Disclaimer: See Previous chapters.
Rating: PG-13 for violence and angst.
Chapter 10
Two days after T'Les left for Vulcan, T'Pol returned to the surface of Ceti Alpha V. She concentrated on caring for Archer, and Trip threw himself in the heavy burden of being captain. Weeks turned into months. T'Pol sometimes corresponded with people from the ship, especially Hoshi, who often wrote to inquire about Archer's well-being. Trip sometimes contacted her, but it was always about ship's operations or some matter concerning Vulcan diplomacy. The tone was formal, that of a current captain speaking to the former one.
Then, almost two years after the birth of their child, T'Pol was tending to the vegetable garden in her front yard when Trip appeared at the gate. He wore his Starfleet uniform with the gold stripes, and he held a bouquet of lilacs from the ship's garden. Enterprise had been carrying botanical samples to share with other species they met during their explorations, and now that garden contained precious remains of Earth's stunning horticultural diversity.
"Evenin'," said Trip.
T'Pol noticed a few new lines on his face and dark circles beneath his eyes. It did not surprise her, given his great responsibilities. She took the flowers and inhaled their scent.
"It is agreeable to see you, Captain," said T'Pol.
Before they could speak further, Archer appeared in door and came out to greet his old friend. Soon, the three of them sat at the kitchen table and talked of their early adventures together. The two men even laughed, and T'Pol's eyes sparkled.
Eventually, Archer's brain injury caused him to fatigue, and he retired for the evening. Trip lingered and helped her clean up the dishes. As T'Pol placed the last plate in the cabinet, she turned to him.
"Would you care for some wine?"
"There's wine?"
"It's the first vintage. Pinot noir grapes grow well in the soil here. Due to his injury, Archer can not share it with me."
T'Pol pulled a jug and two glasses down from the shelf. They sat in the small living room and talked. She spoke of the long, tedious days of caring for Archer, and he spoke of the day-to-day ship operations and about various members of the crew. Soon, however, there was nothing more to say and they were in each other's arms. He carried her into her small bedroom, where there was no future and no past.
Much later, as they held each other before drifting to sleep he thought the words All we have is right now, and he knew she heard them.
***
After that, Trip visited regularly, although not as often as he would have liked. Two or three times a month he managed to slip away to the surface but never more than that. Malcolm was becoming more confident as a stand-in captain, but there were always issues to sort out and decisions that had to be the captain's and the captain's alone.
Sometimes, Trip would arrive at the front gate bearing gifts from the ship, as he had the first day. He would spend time with Archer, and in doing so, lift some of the daily burden from her. Other times, he would just materialize in her room late at night as if he was a clandestine lover, and they were engaged in an illicit affair. The irony wasn't lost on either of them.
They were lovers and bondmates, but also friends who understood one another. He would talk to her about all the decisions he had to make each day, and she would advise and support him as if she was still the first officer.
One day, about a year after their reunion, he brought at PADD with him. He showed it to her, and she realized it was a letter from her mother, written in English.
"She started writing me a couple months ago," said Trip, "asking me about human things. Seems T'Mir's human side sometimes surfaces, and she wanted advice. T'Mir dreams a lot, and I guess Vulcan kids don't do that so your mom wanted to know what to do."
T'Pol put her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes.
"I told T'Les to read her a story before making her go back to sleep. Since Vulcans don't do bedtime stories, I forwarded a file of Goodnight Moon, which T'Mir liked except she wanted to know why there was only one 'celestial body' in the story. I had forgotten that Vulcan doesn't technically have a moon."
T'Pol's opened her eyes, but she said nothing. Trip grabbed her hand, and he sensed her suppressing a spectrum of emotions.
"I didn't show this to you to upset you. T'Les said it might, but it didn't seem fair, you not knowing we were in touch. . . there's an image."
Trip pressed a couple of buttons on the PADD, and an image of a little girl with straight brown hair, pointed ears and a serious expression appeared. Most striking, however, were the girl's blue eyes.
"T'Les says that since no Vulcan thinks cross-breeding is possible, they just assume her eyes are a mutation of some sort," said Trip.
T'Pol touched the image with her hand.
"I'm pleased you showed me this," she said.
"I'm glad," he said softly, "and I was wondering. You know Phlox is still working on a cure. . .if that happens. . .I was thinking maybe we could go to Vulcan for a visit. We wouldn't have to stay long, I mean, I wouldn't want to disrupt her life. . .but I'd like to see her."
T'Pol nodded in the affirmative.
"If he gets well," she said, "we shall go."
