Tripp threw his cards on the table. "I'm done," He gave his chips to Hoshi to out away. The other four at the table all gave him a look. Tripp smiled. "I'm tired." Malcom shook his head at him. Tripp slapped his friend on the back. "When you have a wife and couple of kids, you'll understand why I'm tired."
Malcom shuffled the deck. "Never going to happen," Malcom delt the cards to Travis, Hoshi, and Jonathan.
"Just wait until some woman steals your heart," Tripp smiled at his best friend.
"I'll leave the family life to you," Malcom looked at his cards. Tripp shook his head and headed out of the captain's mess hall.
The ship was quiet, and Tripp liked that as he made his way to his quarters. He hoped that the children were asleep, and Tripp might have a few moments with his wife. Tripp entered the dark living quarters. He saw a light under his door and knew that T'Pol was still up. Tripp checked in on the children before heading to his room.
He opened the door to see that T'Pol was getting into the bed. She looked at him when she settled on the bed. "I thought the game would go longer."
Tripp headed for the bathroom. "It is still going. I left early because I was tired," Tripp entered the bathroom and took off his uniform. He stuck out his head. "I was losing anyways," Tripp came out in his Starfleet issued undergarments.
T'Pol watched her husband make his way across the room to his side of the bed. Tripp crawled in bed. He was ready to turn away from T'Pol and get some sleep. He knew that she liked to read before bed and when to leave her alone. T'Pol touched his arm. Tripp turned around and looked at his wife. "Is there something you need?" He asked. She knew that he would get whatever she needed. He had done a lot of it when she was pregnant with their children.
"Yes," She ran her hand down his arm over his leg and she cupped him.
"Oh," Tripp reacted to her hand. "I am glad to help with that," He reached up and kissed her. T'Pol let out a moan. Tripp wasn't tired anymore.
T'Pol woke to see her husband was still sleeping. She ran a hand over his hair and back. Tripp didn't wake up. He might have been telling the truth when he came home last night. He had stratified her last night. T'Pol got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She showered and dressed before heading out of the room. She left quietly so Tripp could still sleep. It didn't take long before the children woke up. She got them dressed and still didn't hear anything from her room. T'Pol took the children to breakfast. They had breakfast just the three of them before T'Pol took them back to their quarters. Tripp was still sleeping. T'Pol didn't have to wait long before Ella came to take care of the children. She told Ella to let Tripp sleep before leaving.
T'Pol had made it to the bridge when she called the captain's ready room. She told Malcom he had the bridge before heading to the captain's ready room. She found the captain behind his desk. He looked up when she entered.
Jonathan smiled at his first officer. "We will be picking up the Andorian delegates tomorrow and one of the delegates would like to have dinner with you and your family."
"Sir, I do not think that is wise," T'Pol folded her hands in front of her. She didn't want another repeat of when the Vulcan delegates were here.
Jonathan gave a weak smile. "You have met this Andorian before," T'Pol nodded. She thought that it might be Shran but the last she knew he had retired from public life. The last time he was here, Tripp and Shran hit it off very well when they started talking about their children. "It is not Shran, but Ambassador Th'zhetrant."
"Oh," T'Pol said. She remembered that the ambassador was a family man and he fell in love with Charlie went he met him. It was what helped them get the Andorians on their side for the war. It was the last they heard from Shran. Since then, they had met many more Andorians. "I guess that is fine. I will talk to Commander Tucker to make sure that he is okay with it too."
"Where is Commander Tucker?" Jonathan looked around the room.
"Last I knew he was sleeping still," T'Pol said.
Jonathan looked at his first officer. He felt there was something that T'Pol wasn't telling him. Jonathan knew that Tripp had gone home earlier from the poker game. He thought that his friend went straight to bed, but he had stayed up later than maybe he was still sleeping. He had a feeling that T'Pol was involved. "Just make sure that he is awake for tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," T'Pol headed out of the ready room. She made her way back to the bridge.
"Did you have a good lie in?" Tripp turned around to see his wife making her way to him.
