids." That stoic expression with her dark focused eyes meant business. "Trust me they'll take it very seriously once she's done with them. And the Vulcans will relax a little once you get to know them." Trip wasn't sure if they relaxed or just grew on you after a while. He just knew while he found them slightly annoying, at times, he didn't find them to be as abrupt and arrogant as he once had.
The father chuckled slightly remembering his son's crush-like proclamations about the Vulcan. "You might be right. All Jamie could talk about for two days was your wife's ears. He really likes them and her." Jeff opened the door. "I'll let you go take care of your wife. And if Saturday isn't going to work for you just call the house and let the kids know. I'm sure they'll understand." Jeff felt better about their safety. He knew he couldn't protect them from everything, so he'd have to try to keep them as safe as possible. It helped that the Tucker's were so willing to make sure the kids didn't get hurt.
Trip was amazed the father seemed comfortable allowing his kids anywhere near them. "Saturday's still good. Tell them to wear old clothes so they can get dirty. And if it's alright with you we can work with Jamie and the staff? I can get protective gear and a smaller staff for him to learn with and there's more than enough people around here he can practice with." Trip hadn't let that fact sink in. Having all these people roaming around outside was a little disconcerting.
He could hear Malcolm's very direct stance on the subject. "Would you rather feel uncomfortable being watched or be dead?"
"He's right husband."
Trip shut the door as Jeff left. "Don't talk to me I'm still so mad at you.... Just don't talk to me." If he let her talk to him he'd forget he was angry. He went to warm up dinner.
The comm unit sounded. The call he'd been expecting all evening, and dreading. His parents.
--
His feet appeared just before his voice was heard. "Son-of-a..." Trip came flying out from under the tube. "Morning Admiral..." Trip addressed Kilmer as he ran in the opposite direction working at pulling himself free of the outer covering he had on.
Dumping the dirty jumpsuit into the recycler as he passed through the doors of the medical section he began yelling before he reached the room. "T'Pol, get back in that bed, now." He paused to catch his breath. "You're not supposed to get up, except to use the bathroom and if you keep ignoring me I'm going to have them strap you down and make you use a bedpan." Trip stood in her path. He'd let her have her way last night, but enough was enough.
T'Pol had blocked him out of the bond or so she thought, but 'here he is'. Her chest came up and her stance became more defiant as she argued back at him. "I cannot remain in that bed any longer. Walking around will not harm me." T'Pol insisted. Laying in bed with nothing to do, but battle her demons and listen to Trip's calculations, as he tried to solve the problem with the power matrix converter fluctuating, had all but driven her mad.
Trip refused to let her pass. "The doctor said your lungs need time to heal to prevent them collapsing again." Her breathing was already becoming shallow and he knew the dry raspy cough would soon follow. "Get back in that bed. I swear if you don't, I'm going to order them to stand over you when I'm not here."
T'Pol continued to try to get around him until the coughing started. Her chest began to get tight and the amount of air her lungs took in shrank with every breath. Anger became her lifeline. It gave her something to hold onto to find strength, to find her control.
"Your emotions are coming through loud and clear, darlin." She wasn't going to listen and his own anger was starting to build a head of steam. "Sub-Commander Kaso, Commander Taggart get in here."
"Yes, sir." The two responded as they came through the door.
"When I leave, I order you both to stand by this bed and see to it that Captain T'Pol doesn't leave it." He told them as he drilled his eyes into his wife's.
"Yes, sir. Is she allowed to use the facilities, Captain?" Taggart inquired.
"Vulcans aren't like us mere humans so she shouldn't need to get up more than once." The decibel level of his voice rose as he continued to stare directly into her face.
T'Pol wasn't in the mood for bickering back and forth. "I am the same rank as you Captain and I will simply order them to leave." T'Pol kept the anger out of her voice, but it was very evident in her eyes.
"You have to stay in bed and if you won't I'll find a way to make you." Trip bellowed at her.
Having followed the Captain Admiral Kilmer stood in the doorway. Not sure if this was a personal matter or a Starfleet matter, but determined to get Trip Tucker back to business. "I thought Archer was pulling my leg when he said you two were going to turn the rest of my hair gray. You need to stop acting like teenagers, and get back to work."
Kaso stepped for offering Tucker some assistance. "Kal'i'farr t'du ...."
Trip hurriedly cut Kaso off not fearing where he was headed with the mention of T'Pol being legally bound to him as her husband. "Let's stop right there Sub-Commander." Stepping to right Trip directed both Kaso and Taggart to leave by waving his hand toward the open door. "I'll call you if I need you. You're dismissed."
They cleared the doorway, nodding as they went, as Trip's hand closed around the knob. "Sorry Admiral. Thanks for your help, but we'll work it out." The engineer informed him as he closed the door and locked it.
Kilmer turned to the young man at his left. "Are they always like this?" He asked while trying to determine how upset to be that Captain Tucker had just told him to butt out and shut the door in his face.
Ensign Burke thought for a moment, not wanting to make the situation worse. "I'm not sure what you mean, sir? If you're asking if he's always so protective? Yes, he is about Captain T'Pol and his warp drive. I haven't known them long, but they are both that way. I imagine this happened because Captain Tucker was late." Burke knew Tucker often forgot appointments or was late to meet Captain T'Pol when he was problem solving in engineering.
"Late? Late for what?" Admiral Kilmer had shown up early for their scheduled meeting. Maybe this was something to consider in the future, especially since Tucker had been adamant that the meeting could not take place before 11:00 hours.
"This is the time he and Captain T'Pol usually take a break and meditate together. Captain Tucker is 20 minutes late and Captain T'Pol must have decided to go get him. They'll argue then everything will be fine until next time." The Ensign had walked into their office when the door was closed to find them sitting across from each other with their eyes closed. He assumed they were meditating because he'd heard Vulcans needed to meditate daily.
"They really do argue a lot, then?" Archer told him they had a unique relationship, which no one understood and he'd just have to learn to deal with.