***
Four years later, Archer was walking Porthos on a drizzly day. When he arrived at his front gate, he noticed a young woman - a girl really - sitting on the front steps and getting wet.
"Hello, Captain Archer," said the girl in a slightly English-accented voice.
"I assume we've met," he said.
"Many times," she said getting up and holding out her hand, "I'm Lily Reed."
"You're Malcolm's?"
She nodded as he shook her hand.
"You don't look much like Malcolm," said Archer, who couldn't help but notice the girl was taller than Reed, and had blond hair, a pug nose and green eyes. Archer also noted multi-colored nail polish and a series of scars on the top of her arms.
"He and his wife adopted me after the big attack," she said, "but I have a little brother that look's just like my Dad."
"Who'd Malcolm marry? Anyone I know?"
"The MACO Amanda Cole. She died in a pirate attack two years ago," said Lily without emotion.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Archer.
"It happens," said Lily.
T'Pol came out the front door.
"It is illogical to stand in the rain," she said, beckoning the two inside, "I have made tea. It's in the kitchen."
Since Amanda's death, Lily's grades had suffered. Malcolm had asked T'Pol to tutor her in organic chemistry, not only because T'Pol excelled at the subject but also because visits to the surface tended to cheer up Lily.
As they sipped their tea, Lily turned to Archer.
"There's some coffee on the ship. Seems they grow Earth coffee plants on Tellarite, and the Tellarite traders sometimes bring us some. Captain Tucker can be stingy about who gets it, but I'll bet I can convince him to share some with you."
"I'd like that," said Archer.
"Will you tell me about the time you saved my dad from the Romulan mine? And don't gloss over the details."
***
Three years later, T'Pol and Trip were cloistered in her bedroom looking over the data on a PADD.
"He really thinks he has it this time?" asked Trip, "There's been so many disappointments. . . ."
T'Pol brushed a hair from his face, and she leaned over and touched her forehead to his.
"He's never made the journey before this. He must be confident of his work."
"What will Archer do?" asked Trip, "It's been so long. . ."
"It's not been long for him. At least in his mind," she said, "and I'm sure his skills will be valuable to President Chang. She will no doubt find something for him to contribute."
Trip gathered her into a hug, the long-hoped for visit to Vulcan was in both their thoughts, but they did not speak of it.
"We can use all the help we can get, Archer's input included. The intelligence chatter has been ominous lately. The Xindi haven't given up. Most races in this quadrant are on our side, but I'm afraid it's just a matter of time. . . "
"We must hope it doesn't come to that," whispered T'Pol.
***
Hoshi, Trip and Malcolm sat around the Captain's table for their morning command meeting. The mood was unusually happy, due to the visitors that were set to arrive in just a few hours.
"It'll be great to see Phlox again," said Hoshi, "Miranda has about a million questions for him about his logs. I told her to try and limit them to around ten, just so he won't be overwhelmed."
Malcolm smiled.
"Lily can't wait to see Archer," said Malcolm, "I think she'll make him tell the Romulan mine story again. Maybe it will lighten her mood."
"Still the morose teenager?"
Malcolm rolled his eyes.
"I don't know if she'd be this way if the situation was. . .normal or if she's just a teenager. Her latest thing is an absolute refusal to come with us to The Endeavor. I've told her she can transport over anytime she likes, but she's adamant. Won't even discuss the matter. By the way, Michio's been coming around to see her, but she won't talk about that either."
Hoshi laughed.
"He says he's been hanging out in engineering, but I figured he was stopping off to see Lily on the way. Probably on the way back, too."
Trip contributed nothing to the conversation, but his mind drifted to the letter he had gotten from T'Mir that morning. She was still in primary school, and so the letter was filled with stories of her school projects and sweet tales about her pet Sehlat. Trip made a mental note to ask T'Pol what Vulcan teenagers were like, so he would know what to expect.
"As much as I am enjoying this conversation," he said, "We've got some intelligence reports to go over. It seems the Xindi are operating pretty close to here. . ."
***
Later that afternoon, T'Pol felt the battle raging all around her. Then, her body went cold. The bond that had been her solace for nearly twelve years had been severed, and she was hollow with shock. Yet, she wasn't alone in her mind. Across the light years, she sensed someone else who shared her suffering. T'Pol closed her eyes and suppressed the agony that coursed through her mind. She knew what she had to do.
"The bridge is gone," said Archer.
"T'Pol to Phlox," she said.
"Go ahead," said Phlox through the comm.
"Meet us in Engineering. We're going to finish the procedure."
"Understood."
"We don't have time to worry about parasites right now," said Archer.
"That's not necessarily true," said T'Pol, "Come with me. I'll explain."