The two months passed quickly for the Tucker family, and it was time for Tripp and T'Pol to return to work. They were thinking about how it was going to work because Gomez still wasn't back from Earth. They had figured that she would be back by now or would have told them what was happening, but there was nothing. They had to think about two children and not one this time but two and one of them was only two months old.
Tripp was sitting on the couch with his two children watching a movie that was Charlie's favorite at the time. Tripp and T'Pol had seen it several times and knew almost every word that was being said. Charlie let out a laugh at something in the movie and it made Tripp look up from T'Mir, who was sleeping to see what was on the TV. Tripp shook his head and waited for T'Pol to come back. She had a meeting with the captain and that meant that Tripp got stuck with their two children.
The door opened and Tripp and Charlie looked up to see T'Pol make her way in. She looked at the movie and took a seat on the couch next to Tripp. Charlie scrambled from the floor to the couch and tried to climb in his mother's lap. T'Pol ended up helping him.
"How was your meeting with Jonathan?" Tripp asked.
T'Pol looked over Charlie's head. "It was bad. Crewman Gomez is not coming back. Her mother is getting worse and may not last through the month."
Tripp moaned and threw his head back on the couch. It was hard for them to find Gomez after Crewman Edgerton died. Tripp glanced down at his children and knew that they were going to have to find another nanny to watch their children. They had gone through everyone on the ship and no one else fitted into their family.
T'Mir started to cry, and Tripp checked her. He got up and headed across the room to change her. "What are we going to do?" Tripp asked.
"They said that they would send someone for us, but that could take months to find someone that fits our family," T'Pol said.
Tripp sighed. "We'll just have to work opposite schedules until we find someone," T'Pol nodded. Tripp didn't like it when he barely saw his wife. They knew that this could happen when they lived on a ship, and they had important jobs.
Tripp finished changing his daughter and made it back to the couch. T'Mir was up now and looking around at them. She reached for T'Pol, and Tripp handed her off. Tripp took Charlie from T'Pol's lap. He knew they could do this.
"What shifts do you want?" T'Pol asked. They were going back to work in a week.
"I'll work nights," Tripp said. T'Pol was needed during the day and Tripp knew that he could get a lot of work done at night.
T'Pol nodded and leaned her head against his shoulders. Tripp knew that she didn't like this one bit. Tripp kissed the top of her head before turning and finishing the movie with Charlie. It was the moments that Tripp was going to miss with his family. Charlie laughing at every little thing on his favorite movie and bouncing on him. T'Pol sitting next to him, holding their daughter.
Tripp was tired. He really wanted to sleep, but he knew that the kids would be up, and he had to help them get ready for the day. He entered his quarters to find Charlie still in his pajamas and playing on the floor. He didn't see T'Pol or T'Mir. Tripp starched at his bread that was coming in. "Four, where is Mama?"
Charlie looked up with a smile. "Papa," He jumped up and ran towards him. Tripp bent down and let Charlie run into his arms. Tripp picked him up and headed for the kids' room to see if T'Pol was in there, but she wasn't. There was only one more place that she could be. Tripp carried Charlie to his room. Tripp saw T'Mir in her crib, wide awake. She saw him and held out her arms for him. Tripp put Charlie down on the bed to pick up T'Mir. She settled her head on his shoulder. Tripp smiled. "Papa, watch," Tripp looked over and saw that Charlie was starting to jump on the bed.
"Charlie, sit on the bed or get off," Tripp gave a warning. Charlie frowned but sat on the bed. Tripp sighed when he saw T'Pol come out of the bathroom.
"You look tired," T'Pol stated as she made her way over to him. She leaned over and kissed him.
Tripp nodded. They have been doing this for a month, with him working at night and T'Pol working in the day. He wanted this to be over. They had heard that Starfleet had found them a nanny and they were making their way over to the ship, but Tripp was ready for them to be here already.
"I am. How was last night?" He asked. He watched as T'Pol helped Charlie off the bed and ushered him out of the room.
"It was fine," T'Pol led Charlie to his room. Tripp followed her in, and they changed the children and put clothes on them. "Charlie went to sleep right away, and he stayed asleep," T'Pol put a shirt on Charlie. Tripp nodded and finished dressing T'Mir.
Once the kids were dressed, they headed out for breakfast. After breakfast, T'Pol headed for the bridge while Tripp took the kids back to their quarters. Tripp settled Charlie on the floor and put T'Mir in her bassinet. He watched as Charlie played with a Vulcan toy. It was to help with something, but Tripp couldn't remember what it was. He really wanted to close his eyes, but he had to watch the kids. Maybe he could close his eyes for a moment.