"Not argue as much as disagree, loudly. It's just the way they communicate sometimes, sir. Don't take it seriously because they never do." Ensign Burke had been privy to several of their disagreements and their meditation sessions afterwards. He suspected there was much more going on than he could observe, but it was personal so he left it alone. "The Captain will be fine before your meeting starts. They'll have worked it out by then." The pairs voices could always be heard when they started to disagree, then they worked their way back to a more normal tone until the disagreement was settled. The assistant turned to walk away thinking how he and the rest of the staff had already collectively concluded it was best to leave them to work things out or they would never get past whatever the problem was.
Trip stopped being angry and sat on the end of the bed. "Darlin', you have to stay in bed. I start this me Tarzan you Jane thing when I get worried about you and I can't think about anything else." He instantly knew she didn't understand his allusion to the old movie characters.
As the pictures of a scantily clad male dragging a woman by the hair to his cave came into her mind Trip felt her amusement and pleasure. He shook his head side to side with a smirk that said I really can't believe this. "That's just great, you like it when I act like a caveman."
"It is the Vulcan way for a mate to protect his wife." Vulcans had been clansmen in their past and had not yet managed to rid their culture of some of the more persistent remnants of that past, such as Pon Farr and their rather primitive, instinctual behavior towards one's family.
"I'm not Vulcan, we don't live on Vulcan..." With some exasperation in his manner he continued. "...and you have to stop encouraging my behavior." He shook his head back and forth, throwing his arms over his face while grasping the back of his head with his hands. "It's making it harder for me to control it." He'd exercised every technique he'd learned to keep his higher brain functions in control with varying degrees of success. He could hear her excuses forming. His movement stopped as he looked directly in her eyes. "And don't bother trying to deny it. I can feel your reaction." He felt a slight possessiveness, pride, and arousal.
Clamping down on her emotions T'Pol responded. "I will try. Our training starts early and I will require much practice to learn to act more like a human wife." T'Pol was still very unsure of her emotional control and having little in depth knowledge of human relationships left her insecure.
"I don't want you to act human and I don't want to act like a Vulcan. We need to find a way to make this work for both of us." He stopped trying to gather his thoughts. "I understand this is what you were taught, but please you have to find a way to keep those thoughts from reaching me." Somehow he'd tapped into some deep need in her to be protected by him and while he understood he still needed to find a way to satisfy it without becoming a mindless savage.
She reached out taking his hands in hers. Suddenly it felt as if he got sucked into her head through a vacuum and thrown into their white space.
Something was off. The walls he'd always perceived to be here were, but now they weren't shimmering and undefined, they were solid and hard. The floor had always been solid, but now had a cold, steel-like look and feel to it.
"T'Pol what's wrong?" The uncertainty coursing through his body was only partly his.
Her body had taken on the undefined quality this space usually held. "T'Pol why are you blocking me out?" He could feel her struggling with her emotions.
"Emotions are overwhelming me. I cannot suppress them and allowing you to take them on is not helpful." It actually made it worse because she then worried he'd be injured mentally or physically.
"Let down your shields." He stated raising his voice only slightly. Instead he pronounced each word very distinctly leaving little doubt of how serious he was.
"I cannot allow my emotions to overwhelm you or you'll be distracted while working."
"I can't work if I'm worried about you. And don't you ever try to make this a choice between you and my job or Starfleet." He didn't know her thinking was and right now he didn't care. He was tired of her always putting duty and career before herself. "I don't care what I'm doing if you need me you need to tell. There's no making a choice for me and you know that." Very insistently he told her. "That's why you didn't tell me?"
"You need to complete the warp drive and you will be unable to do that if you must be concerned about my emotions and lack of control." T'Pol would not let her mate suffer because of her lack of control.
He'd spent years loving her and waiting for her to be with him. There was nothing more important than her. Would she ever understand this about him? "I get to decide what I need to do and if you keep making the choice for me, especially if it's for anything but you, I'll quit. I'll quit everything and demand my rights as your husband, Get Soval to send us to Vulcan, on the fastest shuttle he can find, before Starfleet can through me in the brig." Vulcan citizenship gave them both access to transportation anywhere a Vulcan ship was headed. The High Council had been less antagonistic to him lately and some had even developed some respect for his abilities. Finding an engineering position on her home world might not be so difficult anymore. And if it meant keeping her safe and healthy he'd leave Earth in a heartbeat.
She hadn't known of his thoughts but could feel his resolve now. If she pushed him he just might do it and she'd have little choice, but to go along. T'Pol did not have the control or energy to deal with this now. She needed to meditate. "You must return to work. The Admiral will be angry if you do not."
The image of what he'd done came into his mind's eye. It wasn't one of his best moves shutting that door in the Admiral's face. As he erected the shields he needed for melding with her he asked her to do the same. "Put up your shields and we'll try a quick melding meditation before I go. And I will go, but only if after we're done you let down your shields and take whatever you need from me to get through the rest of the day." They had been working on erecting mental shields that allowed them to meld without sharing everything like bondmates normally would.
Trip suspected the pain medication she had been taking was interfering with her ability to employ her suppression techniques. He was thankful it was weakening her abilities, so she couldn't shut him out. T'Pol had always seen her lack of control as weakness, no matter the reason, and once Trip understood he tried to convince her it was not some flaw in her character, but failed. It became easier to accept her irrational behavior and just deal with the crisis.
A sense of bewilderment filled his mind when his acceptance of her manner registered. As hard as he knew T'Pol tried she still had no idea what to make of his myriad of emotions. She often felt several emotions at once, but no where near as many as he did. She found it confusing and near impossible to translate what he felt, at times. She'd made the attempt to identify the individual emotions she felt were his love for her, but found the list to be daunting.
Every new situation brought new emotions into the mix. Today it might be anticipation and wonder that filled his thoughts as his feelings for her were expressed and then it became adaptation, patience, and understanding. She had no frame of reference for what most of these emotions meant beyond the name her mate attached to them. When she examined the emotions she held for him, which she knew he identified as her love for him, she could not reconcile the two. She felt protectiveness, contentment, loyalty, caring, trust, desire, and responsibility. Perhaps a few others, but how could what he felt and what she felt be the same in her mate's mind?
Their fingers touched the contact points on their faces making the connection between their minds stronger. Thoughts passed back and forth. Trip felt her fear, anger, frustration, confusion, and pain. Without identifying where these feelings emanated from he began pushing them behind the barriers he created to house them until T'Pol was able to process them one by one and suppress them. Once her emotions were safely tucked away in his mind they returned to the white space. Trip was glad to see it had started to return to a more recognizable state.
