"This stupid planet needs a name," Sandra Sloane complained as she stacked crates of harvested mushrooms and peas.
"I dunno," Tristan Curtis replied, "How about New Pennsylvania?"
Verinold added a crate of freshly-picked asparagus. "Pennsylvania?"
"Yes, the climate's kinda like it is here," Tristan explained. Sandra shook her head so he hastily changed his position. "New Ikaaria?"
"No," Verinold stated, "It seems presumptuous."
"It's like a damned speakeasy," Sandra said. They both looked at her blankly, so she added, "You know, it's a secret place. You can practically only get in with a password." She leaned over, holding her side. "I gotta take a break."
Verinold put a crate down onto the ground and she sat down on top of it. "Are you well?" he inquired.
"I dunno. I feel dizzy."
Tristan clicked open his communicator. "Yeah? Doctor Phlox? Sandra's not feeling well."
"Let's get her beamed back aboard. I'll have Mister Torres do that as soon as you can give him your coordinates. Phlox out."
Some of the dogs came over. They, too, seemed to be concerned. Champ, a rangy hound mix, practically glued himself to Sandra's side. "You can't come with me," she told him. There was a pause. "My stomach hurts like I've got really bad cramps. I feel hot."
=/\=
She beamed aboard and nearly collapsed, José ended up carrying her to Sick Bay.
In Sick Bay, José lay Sandra down on a bio bed and the trouble was easy to discern. There was a stain of blood between her legs. José turned away quickly. "I, uh, I better go," he mumbled, beating a hasty retreat out of there as the doctor worked the controls that brought the bio bed into the Sick Bay imaging chamber. "Six weeks," he reported after a while, as he reversed the bed out of the chamber.
"What?" asked Sandra groggily.
"You're six weeks along," clarified the Denobulan, "But no more heavy lifting. It's not good for the baby."
"What?"
"Crewman, you seem to be in a bit of denial. Perhaps it's some cognitive dissonance – you did suffer from that last time. You're definitely pregnant. I take it Crewman Curtis is the father?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. I better tell him."
"And you'd best tell him you'll be back on the ship for a while. You very nearly miscarried today. Not only are you to cease all farming activities immediately, and all heavy lifting, but I also want you here so that I can closely monitor your and the baby's health."
"Right. Huh, I'll need a replacement on the surface, too. That harvest won't just up and bring itself in." She clicked open her communicator. "Sloane to Curtis. Yeah, Tristan, it's me. I've gotta stay here."
"Did you get hurt?" he asked as Verinold hovered nearby, almost as concerned.
"No, but, uh, Tris, I'm pregnant."
There was a pause. "Holy cow, Sandra. I mean, uh, you wanna get married?"
=/\=
Marriage was on everyone's mind, as T'Pol and Tripp were finally tying the knot that day. The captain had practiced and practiced, trying to get the ceremony just right. It was to be a combination of Earth and Vulcan customs and rituals. Switching from one culture's traditions to another's was proving to be more difficult than he had initially expected.
"Every time I think I'm close, I seem to get one of the details wrong," Jonathan complained to Esilia over coffee.
"You did quite well for our own wedding."
"I had a lot of motivation." They kissed.
Esilia put her hand up to her brow. "I feel a bit warm."
"Let's get you to Sick Bay."
"No, I am all right," she assured him.
He looked at her. "No," he sighed, "I don't want to take any chances."
"I –" Esilia had known Jonathan long enough that she had learned it was useless to argue with him when he was in such a mood. "All right," she acquiesced.
They walked to Sick Bay together, after the captain had given command to Hoshi. They were a bit surprised to see that Doctor Phlox had a patient, Sandra. "Oh, we can return later," Esilia offered.
"It's no trouble!" enthused the Denobulan. "Come in! Come in! I just need to synthesize an ancient antibiotic for Crewman Sloane here."
"Did you get sick from the harvest somehow?" Captain Archer asked.
"No. It, uh, it turns out that I'm pregnant. So I'm here. But the doc here says I've got an infection, too," Sandra explained, "Say, Doc, why are you replicating a medicine that's so old school?"