"Papa," Tripp woke to Charlie waking him. Tripp looked around the room to see that Charlie was sitting next to him shaking him. He glanced down at T'Mir to see that she was sleeping.
"Yeah," Tripp said.
"Can I watch a movie?" Charlie settled next to him while Tripp on Charlie's favorite movie.
In the middle of the movie, the doors to their quarters opened. Tripp looked up to see T'Pol enter with a woman. She was an older woman she might be older than him. Tripp wondered if that was the new nanny. Tripp stood. "This is my husband, Commander Tucker," T'Pol pointed him out. Tripp shook her hand. "Tripp, this is Nurse Johnson, she is the new nanny for the children."
Tripp smiled at the woman. "Good morning," He said.
The nurse nodded. "These are the children. This is Charlie. He is two almost three," T'Pol pointed towards the couch. "And this is T'Mir," T'Pol reached in bassinet and picked up T'Mir. She showed the baby to Nurse Johnson. The nurse didn't smile or say anything to the children. Tripp didn't know what to make of it. She didn't even reach for T'Mir to hold her. She didn't even greet Charlie. Something in Tripp's gut told him something was off. T'Pol didn't see anything. T'Pol handed T'Mir to him. "You can start tomorrow. I will show you to your room," T'Pol and Nurse Johnson left.
He didn't know if he should tell T'Pol how he felt, but he really wanted to sleep again. Tripp sat on the couch again with T'Mir. He could be making a mistake about Nurse Johnson. She could be very good at her job. He will just have to see how she interacts with the children and if they take to her. Charlie settled at his side and Tripp wrapped an arm around him. Right now, he needed to hold his kids close.
The next morning, Tripp felt better after getting a good night's sleep next to his wife. They had a good evening as a family. He woke to see T'Pol was already up. He listened for the shower but didn't hear it. He looked over the bed to see that T'Mir was gone. T'Pol must have taken her out this morning to feed her so Tripp could sleep.
Tripp made his way to the main area to see T'Pol sitting on the couch with T'Mir. "Good morning," Tripp said.
T'Pol looked up at him. "Good morning," She said in a quiet voice. Tripp glanced down and saw that T'Mir was sleeping. He didn't see Charlie and knew that his son was still sleeping.
"Do you want me to take her to so you can shower?" Tripp asked.
T'Pol shook her head. Tripp nodded and went back to their room to shower and get dressed for the day. He came back out to see Charlie come out of his room in his pajamas. Tripp took T'Mir from T'Pol so she could shower. Tripp led his children to their room and got them dressed for the day. Tripp headed out after he was done and saw that T'Pol was ready for breakfast.
After breakfast, Tripp and T'Pol headed back to their quarters to find Nurse Johnson there. She smiled at Charlie, who decided to hide behind Tripp. Tripp smiled at the woman. "Sorry, Charlie can be a little shy," Tripp pulled Charlie from behind him and bent down to his level. "Charlie, I would like you to meet Nurse Johnson. She is going to be watching you while Mama and Papa work."
T'Pol handed T'Mir to Nurse Johnson. "If you need anything, just call the bridge or engineering," They entered their quarters. T'Pol showed her where everything was.
"If there is battle," Tripp took Nurse Johnson to the kids' room. "Please take the kids here," He showed her his secret hiding place for the children.
They went back to the main area. T'Pol and Tripp said goodbye to their children before leaving. They hoped that everything was going to be okay with Nurse Johnson. Tripp and T'Pol separated as he went to engineering and she went to the bridge.
Tripp was the first home and had Charlie run into his legs. Tripp picked him up and looked around the room for T'Mir to find her in her bassinet with tears running down her face. He bent down and picked her up too. He saw Nurse Johnson sitting at the table. "Thank you," He smiled at her.
Nurse Johnson got up and gave a nod to Tripp before leaving. Tripp thought that she would have something to say about the kids and their day but nothing. He had to wonder why she wasn't holding T'Mir because she was crying. Tripp shrugged it off.
"Papa, I'm hungry," Charlie said.
"As soon as Mama is home, we will go and get dinner," Tripp picked up T'Mir to see that she was smelling. He went and changed her.
He saw a rash on her butt. He didn't see it on her butt this morning when he changed her. He took care of the rash before putting a new diaper on. He wiped away the tears from T'Mir's face and took her out of the room. Charlie was sitting on the couch holding his stomach. "Papa, I'm really hungry," Tripp didn't like the sound of that.