"I will remain in bed and I will continue to allow you to assist me." She'd keep the bond flowing openly, but only let him assist her enough to keep from causing herself or anyone else harm. There would be time to sort through her emotional turmoil when they meditated this evening.
"We're not done with this." He told her slipping out of the bond. Thoughts of Kilmer entered his mind as it cleared. How was he going to explain his behavior?
Suddenly his eyes lit up as the focus of the morning came to the forefront of his thinking. He found the clock on the wall and smiled. "Good, there's still 30 minutes before the meeting. I have to go." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and stormed out of the room at a full run leaving everyone staring at his disappearing backside.
She looked up just as her husband dumped several padds in her lap, smiling. "Thanks for staying in bed. You can work on these. It'll keep you busy." Exiting as quickly as he'd entered he yelled back over his shoulder. "When you get to the warp engine let me know and I'll give you the corrections. I think I just figured out what's wrong with the power matrix." And off he went.
---
"Okay, Billy let her rip." The adjustments were made according to the new calculations he'd just worked through. They watched the readouts as the power matrix ramped up and the plasma flow began to compress. For 10 minutes the team watched as the power remained level. Then the readouts began to fluctuate wildly. The converter dropped offline as the odor of fused metal reached them.
Trip entered the meeting. "I apologize for being late. Ran into a couple problems with the simulation." He remained polite, but this really was the last place he wished to be.
Kilmer, who was still annoyed at his earlier behavior, marveled at his professionalism as he greeted the Ambassadors. Offering the ta'al to Soval, a handshake to the Andorian Krek, and a series of insults to the Tellarite Jhor. Jhor accepted the greeting, but assured the Captain it was not necessary to observe the ritual of insults, with Tellarites stationed on Earth, in the future. The Admiral swore he saw a slight smirk cross Tucker's face at this, he was sure signaled his displeasure at no longer needing to hurl insults at the Tellarites.
The security issues, which had been the purpose of the meeting were discussed. All agreed on the major issues like the team here would not be required to come to San Francisco for meetings. If any meetings were required they would come to Warp Dev. And the Vulcans were officially in charge of Trip and T'Pol's security.
The longer the meeting went on the more obvious it was that Captain Tucker's mind was elsewhere. When he laughed outloud Kilmer's patience came to an end.
"Captain Tucker, do you have anything to add?" The Admiral knew he did because they had discussed the matter earlier. He simply wanted to catch the Captain not paying attention, giving him an excuse to administer the dressing down he deserved.
Trip focused on the Admiral as T'Pol supplied his response. "Yes. I agree we need to add to the security around the locals. We are concerned that the press attention will continue to create traffic difficulties and attract undesirables to the area."
"Traffic difficulties and undesirables? What's that T'Pol. You're supposed to be helping me here not making me sound like a Vulcan. You know we wouldn't be in this fix if you didn't keep making those stupid comments." He teased as a smile broke out in his head.
He'd asked her to keep the bond open and he was paying the price for it. He'd heard her mutterings to herself, in the past, when she was frustrated with someone. They were usually thoughts of physically accosting whomever had offended her sense of calm. But recently she'd began making silent remarks to herself about most conversations going on around her. Her last such remark had been when the Andorian Ambassador began babbling on about something. Trip had no idea what Jhor was saying, but when he heard her call him a 'pompous ass' he couldn't contain his reaction and burst out laughing.
"Don't you ever give me a hard time about my language again." Trip suggested teasingly.
"I never used such language until I bonded with you, so don't think I will discontinue admonishing you to use less vulgar ways to describe your emotional state." She would have to work harder at correcting this behavior, before it became a problem in her own verbal interactions with others, if she was to continue using his technique of preventing an emotional reaction by expressing her displeasure in her mind.
Trip continued his comments to those in the meeting. "Would it be possible to get some added security and some collaboration on some of that advanced technology we need to install around the city from each of you?" Trip caught the knowing look from Ambassador Soval, while Kilmer silently fumed trying to figure out how the engineer had been so obviously thinking about something else, but still tuned into the discussion.
Trip returned to their white space, grabbed his wife, kissing her thoroughly to thank her for keeping him out of trouble.
Ambassador Soval helped bail the Captain out. "Sub-Commander Kaso and Commander Taggart will contact the Ambassadors and the new head of Starfleet Security to make all the essential arrangements."
Archer had definitely been guilty of understatement when it came to Tucker and T'Pol Kilmer decided as he assessed the group around him.
"Admiral Duxton has taken over Security at Command Headquarters. He will be more than happy to work with all the security teams. Admiral Federick will be acting as Starfleet's Ambassador. His office is in the same building as Ambassador Krek and Jhor." Admiral Kilmer promoted both men because they had expressed a commitment to strengthening Earth's alliances with other species.
Lt. Commander Rivers came into the meeting laying two melted masses of metal in the middle of the conference table. "It took longer than we thought for these to cool down. Is there anything else, sir?" The young man asked his boss.
"No thanks." Trip answered as he accepted the padd from Billy.
Trip spoke while running through the notes in his hand. "These are the EPS and plasma conduits from the simulation we just ran. As you can see they didn't hold up very well to the heat from the compressed plasma stream and the increased power our new converter creates."
Admiral Kilmer looked at the engineer. "Does this mean you solved the problem and it works?" Kilmer's face said all was forgiven if this were the case. A look Trip Tucker had come to depend on with his friend Jonathon Archer and now with the Admiral. The engineer had often considered if his career with Starfleet would have been less satisfying if he hadn't been able to rely on his skills with warp technology to smooth the ruffled feathers of his superior officers when the inevitability of his unruly personality pushed them to their limits. It was doubtful.
Trip's face broke out into a grin from ear to ear. "Yes, it does. We'll have warp six on time. We just have to adjust the specs for the power converter backwards to keep the conduits from melting." He was on top of the world and his change in mood reflected this as his mind began listing all the things they needed to do. "We'll have warp 7 or better once we find a raw material that can withstand the heat and the electrical output." They had other issues to deal with to get to warp 7, but they were now solvable.