"Just because it's an older remedy, it does not mean that it no longer works. It fell out of favor because a number of humans were allergic to it, but you are not. Now, let's see." He fiddled with some controls and the dosage was delivered, in the form of a hypospray. "See, if I were Alexander Fleming in the early twentieth century, I'd make this drug by putting out bread for a few days and then harvesting the green mold."
Sandra made a face. "You're gonna inject me with mold spores?"
"Not just any mold spores. And these are refined, by the way. This is the first antibiotic ever made. A wonder drug!"
"What is this miraculous compound called?" asked Esilia.
"Penicillin."
=/\=
In the galley, Lili fretted and worked on the wedding cake while Brian and Craig put together hors d'oeuvres and the pans of vegan entrées – most of them were vegan lasagna – baked in the ovens.
"How d'ya like this?" Brian asked.
"What is it?" asked Craig. "It looks like a little bit of puff pastry rolled into a ball and fried."
"You're almost right. Taste it."
Craig bit into the little shell, which was no bigger than a Ping-Pong ball. He ate the contents. "Hey! There's plomeek broth in there!"
"Right, I figured it would be nicer than just a bunch of crudités with hummus."
"Sounds like a good idea," Lili interjected a little distractedly, "Now, I've got a strawberry layer and a raspberry layer. For a cake with no dairy, I think it came out pretty well. Pity it'll just crumble. Butter, cream and eggs sure do come in handy for keeping everything together."
"I don't think anybody's gonna care," Craig told her.
=/\=
Tripp and T'Pol were in their shared quarters, getting ready. "How're ya doin' in there?" he asked from the other side of the bathroom door.
"The day is … a bit unsettling."
"Unsettling?"
"Only in the sense that my widowhood was so long in the previous iteration."
"Things'll be different this time," Tripp assured her, "I guarantee it."
=/\=
After Phlox had injected Sandra, he looked Esilia over. He sighed as he read his instruments. "I'm afraid that the heat and the fatigue you are feeling are the initial symptoms of the decline."
"The decline?" Jonathan asked, his voice full of distress, "But this is so early!"
The doctor tapped around on his PADD. "The quatromenaline was merely a stopgap measure for the past two years." He tapped some more. "Now, this is interesting."
"What is?" asked the captain, ready to clutch at any straws that were out there.
"I wonder why I didn't try this last time," Phlox mused. The doors swished open and Andrew Miller walked in. "Andrew! Do you have any idea why we might not have tried to use penicillin against the decline?"
"What?"
"Penicillin. It's so plain; I don't know quite why I missed it."
"Well, it's been out of favor for quite a while," Andrew speculated. He noticed Sandra on one of the bio beds. "Everything okay there?"
"I'm a month and a half along," she reported.
"Ah," Andrew replied, "I guess you're done harvesting for a while."
"Yeah. Huh, I wonder if one of the single guys like Torres could take my place for a while," she mused.
"The penicillin, Doctor?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes, well, I suppose that was a part of the reason. Plus, well, in the last throw back in time, we didn't meet Ikaarans until, well, until perhaps a year ago or so. I imagine I dismissed the idea for some reason or another. I'll need to check my notes. But in the meantime, Esilia, do you mind an experimental solution? I could attempt to treat you with penicillin and we'll see what happens. Perhaps the combination with quadromenaline will prove efficacious."
He set about synthesizing more of the compound. Andrew turned to Esilia and Jonathan. "I've got no idea why it was overlooked last time. But hey, we should try it."
"Very well," Esilia allowed, "Let us at least try. There is nothing to lose."
=/\=
Craig and Brian left the galley in order to set up chairs for the ceremony. Lili was left alone to monitor the ovens. She about jumped out of her skin when the door swished open. It was José. "Oh!" she cried out.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I got a message from the captain. He said the wedding's gonna be delayed a bit. He and Esilia are in Sick Bay."
"Oh, I hope it's nothing too serious." She looked at him. "Can you, um, there's a nice cake platter way up on a high shelf. Can you please grab it for me?"
"Oh, sure." He was tall – the tallest fellow on the ship, by far – and he reached it easily. "Here ya go." He presented it to her.
She put it onto a counter but didn't take her eyes off him. "My hero," she came close and kissed him on the cheek.
He took the initiative and leaned in, kissing her full on the mouth. It lasted a few minutes and then finally stopped. She stared at him. "I have wanted to do that for years," he admitted.