Tripp glanced around engineering and saw that no one was around them. "If I remember, you were the reason that I slept so long." Tripp saw a light in her eyes and knew that she wasn't going to admit anything. Tripp reached for her and pulled her closer to him. He placed his hands on her hips. "I remember you trying to be quiet," Tripp mumbled in her ear.
"I was a perfect lady last night," T'Pol wrapped her arms around him. "I let my husband sleep."
Tripp pulled back a little. "That is not what I remember," He leaned down and kissed her before she could say anything. Tripp broke the kiss. "I'm guessing that you didn't come here to have a repeat of last night and I think the kids are okay. What is on your mind?"
T'Pol lowered her arms from Tripp's neck. "I had a meeting with the captain this morning and he noticed that you were not around," Tripp had a feeling that she would have given him a small smile if she would. Tripp read her mind and he knew that she was thinking about last night. He raised an eyebrow at her. They heard the door open for engineering and they both dropped their arms to their sides. "I do not know if you remember Ambassador Th'zhetrant, but we are picking him and other delegates up for the conference on Earth about creating a Federation," Tripp tried to remember the ambassador, but it was so long ago. He shook his head. T'Pol gave him a look before saying. "He was the ambassador that came on the ship with Shran when Charlie was only five months old."
"Oh," It finally dawned on Tripp. "He was a big family man."
T'Pol nodded. "He wants to have dinner with me, you, and the children."
"Do you think that is a good idea?" Tripp asked. He knew his children and he didn't think they could sit with someone they didn't know for that long.
"I do not but the captain wants us to have dinner with him," T'Pol saw others had entered Engineering.
Tripp sighed, "I'm guessing it was highly suggested but not an order," T'Pol nodded. Tripp knew that they were going to have dinner with this man. The captain had done so much for them. Tripp didn't think that he would be standing here with his wife if it wasn't for the captain. "Alright. When?"
"Tomorrow night," T'Pol leaned forward and gave it a squeeze. Tripp nodded and let go of her hand. He wanted to lean down and kiss her, but he didn't because there were others in Engineering.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight," He said like they were having a normal conversation about work.
T'Pol gave him a look that had Tripp wondering what was going on with his wife. It was only a second, but it had Tripp wondering what would happen when he got home tonight. Tripp watched his wife leave. When she closed the door behind her, Tripp shook his head.
T'Pol and Tripp stepped into the captain's mess hall. The captain had given them the use of his mess hall for their dinner with Ambassador Th'zhetrant. Tripp got Charlie settle in his chair while T'Pol got T'Mir settled. They didn't have to wait long for the ambassador to come. Ambassador Th'zhetrant smiled as he came in.
"Commander T'Pol," Th'zhetrant greeted T'Pol. He turned to Tripp. "Commander Tucker," Th'zhetrant bowed his head towards Tripp.
"Mama, I'm hungry," Charlie yelled at the adults.
"Soon, Charlie," T'Pol said. Charlie settled down by the sound of her voice.
Th'zhetrant turned towards Charlie. "This must be Charlie," T'Pol and Tripp nodded. Th'zhetrant made his way over to the young boy. "The last time I saw you, you were a baby and you tried to play with my antennas."
Charlie looked up at the man before looking at his parents with confused look. Tripp wanted to laugh at his son's look, but T'Pol hit him. Charlie looked up at his antennas. "I did," Charlie said.
Th'zhetrant laughed. "I can see that you have your mother's logic," Th'zhetrant looked at T'Mir. "And who is this?" He smiled at T'Mir. T'Mir didn't like the look of Th'zhetrant and held out her arms for one of her parents. Tripp knew that she had never seen an Andorian.
Tripp was ready to pick her up when T'Pol did it. T'Pol comforted her. "This is our daughter, T'Mir."
Th'zhetrant smiled. "She is beautiful like her mother," Th'zhetrant turned to Tripp. "You are going to have a hard trouble keeping the boys away."
T'Pol threw Tripp a look before saying. "Let's have a seat so we can eat," T'Pol placed T'Mir back in her chair before the others took seats around the table. A crewmember brought in the food.