Trip studied each face. "You need to talk to your sources, see what's out there. T'Pol and I will talk to the engineers and scientists we're working with and see what they can come up with. We have about 4 months while we get the warp six drive up and running." It would be closer to 5 months before the ship was done, but he wanted a month for his teams to manufacture new parts with whatever new materials they came up with.
They still had to make the warp core smaller, but Trip was confident it could be done. The nacellas from the NX program were turning out to be the best solution to the problem with the Vulcans input. Trip knew the hardware's capabilities well from years of working on Enterprise and with slight improvements to the plasma injectors that powered them, the distribution grid that then powered the ship, and a redesign of the matter/anti matter intermix chamber and a smaller, more efficient cooling system, the size of the warp core should be reduced by 50-60%.
----
"Ambassador Soval, could I have a moment?" Trip slid up next to him as he stood to leave.
"Of course Captain. I must congratulate you on your mastery of your bond." Soval felt the vibration as the bond between the Captains hummed back and forth.
"Not exactly my favorite use of our connection, but I have to admit keeping the Admiral off balance has its advantages." Trip hadn't missed the Admiral's stunned reaction when his question fit right into the flow of the conversation when he had quite obviously not been paying attention.
Soval agreed on his assessment of their deception, but this and other observations told him much about the relationship between the bondmates. They worked very closely together, used their bond to their full advantage, and trusted each other without question.
"What can I do for you?" The Ambassador responded.
"Exactly what did you threaten Starfleet with to get your way on our security? I've never known them to be bullied into allowing a foreign government to operate outside of their diplomatic territory on Earth." Having that much leverage over Starfleet could be a dangerous thing and Tucker wanted to know what had been threatened in his name.
"The Admirals and your President all believe, as we do, that Earth cannot succeed in this war without the assistance of the Coalition of Planets, of which Vulcan is a member. I simply pointed out that the High Council would take it personally if Vulcan citizens were to come to any harm while on Earth. They see the wisdom of allowing us to protect our own interest, as it would relieve them of any blame if there were any problems with security." Soval made a point of giving Starfleet this out as a way to justify the change.
Tucker had to admit he was right. There was little chance of a diplomatic crisis if something happened when the Vulcans were protecting them. "Admiral Kilmer says you informed him of my status as the husband of a Vulcan citizen?" Trip watched his reaction.
Soval didn't flinch or evade his question. "I did. He needed to be aware so he could make the best possible decisions regarding your protection." As Ambassador he'd use whatever he needed to fulfill his duty. Soval also wished to keep control of the information about the protests on Earth to prevent it from reaching space, so there was less of a probability of the Romulans learning of the true nature and extent of the agreements amongst the Coalition members.
When did I start understanding Vulcans, Soval in particular, so well that I can anticipate their answers? Trip asked himself. "In the future I would appreciate it if you discussed it with me or T'Pol before you give anyone private information about us. I don't like getting blindsided by my boss. I really don't like him feeling as if we intentionally kept something from him. And did you have to say he was ignorant?"
Trip knew the Vulcan saw him and humans, in general, that way sometimes. According to T'Pol a Vulcan in the Admirals position would never have allowed himself to be unaware of such information about someone under his command. She was sure Ambassador Soval knew of all laws or circumstances that applied to T'Pol or any other Vulcan stationed on Earth. He would consider it his duty to know and understand anything that could affect those under his supervision.
Soval was not surprised by his reaction. He let the comment about the Admirals' ignorance go. Vulcans and Humans differed on the responsibilities of a superior officer to those under him and Soval saw it as his duty to attempt to educate humans whenever an opportunity arose. "There is no reason for me to disclose any further information regarding you or Captain T'Pol. In the future all requests for information will be directed to your office."
"Thanks. You were right he did need to know, but I would have preferred to tell him myself. Next time try telling me what you think I need to do, okay?"
"That will be acceptable. Is there anything else?" Soval felt no rancor as he appreciated Tucker's directness in stating his position.
"What do your security and intelligence folks know about the attack on T'Pol and I?" Trip was positive they would be investigating the associations of the two men in Starfleet custody.
"I'm surprised T'Pol informed you of their investigation."
"She didn't. The only thing she's ever told me about Vulcan security had to do with her time with them. I've been working and observing alongside Vulcans for a little over five years and if there's one thing I've learned, you're very thorough and keep track of the goings on here on Earth, especially when Vulcan citizens are involved."
"Minister Sorren told me you'd be asking. Seems you've made an impression on him. Which I must say is a near impossible feat. He's very set in his ways and finds it difficult to alter his views. But he may be taking another look at humans or perhaps it's just you. We shall see." Soval realized he had underestimated the young man and maybe even Sorren. He could not allow this to happen in the future. Incremental changes were taking place. The High Council may only be changing their opinion about one human, but that was one more than in the recent past.
"Sorren had the specs for the new hardware we've been given sent to me before I asked and just reminded me it was classified. Please tell me I'm not getting so predictable they have me figured out?" It only seemed fair that if he was beginning to predict Vulcans behavior they should be able to predict his own. But he would rather not be an open book to the anyone besides T'Pol and sometimes Malcolm.
"No you're not. You are curious, ask questions, and wish to be informed about those things that concern you and T'Pol, as you should be. The Minister finds you to be a puzzle with many pieces he has yet not been able to fit together." Soval often thought the same. The engineer had somehow deduced that Vulcans did not volunteer information. Soval was curious if he was even conscious of this fact. One had little chance of finding out anything from a Vulcan if one didn't ask.
Soval pulled items from his inner pocket. "He sent these. This disk is encrypted for you. It contains all the information we have on all the groups operating on Earth." Putting forth a second disk he went on. "This one we wish to be handed over to Section 31, without Mr. Harris knowing where it came from. You have means to accomplish this?"
Trip was sure he knew about Malcolm's past connection to Harris. "Yes, I do. I'll take care of it as soon as I leave here. I know saying thanks is a human thing, but tell Minister Sorren I said thank you, if you would." He'd send Malcolm a message requesting he find a way to send an anonymous package to Harris, which he'd give him when he saw him on Friday night.
"Actually you can do so yourself. Included on your disk are the codes for secure transmissions to anyone on Vulcan. Sub-Commander Kaso will soon deliver a comm unit for your use. Visits to the Consulate have been suspended until your safety can be assured. Minister Sorren will make all investigative data related to you and T'Pol available. Contact him directly and make the arrangements." T'Pau had ordered this done and no one on the High Council offered any objections. Minister Sorren was also ordered to include all investigative reports the Ministry of Security had on Charles Tucker III and his family.