She was just dumbstruck. The doors opened and it was Craig. "We got a reprieve. Captain's gonna be a little late. Hiya, Torres."
Lili turned away and back to the cake, a little alarmed.
"I'll just, uh, wait with everyone else," José mumbled as he departed.
=/\=
"I think it might be working," Phlox stated.
"Maybe it's the combination with the quadromenaline," Andrew offered.
"We'll monitor this," Phlox decided, "and it might involve a few more injections. This might turn out to be a disease that's manageable but chronic, somewhat like HIV became after anti-retroviral drugs were developed."
"What about when – if – when – Esilia becomes pregnant?" asked the captain.
"She might need to go off the medication. So let's see how this goes. If it works, then my recommendation would be to have your children very soon, and probably no more than two or three," replied the Denobulan.
"Huh, I can do that. Holy cow," Jonathan stammered, "I, er, I gotta go run a wedding." He took Esilia by the hand and they left for the Observation Lounge, where the wedding was to be held.
=/\=
For Tripp and T'Pol, it was a day to remember, but perhaps not for all of the usual reasons. The crew stood together in the Observation Lounge, for the most part, as Hoshi helped the captain chant a little in Vulcan. "Wedding or challenge? Is there a challenge for this woman?" Jonathan asked in English.
Everyone looked around nervously. José Torres stepped forward. "I, uh, I challenge for, uh, for T'Pol."
The Vulcan eyebrow shot up. Tripp came over to him and quietly asked, "Uh, you sure 'bout that?"
"Uh, yeah," he glanced at Lili as he said that. She looked down.
"In traditional Vulcan culture," T'Pol explained, "the Kal-if-fee is normally undertaken while a Vulcan man is in the throes of Pon Farr."
"And?" asked the captain.
"And the man is generally," she hesitated a moment, "logically impaired. The fight is intended to be to the death."
Now Lili looked up. "Maybe we can just posture," Tripp suggested, "I'm not gonna do anything to hurt ya, Torres."
"We could arm wrestle," José suggested, "Uh, Commander T'Pol, I don't mean for it to sound at all disrespectful or anything. Just, uh, Commander Tucker should, he should be your champion. Okay?"
She nodded, a little bemused. She had already attended several human weddings since they had been tossed back in time. There always seemed to be a bit of humor, or an instance of something going haywire. Often, those ended up being the same moment. She realized that this was the humorous unscripted moment in her own wedding. "This is most irregular," she stated, "however, perhaps our traditions can be," the Vulcan hesitated for a split second, "bent."
The men sat down together at a small table that Craig brought out, and arm wrestled, with José letting his boss win. "Victory is secured!" Tripp crowed, arms raised in a V. Quietly, he leaned over to José and said, "Thanks for lettin' me win, Buddy."
"No sweat, Boss."
=/\=
The wedding did not end with a kiss. Instead, it ended up T'Pol and Tripp touching their index and middle fingers together, a kind of halfway hand holding. They turned to the assembly.
Tripp had a grin as big as all of Florida. T'Pol tilted her head slightly, a sly look of; perhaps it was amusement and contentment. She turned her cheek for the captain to kiss his congratulations.
Lili was about ready to start getting the hors d'oeuvres out when José came over. "Commander Tucker's pretty strong," he reported as his greeting.
"I think you let him win. Did you want T'Pol?"
"No, I, uh, I thought someone should step forward, yanno? Someone should let him, you know, be a hero."
"That was really nice of you." She turned to go to follow Brian and Craig to the galley.
"Lili? Can I ask you something?"
"I guess so."
"Why, uh, why did you kiss me today? And, and why did you kiss me back?"
She looked up at him, her eyes a bit pained. "I, I don't know. I don't really know what to do. I'm sorry." She turned to leave again.
"C'mon," Brian muttered quietly to Craig, "Let's get everything out. She shouldn't have to do anything."
"Right," Craig agreed.
"Lili?" It was José. "I know I, I went too far. And I'm sorry."
"I, God, why is this so goddamned hard?" she asked. People started to stare. José shepherded her to the side of the room. "It's been years and I'm still affected. I can't help it."
"I, yeah, I guess you can't."
"See, you gotta understand," her eyes were shining, "It was, it was, it was right."
"Right?"