"How is your family?" Tripp asked the ambassador. Tripp could tell that he didn't want to talk about the creation of the Federation. There was a reason that he wanted to have dinner with the Tucker family.
Th'zhetrant eyes lit up. "My youngest daughter got married last summer and is planning to start on her own family. I have a couple more grandchildren since the last time we met." Th'zhetrant talked about his family. Tripp could see how proud of his family he was. Tripp would love to be that way when he was older and watching his own children starting their own families. "Tell me what made you decided to have another baby in the middle of a war?" Th'zhetrant asked.
"We didn't want the war to impact our lives. We didn't know how long the war was going to last and we wanted Charlie to have a sibling close to his age." Tripp said. He remembered that it was him that talked T'Pol into having another baby. Tripp couldn't see his life without T'Mir. He glanced at T'Mir to see that she had a smile on her face as T'Pol fed her.
Th'zhetrant smiled. "A child is always a blessing," There was a sparkle in his eyes as he looked from Tripp to T'Pol. "Are you planning on having more?"
Tripp choked on his food. It was something that he and T'Pol had talked about. They didn't know if they were or not. It was T'Pol who answered. "We do not know if we are or not it is something we have to talk about when T'Mir is a little bit older."
Tripp knew that they were happy with their two children. "Papa, I'm done," Charlie pushed his plate away. He smiled at Tripp. "Can I have ice cream for dessert?"
T'Pol threw him a look before Tripp turned to Charlie. "I think we are having something else for dessert," Charlie frowned and was ready to throw a fit when he caught the look his mother was giving him. Charlie leaned back and crossed his arms. Tripp had to turn away from Charlie or he was going to laugh. Tripp caught the ambassador's face to see that he was trying not to laugh too. T'Pol elbowed him in the side.
After dessert, they broke up. Tripp and T'Pol needed to get the kids to bed, and Ambassador needed to get to his room. They stepped out of the mess hall. "It was pleasure seeing you and your family again," The ambassador held his hand out. Tripp shifted T'Mir to his other side and shook Th'zhetrant's hand.
"It was our pleasure seeing an old friend," Tripp smiled at him.
Th'zhetrant bowed his head. "Good night, Tucker family," Tripp and T'Pol watched him walk away.
Tripp and T'Pol made it back to their quarters. They got the kids ready for bed and into bed with a story. Tripp watched as Charlie closed his eyes and glanced at T'Mir to see that she was already asleep. Tripp and T'Pol stepped out of the kids' room and headed for the couch. They fell back on the couch and Tripp wrapped an arm around T'Pol leaned against him.
"That was a good dinner," Tripp kissed the top of her head.
T'Pol looked up at him. "It could have been worse," Tripp nodded. He could only wonder what could have happened with the children.
T'Pol leaned up and kissed Tripp. "You were also great," Tripp wrapped an arm around T'Pol.
Tripp knew where this could lead to. He broke the kiss for a moment. "I love this new you, but what is going on?" He asked.
T'Pol broke away from Tripp. "I got a letter from an old acquaintance, and it did not seem that she was very happy in her marriage."
Tripp raised an eyebrow. His wife was spending too much time with humans if she was talking about feelings. He wanted to place a hand on forehead to make sure that she was feeling okay. "You have been spending too much time with humans."
T'Pol hit him on the arm. "Vulcans can have healthy relationships with their spouses," Tripp nodded. "Anyway, she has a child about fourteen in human years and she knew that her husband's pon far was coming up, but instead he has not touched her since the birth of their child. She was wondering if it was any different with human males because it sometimes happens with Vulcan males."
"What did you tell her?" Tripp asked.
T'Pol raised a hand and ran it through his hair. "I told her the truth that I had put a stop to us having sex until I got words of advice from a friend." T'Pol reached up and pressed her lips to Tripp's. "And now I have a daughter."
"I hope she takes your advice," Tripp stood and held out his hand for her. T'Pol took his hand.
"Me, too," Tripp led them to their room. They knew that they weren't just going to sleep.