As Soval left he turned. "Your Lt. Sato has instituted new encryption codes for all Starfleet communications. You'll be pleased to know no members of the Coalition have been able to break these codes." Then as if it was an afterthought. "We were astonished to find that you had moved your subspace frequencies into a range near the ones Vulcan starships use. You wouldn't have any idea why that is would you?"
"I may have suggested they investigate why the Vulcans use those higher frequencies. Imagine my surprise when it was discovered that detection of anyone trying to decrypt messages was possible at those levels." Trip smiled. He couldn't wait to tell Hoshi, she'd succeeded. When testing the new frequencies the communications officer's sensitive ears picked up distortions in the links. Further investigation discovered the noise signaled an attempt to intercept the message was being made. The technical teams used this information to track the attempts and locate the source and to develop techniques to prevent the intrusions. Trip debated whether or not to let the Vulcan in on their ability to locate the source, but decided against informing him. He liked keeping people on their toes and always guessing.
---
Trip sat taking in their surroundings. The proprietor of The Loft Bar and Bistro had agreed to rope off a large section of this level for Starfleet every Friday. The atmosphere on each level was unique according to the clientèle being served. The level drew a middle of the road crowd. Happy hour started at 18:00 hours. A selection of food items had been laid out and included recipes the Andorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites would find more to their taste.
He and T'Pol had never joined their staff at these weekly outings, but found it impossible to refuse this evening. Several teams had invited them to help celebrate the successful simulations of the new warp 6 drive. Malcolm, Jon, and several other crewmates from Enterprise were expected to make an appearance to say goodbye before they left Jupiter Station in search of the Romulans, who continued to strike at ships and outposts all over the quadrant.
When he first observed the security teams from Warp Dev he was surprised. None wore the standard issue uniforms, but all had on matching attire of dark pants and Starfleet blue shirts. No insignia to identify them was overtly displayed, but a unified look made it easy to pick them out if need be. The Captains took this a testament to the fact the teams had finally learned to work together as a cohesive unit. The recent trouble with protesters and injury of those they were duty bond to protect may have been what was needed to force them to leave their prejudices, their hard feelings, and their individual needs to be in charge in the past.
Malcolm was the first to join them at the table they had chosen. Trip handed him the disks and gave him a quick rundown of the contents. Vulcan Security had established surveillance of the hate groups they could identify. It seemed the smaller like-minded groups were starting to form larger more cohesive groups to carry out their disruptive actions. Isolationists, xenophobes, and the simple hate mongers had banded together to share resources and personnel even though they did not share the same ideals. They obviously decided their goals were close enough to overlook the reasoning behind them.
One of the larger groups, in particular, had drawn the close scrutiny from the Vulcans. They called themselves Liberators of Earth. They had developed quite a following and their propaganda was particularly violent in nature. They didn't just call for the removal of non-humans from Earth they called for the destruction of anyone or anything connected to aliens on Earth. This was the group that had instigated the attack on Trip and T'Pol. The disk contained the names and contact information for every member of all the groups, but had much more detail about the Liberators of Earth. Trip and T'Pol knew Section 31 should now have enough information to arrest them and then infiltrate and arrest the rest of the groups in the near future. They'd just have to keep their heads down a little while longer and let Harris do his job.
Reed knew the serious nature of the subject and his imminent departure made it necessary to discuss it here but he was not going to allow it to interfere with their downtime any longer. He stuffed the disk in a pocket for safekeeping before declaring, "Off duty rules are back in effect. We've got better things to do than worry about all of this tonight." Malcolm insisted.
MacKenzie strolled quietly up behind his chair wrapping her arms around his neck, softly planting a kiss on his ear. Malcolm jumped startled by the fact that someone had been able to sneak up on him. Both Trip and T'Pol took note of his reaction to the greeting. Once the shock wore off and the redness faded from his face and neck he seemed quite comfortable with her affectionate behavior towards him. They held hands and she touched his arm or the top of his leg while speaking. T'Pol watched their interaction with great interest, as did Trip.
Jon arrived. The astonished look on his face spoke volumes about his surprise at the realization of exactly where his First Officer had been for the week he'd disappeared. Before he sat he decided a visit to the bar was in order. He needed a drink, a strong one.
When he saw Trip beside him he turned his head tilting it back to the table. "So when did this start?"
"She introduced herself one night when we took my parents to dinner. She asked him out and I guess they've been together since. Mal hasn't really told me much." Trip knew without being told that Mal cared about this woman by the way he didn't talk about her. He knew most every detail of every relationship Malcolm Reed had ever had with a woman until now and Mal knew about all Trip's past conquests up until he became involved with T'Pol. He'd just have to wait until Malcolm opened up. Trip had already determined he wouldn't ask, unless he saw a potential problem.
Searching Jon's face Trip's concern for his friend increased. The darkness he'd seen during their mission to stop the Xindi had returned. Determination and duty had once again become the forces that him drove forward. A small pang of guilt assaulted the engineer. Knowing his choice to leave was necessary for his own sanity didn't lessen his remorse over having abandon his friends and fellow crewmates.
"Are you going to be alright out there, Jon?" Trip remembered their talk when the Xindi mission began. Jon felt the weight of the responsibility he'd been given to save Earth back then. Trip had only been focused on revenge, anger, and his own personal issues so he'd missed the more subtle changes in his friends demeanor over the course of their time in the expanse.
"I have to be. There's no one else with experience in space to help lead our fleet against the Romulans." Being a soldier had become his new role. One he accepted, knowing it was necessary.
"Promise me you'll talk to Phlox. I know I had issues with some of his ethics, but he never once betrayed my trust where confidentiality was concerned. You need to have someone to talk to and he's very good at listening if you give him a chance." Phlox knew much about Trip and T'Pol's relationship and also about the things that went bump in the night for each of them, but no one was aware of the secrets he'd held onto for them over the years. Trip prayed he could finally convince Jon of how essential it was to give voice to your demons before they devoured you.