"Yeah. When I was with Malcolm – and God – I still can't believe it was less than two full days! But when I was with him, he said, us, our being together, it was right. And it was. And, and, that last day, when they left and, and I kissed Jay good-bye. I kissed him on the side of his mouth."
"Close to where you kissed me, Lili."
"Yeah, I, I guess so," she admitted. She bit her lower lip. "And, and I knew – I knew it! If we had been alone, he would have really kissed back. And that, too, it would have been, it would have been right."
"I guess so," José muttered quietly, feeling defeated.
"But that was the last time I saw either of them. And, and, now. Now! It's so much later but it still sometimes feels so fresh and, and raw. The other day; it was three years, to the day. I just, I sometimes think I am going to mentally light a candle and curse the anniversary every year until I die."
"I guess it's too soon," José looked around. "Captain!" he called out.
Captain Archer came over. "Yes?"
"Word is that Sandra and I guess also Tris are gonna be up from the surface for a while. I know Verinold can't do all the harvesting and stuff by himself. Sir," he looked at Lili as he said so, "I volunteer to go down to that planet and do farming. That is, if Commander Tucker can spare me."
"I'll ask him," the captain nodded, and then he noticed Lili seemed to be upset. "You don't have to go, Torres. I can get someone else, I'm sure."
"No, sir, I want to," he stated, "it feels like the right thing to do."
"All right," the captain went over to talk to the bride and groom.
"Lili," José stated, "I can tell it's, it's too early. But it's hard for me to be here, and be near you and not, not do anything. You understand? So, I'm gonna go, and I'll make myself useful. But I wanna know, is it okay if I write to you sometimes? You, you don't have to answer. I just wanna know if I can, okay?"
She nodded once.
"I'll miss you." And he was gone.
=/\=
Tripp Tucker grabbed his new wife's hand and headed out of the Observation Lounge as quickly and as early as decorum permitted. "Where are we going?" she asked, "Our shared quarters are in the other direction."
"A surprise," was all that he said.
They walked. "This is the way to the cargo bays," she noted.
"Correct. Now, hang on." He leaned over and picked her up.
"What is the purpose of this activity?"
"Just, uh, I'll tell ya when I put ya down. Can ya get the door panel?" They were in front of Cargo Bay Three.
She smacked the door panel and the door slid open. Inside, there was a sight.
There was a small plastic wading pool filled with water. Nearby there were a few hills of sand brought in from Paradise during a mission that only a few people had known about. There was a huge fruit basket, courtesy of Food Service. A click on a PADD and music – the contribution of the Communications Department – began to play. Over in one corner there was a fiberglass and wire sculpture, the gift from Engineering. "What is this?" T'Pol asked as Tripp put her down in front of it.
"Me 'n Jenny and José made it. It, uh, it's s'posed to be a palm tree. And, and, over here?" he showed her where there was a smaller basin near the wading pool. "If I turn this thing on, watch what happens." He did so, and a small waterfall emptied into the wading pool. "We gotta watch the levels and refill it at times," he admitted, "but that's what Tactical did for us. Aidan and Ethan were up half the night finishin' it. And over here, this is from Navigation." It was a picnic blanket; the decoration was the Vulcan system and the Sol system, close together. "I understand Cassie and Felicity and Colleen all worked on it, sewing it, for months." There was a fresh bouquet of roses. "These are for you," he presented them to her, "Shelby picked out the best ones from the Botany Lab."
"I shall have to thank Ensign Pike-Miller and the others at some point."
"And these are from Sekar Khan." He presented her with a canvas bag. She opened it and took out brightly-colored pieces of cloth. "They're, um, they're swimsuits."
"Swimsuits? That pool is not large enough for swimming."
"Understood. But, uh, just humor me, okay?"
"These are not Starfleet regulation." She held a pink bikini up to her body. "And they are quite immodest."
"That's the idea. Oh, and this is from Security and the MACOs." He presented her with a PADD.
She read aloud from the file he'd selected. "Coupon entitles bearer to one day of free guard duty. There are," she quietly counted to herself, "fourteen such notes. I do not understand."
"That's the do not disturb sign. They're gonna post a guard and no one can get in, not even the captain, unless the ship's on fire, or somethin."
"And the lifting up of my body? What did that signify?"
