"What happened to your arm?" T'Pol asked as Tripp met her at the shuttle bay. They were going to greet their children. After the battle, they passed words that they were okay before they had different things to do. Tripp had to fix engineering while T'Pol had to make sure that everyone on the ship was okay. They haven't seen each other since before the battle.
Tripp smiled. "One of the Romulans tried to take me out as I was helping my man," He looked at his arm to see the tear in his uniform, but the cut was gone. T'Pol touched the tear in his uniform. Tripp sighed as she touched him.
"If he would have shot a little lower or higher, he could have killed you," T'Pol stated.
Tripp looked around to see who else was around and no one that could see them. Tripp leaned forward and kissed her. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
"I don't want to get rid of you at all," T'Pol whispered as the shuttle came in.
Tripp could only nod. They entered the shuttle bay and Tripp went to help them open the doors to the shuttle. T'Pol was right by his side as the door opened. "Mama, Papa," Charlie came running at their legs. T'Pol and Tripp bent down and took Charlie in their arms. After they hugged their son, Tripp picked up Charlie and saw Ella come out with T'Mir. T'Pol took their daughter.
"How were they?" T'Pol asked.
"They were fine," Ella smiled. Ensign Miller came out holding bags. He handed the kids' bag to Tripp.
"Thank you for taking care of our children," T'Pol said.
Ella took her bag from Ensign Miller. "You're welcome," She traded a look with Ensign Miller before walking away.
Ensign Miller nodded at Tripp and T'Pol before taking his own bag back to his quarters. Tripp and T'Pol took their children and went back to their quarters. They already knew that they were going to spend the day with their children.
"How long for the wrap nacelle to be fix?" Jonathan asked Tripp as they sat in the captain's ready room.
"It should be ready in two days," Tripp said. They were going at impulse right now with the rest of the fleet. Many of the ships were doing repairs on their ships as they were making their way back to Earth. Jonathan nodded. Tripp thought that they all needed a few days to recover from the big battle.
"Tripp," Jonathan started when the comm went off.
"Starfleet Command," Hoshi said. "Is coming through for you."
"Put them on in my ready room," Jonathan said.
Tripp stood and headed out of the ready room. He made his way to the bridge to see that T'Pol was sitting in the captain's chair. He traded a look with her before walking off the bridge and heading back to Engineering.
He was halfway to Engineering when he was called to the conference room. Tripp sighed and turned around to head for the conference room. He entered the conference room to see that most of the senior staff was there. They were only missing the captain. Tripp found a seat next T'Pol. He leaned closer to her.
"Do you know what this is about?" He asked her.
"No," T'Pol whispered back as the captain entered the conference room.
They looked at the captain and saw a big smiled on face. He leaned against the table as he looked each and everyone of them. "I have some good news, the Romulans surrender, and Earth and its allies are working on a treaty with the Romulans. We are headed home for the celebration."
The crew traded smiles with each other. After four long years, the war was over, and they could get back to normal life. Tripp was thinking about what was next in life for him and T'Pol. They had talked about finding a home on Earth to raise their children. He looked at each of the others and they all needed a little rest and recreation. Tripp knew that he was going to have to talk to T'Pol about their next steps.
"Tripp, how long will it be until you have the warp nacelle working?" Tripp heard his name and looked at the captain. There was a smile on Jonathan's face.
"In couple of days, one of the ships had what we needed," Tripp smiled.
"Alright," The smile on the captain's face grew. "After the warp nacelle is fixed we will set course to Earth."
Tripp sat on the couch next to T'Pol. T'Pol looked up from the PADD she had in her hand. Tripp gave her smile before looking at the kids playing on the floor. Charlie was trying to show his sister something but T'Mir was having none of it. Tripp smiled as he looked back at T'Pol. He was glad to have his family together again.
"As you know the war is over and we talked about settling down on Earth, I was thinking while we were on Earth, we might start looking for a house for our family to grow in."
T'Pol put the PADD down. "I think you are right. It might help if we talk to someone about what kind of house we are looking for."
"Do we want to stay in the San Francisco or do we want to try somewhere different. We could move close to my parents or go anywhere in the world?" Tripp asked.
"I think before we decided on anything we should talk to Captain Archer about us leaving," T'Pol lifted her legs and placed them in Tripp's lap.
Tripp gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. He knew that she wanted him to massage her feet. Tripp started before saying. "We can't have him talk us into staying on the ship," T'Pol nodded as she picked up her PADD.