Archer refused to let his melancholy ruin this time with Trip and T'Pol. Enterprise was due to leave space dock in two days and he didn't want to spend this time thinking about the past or what lay ahead. There would be plenty of time to plan and brood about the war. "I'll try."
"Don't patronize me Jon. Promise me it won't be like it was with the Xindi. You'll talk to somebody." Trip tried unsuccessfully to keep the fear out of his voice. Jon had been so erratic and volatile during their time in the expanse. Command decisions weighed heavily on the Captain's shoulders. Trip doubted he'd been able to forgive himself for choices he'd had to make, even though his staff had supported most of them.
Jon felt the concern of his friend and it felt like it had before Enterprise between them. For that he was very grateful, but could see no way to allay Trip's anxiety. Acknowledging his demons he would render him unable to function and do what was required of him. "Like I said I'll try. So, how are you and T'Pol doing? Is she healed up after that attack?"
Watching the creases on his friends face become deeper Trip had no doubt what Jon's thoughts were and knew the discussion was over. Jon still didn't want to talk about it so he was trying to change the subject. "You know it goes. We have our good days and we have our bad days. Our challenge is to be sure the bad days only happen to one of us at a time." And it was a challenge at times. "Her wounds are almost healed. She's not taking any meds and the pain's almost gone." The medication had been interfering with her control. Instead of asking for something different they agreed to deal with her discomfort through the bond.
"Admiral Kilmer assures me you two are as safe as they can make you." Jon had asked Kilmer several times about the precautions being taken to keep the Captains from being attacked. He wanted to know they were going to be okay staying on Earth if they weren't going to be on his ship where he could personally see to their well-being.
"We're going to be fine, Jon. The Vulcans are taking our security very seriously. Hell, the only privacy we have anymore is when we go home and that's only because we refuse to let them in the house." At times it was almost like being back on a starship, but they did have a whole house and a bit of a cushion between them and their keepers.
Upon returning to the table Jon and Trip found a lively discussion about life aboard a starship going on.
"Commander Reed is not happy unless every weapon and person under his command has been tested and retested to ascertain their proficiency." T'Pol stated.
Looking rather put upon. "No rank remember, T'Pol? And I'm not that bad. I just want everything working at peak performance levels whenever possible. That's my job." Malcolm countered.
"How many times did you make Trip recalibrate your torpedoes when we encountered the Klingons last year? How many days did you refuse to sleep when the Augments were running loose? How many sensor scans did we perform on our last mission to the space stations....."
Malcolm threw his hands up in the air, interrupting T'Pol's delineation of his obsessive behavior. "Okay, you win. I'm a little obsessed. It's my duty to protect the crew and I take it very seriously. If I didn't I can't imagine how many times we would have lost Trip or the Captain."
"And for that I am very grateful." T'Pol conceded looking up at her bondmate.
Trip sat in his chair. Taking sympathy on Mal he gently redirected the conversation. "MacKenzie, don't you find Malcolm a little overbearing when it comes to safety and following rules."
Malcolm looked somewhat relieved, but wasn't quite sure the new direction was going to be any less uncomfortable than the previous one.
"No. I'm an army brat, so I understand." Maybe not the more stiff British part of him, but the soldier doing his duty part she recognized. "My dad retired from the military as a Colonel and we traveled all over the world from station to station, so I got to know what being a soldier is all about." She got a faraway look in her eyes remembering growing up, moving from one base to the next. "My Mom loved that life so much that when he retired they didn't settle down. They rent a house somewhere for a few months then like nomads they pick up and move when the mood strikes them."
"You didn't like the military life?" Trip asked knowing military families tended to influence their offspring to follow in their parents career path.
A chuckle escaped at his question. "My dad said I'd only survive if they'd let me skip all the years of training and go right to a command of my own. Seems to think I'm a little too headstrong for my own good. My mother said I liked to set down roots since I was young and that made the military an unsuitable choice for me as well. My brother didn't join up either, but he did inherit the need to move around. His job takes him all over the world." MacKenzie Smith was the only member of her family that owned a home.
T'Pol eyed the drink the server sat before her suspiciously. "I thought you might like to be a bit adventurous and try something new." Trip offered with his sincerest southern gentleman smile. "It's a virgin. If you don't like it I'll get you something else." As he stood to moved\ his chair next to hers.
Malcolm caught the blank look of confusion on her face and leaned in to help her out. "It has nothing to do with sex. It means there's no booze in it." He grinned at the relief he saw in her eyes. "It looks like a Tequila Sunrise, but I have no idea what he could have had them substitute for the tequila?"
She held up the glass watching the unknown red liquid float around in what she surmised was orange juice. "What's in a tequila sunrise?"
Trip caught the question. "It's orange juice and tequila, with a shot of grenadine. Yours has the bartenders own substitute mix using agave cactus nectar and a couple of other ingredients." To his surprise when he asked for the non-alcoholic drinks available he was provided with an extensive list.
----
Trip watched as the couple headed off, hand in hand, to the dance floor across the room. His thoughts drifting as he watched Malcolm nuzzle his face into MacKenzie's neck while whispering into her ear and caressing her back as they moved slowly to the music.
He began to feel aroused, the dancers in his mind were now he and T'Pol, gliding across the floor, holding each other close, caressing each other. His demeanor became quiet and reflective as his thoughts wandered down this path and began to stir his desire.
A new feeling crept in. Sorrow, he felt sorrow and sadness, so overwhelming it threatened to envelop him. His fingers reached out for his bondmate of their own volition. When the joining was complete the feelings intensified. His mind searched for the source of the emotional reaction.
T'Pol? His eyes sought out his mate. Her gaze was locked on the dance floor as his had been. Her thoughts swirled around all the doubts she'd had since she first became aware of her attraction to a human male and her inability to fulfill his needs for affection and touch.
"T'Pol where's this coming from?"
Her gaze turned to him. He could see the hurt there. "You miss sharing this type of closeness with me."
Why hadn't he been more careful and blocked his thoughts from her? He could evade her and attempt to hide the truth of her statement from her now, but he couldn't lie to her. "I guess I do sometimes, but it passes."
These were areas he wasn't sure how to handle. How could he make her understand the difference between wanting something and needing it? And that he could fantasize about something, but not expect, want, or need it in reality.