"I carried you over the threshold. I'm not sure what it's really supposed to mean. I guess it's actually meant to be for good luck and all. But for me, and for us, T'Pol, what I want it to mean is that, well, that things aren't easy here. Sometimes they're downright cruel. We saw that with Malcolm's death. And we saw it today. Lili's still affected. I think Sandra is, too, with Brooks bein' gone. And you are, no matter what you admit or don't admit, T'Pol, this is me talkin' and I know you."
"You do," she admitted.
"So I carried ya 'cause," he found himself welling up a bit, "'cause I want to, to protect you and, and give you all of the good and, and perfect things I can, for as long as I can. 'Cause we both know this ride is a short one and, and, even if I make it to a hundred, you are still gonna outlive me, big time. So, so for this, these, these few moments we've got, for these seconds of eternity, all I ask, all I want, is to make your life better. To, to do for you while I can."
She put a hand on his face. "For as long as we have, as long as there is life, I shall do the same for you, my bondmate. You are my t'hy'la and that is the case for any version of us that exists. And that will never die."
=/\=
"Ian, I'm confused."
"I was wondering 'bout that," he stated. As ever, they spoke in pitch darkness.
"I can't say how I feel. I just don't know. He's the one, though, right? You said I would be loved."
"I did say that."
"Why do I feel so awful?"
"I suspect I have something to do with that," he said.
"You?"
"I think our meeting and talking it's, well, I suspect it is delaying your healing somehow. I do not wish to do that. Lili, you need to become better. Things won't get off the ground with José if you aren't improved, and soon."
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying that, despite my own selfish desires, I believe we should not meet so often. I regret even so much as mentioning it but I feel it is best."
"Don't leave me, Ian. Everybody else has," her voice was tinged with desperation.
"This is what is right;" he replied slowly, "No one regrets this more than I. But I feel it must be this way. I have to let you heal."
She groped around and found him. This time, she didn't just hug him. They were very nearly the same height, and so she began to kiss his neck and jawline, working her way to his mouth. "Your face is wet," she said.
"It is because," his voice broke, "I will miss you. See, I know how José feels. For that version of him, you are the only one he has ever loved. And for me, for every version, it is the same."
Gently, she kissed him on the mouth, and he kissed her back, lingering. "Will I see you again, ever?"
"Yes," he replied, "but only in your darkest hours. I fear otherwise it is too much."
Cokie was sleeping nearby and, startled in her own dream, barked in her sleep, and Lili awoke.
And for Ian, he felt a shadow pass across his face and, suddenly, he could see just a little bit, a flash of her pale blonde hair and light blue eyes before the connection was cut. And he realized that it was a reward for his sacrifice. He had finally, for the first time ever, given up something of great value for another person. He had done the right thing.
=/\=
José Torres's Personal Log, September fifth, 2040
I've packed for the surface. I talked to Sandra; she wants to call the planet Speakeasy. Who am I to argue with that? She's pregnant and she's irritated. If I didn't agree, she'd throw something at me, I think.
I told Lili I would write to her, and I will. I don't know how to make her understand, without her completely shutting down, and for years. But when we went to Earth, and we pretended she was my wife, I wished that it wasn't pretending. And when I kissed her, it was what I had been dreaming of. Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder. I sure hope it does.
=/\=
Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, September fifth, 2040
My Chief Engineer and my Science Officer are honeymooning in Cargo Bay Three. That's such an odd sentence. They are not to be disturbed for, well; they think it'll be two weeks. But our gift to them – mine and Esilia's – is for it to be three weeks long.
Speaking of Esilia, so far, so good. She's tolerating the penicillin well. The others are trying it. They seem okay. Phlox says it may take a while before we really know that it's cured the decline. I'm hopeful.
This also means we need to have our children soon, he figures. We'll go in the morning and see about in vitro. She's sleeping right now. I don't want to wake her.
My heart is toppling over with how wonderful this day – this life – has turned out to be.
=/\=
Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, September fifth, 2040
I don't know how to process this day. I feel torn and strange, guilty, too. I know José likes me. But I almost feel like I can't reciprocate. It's not even just about Jay and Malcolm anymore. It's also because I'm afraid I'll lose him, too.
José is off to the surface of a planet that I guess we're going to call Speakeasy. I am not happy to see him go, but I understand why he is leaving. It cannot be easy for him.