"I had a feeling this would happen," Jonathan said to his friends. Tripp and T'Pol were having a celebratory dinner with the captain for the end of war. They already had a big ship celebration and with the warp nacelle fixed they were in warp going home with the other Starfleet ships. It was only them and their kids.
"You did," Tripp was shocked. He had made sure the pieces were small enough for Charlie to eat with.
"I thought that you would have left me when you were pregnant with Charlie, but you didn't. I thought that when you were pregnant with T'Mir, but you didn't again."
"We couldn't just leave you in the middle of a war," T'Pol took T'Mir's spoon away as she was making too much noise with it.
"I understand. I don't know where I would be without you two," Jonathan smiled. "Have you told Starfleet yet?"
"No," Tripp and T'Pol traded a look. "We wanted to talk to you first before we would say anything to them."
"Can I ask you to give one year to figure things out?" Jonathan asked.
Tripp and T'Pol traded a look before nodding. They didn't see a problem of them staying for one more year. "That will be only logical."
They all knew a lot could change in a year, but they would give Jonathan Archer one year. He had been their friend for many years. He was in support of them from the beginning. They had fought many battles with this man. There wouldn't be any other person they would walk in the fire with.
"It's been an honor working with you, sir," Tripp said.
"Don't make me cry," Jonathan wiped a fake tear away. "I hope that we can always be friends."
"Tripp smiled. "Who else are we going to call to babysit?" Jonathan laughed as T'Pol shook her head.
"You have us for one more year," Tripp smiled.
The warp nacelle was fixed, and they were going at warp home to Earth. They were only going warp two because they were going with many of the Starfleet fleet. Tripp took this opportunity to spend time with his family. There was a different air about the ship because the war was over, and they were going home.
Tripp was in Engineering when Earth came in view. The ship was orbiting Earth. Trip was ready to get off the ship. He had told his parents that they were coming home for a while. His parents were meeting them in San Francisco. His mother couldn't wait to meet T'Mir.
"All senior staff to the conference room," Tripp heard Hoshi's voice. He let out a moan before making his way the conference room.
Like most times, Tripp was the last to get there. He took his seat next to T'Pol and waited for the captain to speak. "Starfleet wants to throw everyone in Starfleet a week of celebrations. It will start with an honor ceremony in two days and we all have to be there." Tripp wanted to moan but he kept it to himself. T'Pol threw him a look because she heard his inner moan.
The captain told them about the other celebrations that were happening that week. Tripp was only listening with half an ear to rest and had to figure out where he had to be and when. He would be able to find out all this information on his PADD. It seemed that the captain had more on his plate like meeting the President of Earth with the other winning captains.
"I hope you enjoy your time on Earth," Captain Archer finished. Everyone soon left the conference room.
Tripp was making his way back to Engineering when he heard his name being called out. He turned around to T'Pol making her way to him. Tripp stopped and waited for his wife.
"After the celebrations and spending time with your family, my family would like to see us."
Tripp nodded. He didn't see that being a problem because T'Pol's family would like to see if they were okay and they have yet to meet T'Mir. "I don't see that being a problem. What does your schedule look like?"
Tripp could see that T'Pol wanted to moaned but she couldn't. Tripp smiled because he was glad that he could read his wife very well. T'Pol told him her schedule.
"What does your schedule look like?" T'Pol asked. Tripp tried to remember what the captain had told him. T'Pol gave him a look because she knew that he wasn't listening to the captain. "You don't know."
Tripp smiled. "Sorry," He mumbled.
"I'll take a look and…" T'Pol started.
"No," Tripp held up his hand. "I'll take a look and we can talk about it tonight."
T'Pol raised an eyebrow because she didn't know if she believed him. "Okay," She said before walking away from him.
Tripp was going to prove to her that he would do as he said. When he got to Engineering he took a look before he got to work. He was going to be ready for his wife tonight.
Tripp entered his quarters to find Ella there with the kids. Charlie came running to him to saw him what he was building. Tripp thought that his son was going to be engineer just like him. Ella's handed T'Mir to him before saying goodbye and leaving. Tripp took a seat with T'Mir because he didn't know how long T'Pol was going to be.
It wasn't long before T'Pol was home and they went to dinner. They talked about what was going to happen when they got to Earth and what schedule they were going to make with their children. Later T'Pol thanked him for doing what he said he was going to do.