The thoughts in her mind continued to swirl and move from concern to concern. Regret that she could not be like a human woman offering him a sense of belonging together in a public way. Or being openly intimate in culturally acceptable ways for humans. That he would one day seek out a woman who could give him these things.
"You're not human T'Pol and I knew that before I ever developed feelings for you. I knew what was and wasn't possible if we became involved, and still here we are." Knowing what was possible wasn't entirely true. He'd known nothing of bonds. He considered it a bonus.
"I can see your thoughts and sense the feelings you've tried to keep from me." Still caught up in what she saw as her failure T'Pol also tried to keep her deepest fears from her mate.
Jon had been deep in a discussion with Scott Neilson. They hadn't seen each other in a couple of years and were catching up on the major events in each others lives. Trip became aware that their attention had been drawn to them even though neither he or T'Pol had spoken a word outloud.
T'Pol sensed his unease and became mindful of Jon's interest in their interactions. This only added to her awareness of her inability to fulfill her bondmates needs.
Time to find somewhere less conspicuous where they could talk. "Didn't you say you wanted to learn how to throw darts?" Trip turned to the open board across from them as he made his statement for the benefit of their audience.
Following Trip's lead T'Pol responded showing her interest. "Yes and I think this would be a good time to learn." She stood and stepped away from the table.
Nodding to those at the table as they moved away Trip continued their inner dialogue.
"Darlin', I used to bury my thoughts and feelings, but after Lizzie and Elizabeth I've learned not to do that." Burying his emotions had cost him and those close to him too much. "There are things I may want, but know I'll never have or have given up for something I need. They come to mind and I allow myself to think about them, the feelings pass, and I move on."
Seeing she still didn't understand he continued. "Now the things I need are different. I need to be an engineer and I need you. If I didn't have you or if for whatever reason I couldn't build engines I'd be lost. It'd be like a major part of who I am was missing. I gave up things like touching in public and having you say things in words to me, to be with you. I'd make the same choice again and again to be your husband and have you as my wife, so stop thinking you need to act human. If I'd wanted a human wife there's a whole damn planet full of them, but I chose you, just as you chose me."
Trip sat and offered T'Pol the stool next to him then moved his consciousness to their white space. T'Pol's image stood before him eyes cast down to the floor. His fingers lifted her chin upward as his forehead connected with hers and his mind began to focus on a memory.
"Remember that day?" Trip and T'Pol had just left Sickbay. Trip was feeling pretty full of himself having defeated the Orions. The images came with his emotions when T'Pol began her appeal for him to return to Enterprise.
"You're returning to Columbia?" T'Pol began and continued by appealing to him using his talents as an engineer to justify her request. Her words stabbing at his insides.
Trip continued playimg the scene out in his head for T'Pol.
"Why don't you just say it?" Trip had looked back at her.
"Say what?" T'Pol can't say what she wants.
"That you want me to come back." He was in such turmoil. He wanted to be with her so badly, but he couldn't give in. Let her continue to hurt him.
"I believe I did. I think your presence here would be extremely beneficial to our operations."
"No. That you want me back."
"I don't know what you mean."
She was right there just about to fall off the cliff with him, but not quite. "My mistake. See you around." He had to force the issue. Push her off.
"Wait, Trip. I want you to come back."
"Then I'll think about it." Almost! She wants me as much as I want her.
"Trip!" (She kissed him, long and hard).
Trip let the feelings at that moment wash over them. "Can you feel it darlin'? Can you feel me? I didn't just want you to ask me to comeback. I needed you to ask. I needed you to commit yourself to making a relationship work. How did you feel that day darlin'?" He was desperate for her to tell him he wasn't alone. That she cared as much for him as he did her. That she needed him.
T'Pol replayed the memory from her perspective. Her emotions muted as she had tried to suppress them that day.
"Let them out T'Pol. Let yourself feel it. I'm right here." His hands grasped her shoulders. "You wanted me to come back for the good of Enterprise, but what did you need T'Pol?" Trip gently encouraged her. "What did you need?" He whispered. "We're you afraid I'd leave you again? Did you ache for me like I ached for you?"
The scene played out. Her emotions started to flood through him: desire, want, need. A warmth started at the base of his brain and worked it's way down his spine. Perspiration formed on his brow and at the back of his neck.
When he said "My mistake. See you around." to her, pain. Intense deep emotional pain ripped through him. That's when he felt her recognition of her need for him. The need that became so overpowering she admitted she wanted him back and when he flippantly responded she forgot all else and acted. Did what she had to to make him stay with her. Forgot where they were and kissed him.
"That's need darlin'. DO you honestly think I'd give up having you in here with me, give up our most intimate times together, so I can touch you in a bar?" The meetings at Starfleet and then Terra Prime and Elizabeth happened so soon after this that they had no time to discuss the significance of that day. They had only just begun to recognize their bond, so Trip had not been aware of her internal struggle. He went on his gut instinct and the subtle signs he could discern in her eyes and body language.
T'Pol fought to contain the emotions. "Perhaps a little more reflection is called for on my part. I do not wish you to ever regret giving up anything to bond with me." T'Pol considered his statements and the thoughts scurrying across his mind's eye. She caught glimpses of images and thoughts about them in their shared space.
Back in the real world Trip stood holding a dart in the position to throw it in an attempt to regain some composure before he lost all constraint. His body temperature had risen several degrees and his heart was racing. "Let's get to those lessons and practice using our bond, so it's not obvious to everyone what were up to." Refocusing his thoughts became very necessary or he risked forgetting where they were and acting on his thoughts that had begun to head south.
T'Pol assisted him to bolster his control just enough to keep him in check. "Do you think it wise to risk others noticing when you try to use our bond while trying to maintain a verbal conversation?" They usually only used the bond when apart and they found it necessary to talk because Trip found it difficult to keep track of both realities at the same time.
His experiences on Columbia and Enterprise made him worry that others might catch on to their connection if he looked dazed and confused while using it. They had begun working on retraining his brain to interact separately, much like he did when he worked out problems in his head while his hands were busy doing something else.
Keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard, Trip pointed out, as he released the dart on it's flight, "I'll never get better if I don't practice and this seems like a good place to do it." Gesturing with his hands, "We're in a roomful of people who are here to have some fun. If they notice anything that might seem weird they'll just write it off to the alcohol in their systems." And if they didn't he'd just suggest it was the alcohol playing tricks with their eyes.