He decided to take the kids to the mess hall. He called T'Pol to have her meet them there. He took his kids to the mess hall. He made sure to bring a bottle with him to feed T'Mir. He got food for Charlie before finding a spot to sit so they could eat. Tripp watched as Charlie ate his food. He was eating faster than normal, and Tripp didn't like it. He fed T'Mir before T'Pol came in.
"Charlie, take it slow or you are going to get a stomachache," T'Pol said as he pulled his spoon away from him.
"Mama, I was really hungry," Charlie smiled up at his mother.
"Why?" T'Pol asked. She handed the spoon back to him.
"No, lunch," Charlie dug back into his food.
T'Pol traded a look with Tripp. He didn't like that at all. He told her about the rash on T'Mir's butt. He knew that T'Pol didn't like it. They were going to have to talk to Nurse Johnson about her duties.
The next morning, T'Pol outlined Nurse Johnson's duties. Tripp thought he saw Nurse Johnson narrow her eyes at them. Tripp didn't know if he wanted to trust this woman with his children when she didn't take care of their needs. He was going to give her one more day and nothing changed then he was going to talk to T'Pol.
"Commander T'Pol to the bridge," They heard Hoshi voice over the comms. T'Pol gave the kids one more look before leaving. Tripp knew that she was seeing how the children looked before she left.
Tripp gave T'Mir a kiss on the head and told Charlie. "Be good, Four."
Charlie looked up at him. "I will, Papa," Tripp smiled and kissed the top of his head.
Tripp gave Nurse Johnson a look. "Take care of my children," Tripp didn't wait to see if she had something to say.
Tripp was on his way to engineering when the ship shook. He knew right away that they were in a battle. He ran to engineering to see what he needed to do. He hoped that Nurse Johnson would take care of his children.
The battle was over, and Tripp let out a sigh. He didn't know how they made it out of there, but they did. He knew that the captain was going to be looking for a damage report, but Tripp wanted to check on his children before making that report for him.
He made his way down the corridor and about halfway through he started to hear crying. He knew right away that it was T'Mir's cry. He started to run towards their quarters. He opened the door to see Charlie trying to comfort his sister. Tripp saw a cut over his right eyebrow. There shouldn't be a cut on his face. Tripp went over and picked up T'Mir and she quieten down. He looked around and didn't see Nurse Johnson anywhere. He bent down to look at Charlie's cut to see if he needed the doctor or not. Tripp touched it with one finger.
Charlie pushed his hand away. "That hurt, Papa," Tears started to fill his eyes. Tripp didn't like that one bit.
"Can you sit on the couch for me," Tripp said. He watched as Charlie took a seat. He set T'Mir in her bassinet. "I'll be right back," Tripp headed for the children's room.
He went to the safe spot that he had made before Charlie was born and opened it. He saw Nurse Johnson sitting in there. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled. "You are in here while my children are out there, crying. Get out!" Tripp hissed. He moved out of the way so she could get out.
Tripp led the way to the living area. She didn't say anything to him. "Are you going to explain to me why?"
"No," It was the first time he heard her voice. "Your half- breed children shouldn't be here."
Tripp curled his hands into a fist, and he so wanted to hit her. Tripp had never wanted to hit a woman before, but he did right now. The only thing that was stopping him was his children were right here and they didn't need to see their father hit a woman. "My what?"
"Your half-breed children," Nurse Johnson hissed. "You could have had children with a nice human."
"My children are not half-breeds," Tripp hissed back.
Nurse Johnson raised an eyebrow at him. "Their mother is a Vulcan, and you are human." She stated it like it was common knowledge.
Tripp was ready to punch her. "You are right and I'm sure they told you when you applied for the job."
Nurse Johnson had a look like she was thinking, and she gave a half smile. "They might have."
Tripp took e breath. "Your job was to take care of my children and you haven't done that. They could have been seriously hurt or killed during the battle."
"One less half-breed in the world," Nurse said like she didn't think about the death of his children.
"Pack your bags and get out!" Tripp yelled. He pointed to the door. "Never come back."
Tripp watched as that woman left. Tripp had to take a breath before looking at his children. Charlie was looking at him with wide eyes. Tripp knew that Charlie had never seen him that angry. "It's okay, Four. That woman is never coming back." Tripp held out his hand. "Let's go see the doctor about that cut," Charlie jumped off the couch and reached for his papa's hand. Tripp picked up T'Mir and headed out of their quarters. He can call T'Pol at the sick bay.