T'Pol, stood, touched her fingers to his as she lined her feet up to the line on the floor, and prepared to throw her first dart. Taking in the sensation his eyes closed and a smile appeared, which brought forth much stronger sensations from his mate.
Having considered his earlier comments and thoughts she seductively whispered to him. "Once you master speaking through the bond and outloud we should explore those private things you keep imaging we can do in our shared space while in public."
Not exactly sure what she had in mind or what she had picked up from him, but glad she had relaxed letting the sadness go, he encouraged her mischievousness. With a smile in his voice, which trembled suggestively, "Great idea. Then you won't ever have to worry that I'm missing out on anything." He continued to tease as he moved around behind her, leaned in with his hands on her stool, and quietly began explaining the physics of throwing darts.
"Indeed." T'Pol agreed, feeling his warm breath dancing around her neck and ear while listening to his very detailed instructions to keep her shoulders still, move her elbow up at the midpoint of her forward arc, the merits of snapping her wrist versus not, and the absolute necessity for proper follow through.
Her mate appealed to the scientist in her while so unmistakably appealing to her more feminine nature as well. For these moments T'Pol allowed herself to drift with her t'hy'la in their shared space relaxing in to and reveling each emotion she found there.
---
Sorting through the boxes Trip had stored at his parents was an adventure. There were old toys, books, cartoons and movies (he really had watched every John Ford movie, he owned them all), along with a complete set of engineering manuals for a warp 2 engine. And then came the tools. T'Pol was amazed at the extensive collection he had accumulated over the years. He must have used them to construct what appeared to be early attempts at a warp engine design, which she found carefully wrapped up in one of the boxes.
The garage had been set up as a workshop of sorts. Trip had a section arranged with all their scuba equipment. Another area for T'Pol's science projects and one he called his hobby area. T'Pol thought it resembled his work area in engineering, but kept the observation to herself. On shelves above him he'd placed all the engineering projects from his youth. Being Vulcan she had no idea why he kept them, but as she studied the arrangement she guessed he had placed them in this order to show the progression of his abilities in his chosen field.
The garage had been neat and organized this morning, but no longer. T'Pol entered carrying a tray with drinks for her mate and the children to find the scooter in pieces with Susie removing parts from a container, full of some solution, carefully wiping each before laying them on a cloth next to her. Young Jamie was all decked out, near the door in the driveway, in his protective gear attacking Commander Taggart, emitting a growl each time he struck his opponent's staff with his own.
T'Pol watched the Vulcans in the security detail, with their stoic, blank expressions stealing confused glances at the activities of the humans in the garage. For a Vulcan the undisciplined behavior of both adults and children seemed illogical and ill-conceived. Where was the ordered, step by step instruction necessary to learn staff fighting? The young boy was playing at fighting with Taggart not practicing as a student should.
T'Pol could guess their thoughts as she herself thought of how differently she now saw the scene before her, having spent so much time observing humans. Jamie was learning how to move and wield the staff and enjoying it. It wasn't a duty that required strict lessons and regimented movements, it was an activity that held an interest for him. Structured lessons would come later if he chose to continue.
Susie was just finishing up putting her scooter back together. Trip had supervised while she took it apart, cleaned the parts, following his instructions, and then put it back together. She would now be able to maintain it for herself with adult supervision of course. She had complained that she just wanted it to work, fully expecting Trip to repair it for her.
Listening to them was like listening to her own discussions with her husband. The only difference was the language he used. Trip refused to just fix the scooter, stating it was a simple engine and would require frequent maintenance, which Susie was more than capable of performing. After several rounds of arguments she finally saw the wisdom of relying on herself to keep her scooter running, especially since her father could not fix it and Mr. Tucker would only teach her how to fix it.
T'Pol tried to interact with these children as Trip did, but found it uncomfortable. Trip acted as if they were little adults and treated them as such. If they didn't understand he'd explain what he meant as many times as needed. With Jamie he had some sort of code that she assumed was understood amongst the males of the species because they all seemed to understand each other. She on the other hand found it tedious to have to change the way she spoke and alter her vocabulary to be understood. She'd spent years learning how to speak to adult humans and now she'd have to learn a whole new set of rules to speak to children. Perhaps she could be polite, keep her interactions to a minimum, and let Trip handle any communication with them.
---
Enterprise was due to leave in hours. Malcolm had commed Trip yesterday to say goodbye and double check that all was right in the world before he was too far away to be of any assistance. Why he was calling again Trip had no clue.
"Trip I need you to do me a favor."
"Anything Malcolm, you know that." Trip told him and meant it.
"I gave MacKenzie your private number, so she can contact you if she wants to use your comm system to contact me."
"Written messages aren't going to be enough?" Trip tried not to smile at Mal's expression. The guy who didn't let anyone in was already missing MacKenzie Smith and he hadn't left space dock.
"I'd like to be able to see her once in a while and it's not like I can give her codes to contact me directly." Malcolm drew in a deep breath to force himself to relax.
"You actually considered giving her Starfleet codes? Are you nuts?" Trip shot back at him.
"Not really. Well maybe for a second." It did cross his mind for a second, but he would never knowingly put his crew in danger. And giving someone to a secure system would do just that.
Trip couldn't believe he'd actually considered giving her a set of codes even for a split second. "Malcolm we wanted you to color outside the lines, not obliterate the damn things all together."
"I will contact MacKenzie and arrange for her to join us for dinner one evening soon. It will make things easier if we were to become friends with her. Malcolm is quite taken with her." T'Pol offered through the bond. She'd ask Billy and Melissa if they could bring her to dinner with them next week.
"Seems like it. Thanks darlin'." It surprised him that she was so willing to initiate a friendship with Malcolm girlfriend, but he was glad. It saved him the awkwardness of doing it himself.
"I wouldn't do that and you know it. I'm going to miss her is all and I need you to help with that." Although he had broken rules for Trip and T'Pol, they were Starfleet as well as very close friends.
"You know I'll do whatever you need me to do." Trip almost felt sorry for the crew on Enterprise being confined on a small ship with a lovesick, lonely Malcolm Reed. It wasn't going to be pretty.