It had taken three weeks for the Tellarites to agree to come in the war with the Romulans. Tripp was glad that they were leaving the Tellarites' home world. He didn't like he only got to see his wife at night. He knew that Charlie missed his mom. Tripp hoped they could get back to normal as a family. He knew he could take care of Charlie without T'Pol, but it would always feel that something was missing. Tripp knew that they needed to talk, but he was waiting for the right moment to talk to her.
Tripp knew how tired she was, and he left her alone as much as she needed. She wanted to connect to their son again not that Charlie would ever forget his mom. He would meet her at officers meetings or dinner. They would mostly talk about work or Charlie. There never seem to be a moment where they could talk. He had come up with an idea that would work for T'Pol without him sending her to Earth with Charlie, to wait out the war. Tripp didn't know how long he could survive without seeing T'Pol or Charlie. He knew that he could make plans for it, but he wanted T'Pol's input too.
"Commander Tucker to the captain's ready room," Tripp heard Jonathan's voice over the comm system.
His crew gave him a look as he made his way out of engineering. He tried to think about what this was about. They have been going at warp speed for a few days now. He didn't think that he did anything wrong, or he would have heard it from T'Pol.
Tripp entered the captain's ready room after Jonathan told him to enter. He saw that his wife was there with her hands behind her back. He knew that she was Commander T'Pol right now. Tripp smiled to himself because he was the only one who knew how to get her out of the mode.
"You wanted to see me, Captain," Tripp said as he stood before the desk.
"Yes, we are getting a distress signal from an Orion, and you remember the last time we had them aboard the ship," Jonathan looked between them. "We can't just leave them in the middle of space. I am going to need you and T'Pol to watch over them."
Tripp looked at T'Pol to see how she was taking the news of this. He saw how she didn't move a muscle. He knew there was more going on right there.
'T'Pol,' He said in her mind.
'Tripp, we have to do this. We cannot just leave them out there. The captain couldn't live with himself if we just let them die.' T'Pol said without looking at him.
'I know, but it doesn't mean that you have to like it,' Tripp wanted to reach over and place a hand on her arm to let her know that he was here. He knew that it would bring her comfort.
'It will be fine," T'Pol closed her mind to him. Tripp knew that they were done talking about this. "We will do it, Captain," T'Pol said it like the captain had asked them to watch over the Orion.
"Thank you, T'Pol. Once we are out of wrap, take a shuttle craft and pick them up. Take them to the brig. The doctor will meet you there," Jonathan stood and made his way out of his ready room. Tripp and T'Pol followed him to the bridge. "Tavis, take us out of warp," The captain turned to them and nodded.
Tripp and T'Pol left the bridge and made their way to shuttle bay. Tripp knew that it was better not to say anything as they made their way to the shuttle bay. They made sure to put on their equipment before getting on the shuttle.
Tripp started the shuttle and glanced at T'Pol one more time before flying out of the ship. "You don't want to do this as much as I don't," Tripp said to T'Pol, who was behind him.
"Yes, we have a lot of responsibility right now," T'Pol punched something in the console.
Tripp knew that she wasn't just talking about work, but their son who was eight months old. He was getting all over the place and teething. When they weren't working, they were trying to keep Charlie in their quarters and not get all over the ship.
They boarded the Orion ship and found the bodies of the dead before the two living beings. Tripp took one and threw them over his shoulders. The other could walk with help, so they leaned on T'Pol. They got them on the ship and flew back to the Enterprise. Tripp and T'Pol took them to sickbay to get check out. They saw security teams outside the doors of sickbay before making their way in. Tripp set his Orion on one of the beds before helping the other on bed.
"I'm going to check in on the captain," T'Pol said. Tripp nodded and watched T'Pol leave the room. He noticed that there was one male and one female. He didn't know what to make of them as Phlox looked them over.
"There are some broken bones but besides that, they are okay," Phlox said.
Tripp nodded. "How long will it take to fix them?" He looked at the female. There was something different about her than the others that he had seen.
"Not long, Commander," Phlox looked over the male, who was out.
Tripp looked at the woman. "What happened to you and your companion?" He asked.
The female sighed. "We were running from the Orion Syndicate, and they caught our ship. Thikkor and I are the only ones that survive." The woman looked over at the male and there was a look on her face that told Tripp there was more to their relationship than the female was letting on.
Tripp was still wondering if he believed that story or not. The only thing he could do was go with that story for now. "What is your name?" He asked.
"Sade," She smiled. She tried to use her smile on him. "You could let us go and say that you never saw us." She was turning on the charm.
Tripp smiled devilishly and leaned down towards her. "Oh, no, sweetheart. You are here until my captain's say so."
Sade reached out to touch his arm. "Your captain doesn't have to know," She ran her hand up his arm.
"I let you go, and I end up in the brig until we get home," Tripp leaned closer to her. He was close enough to press his lips to hers. She thought that he would do so when he backed up and stood like a solider between the two beds.
Sade leaned back and let the doctor do what he needed to do. She watched as the female Vulcan come back in and make her way to the human male. They said few words, but she saw the male nod. The man reached for his hand and pulled something off and handed it to female Vulcan. The Vulcan turned and left the room. Sade watched as the human male followed her out with his eyes. He wanted her, but she didn't want him.
Tripp gave Sade a look before looking at the doctor. "Phlox, let me know when they are up to walk and I'll take them to their new quarters until we decide on what to do with them," Phlox nodded. He knew something passed between Tripp and T'Pol when she was here.
"Yes, Commander," Phlox went to the male and started to work on him.
Tripp knew what was going on when T'Pol came in. They had spoken with their bond. He had taken off his wedding ring and handed it to her. He knew that she would keep it in a safe place until this was all over. They didn't want to give the Orion something to work with. He was going to take this shift and T'Pol would take over next. Tripp sighed because he knew that he was going to have to check in with Engineering before going home to get some sleep before he took over for T'Pol.
"I could help you get her," Sade said from her bed.
Tripp turned around and looked at her. "Really," He lifted one eyebrow.
"Yes, I've seen the way you looked at her," Sade sat up. "You want her, but she doesn't want you."
"How can you tell?" Tripp asked.
Sade sat a straighter. "It's about body language," She smiled. "There was no swag of her hips. There was no 'come follow me' look. She didn't even look back at you." Sade widened her eyes. "I don't know what she doesn't see in you because you are very good looking for human."
Tripp smiled. "Thank you," If Sade only knew what T'Pol said to him before she left. Tripp knew that T'Pol wanted him and wanted this to be over so their lives could go back to normal. With all this going on Tripp and T'Pol would not be sleeping next to each other. Tripp thought that he would have a little fun with Sade. "What do you think I should do?" He asked. He was interested in what she had to say.
"You should," Sade started. She spent an hour telling Tripp what to do about T'Pol. Tripp took in her words and thought maybe something he might use when T'Pol is mad at him about something.
Tripp was ready to fall asleep when T'Pol came to relieve him. He was only to going sleep for a few hours because he needed to check in Engineering and eat something before he took over for T'Pol.
Tripp was falling asleep on his feet when he entered his quarters. Crewman Edgerton and Charlie were playing on the floor. Tripp knew that he wouldn't get anywhere with Charlie. Charlie reached out for him. Tripp picked him up and held his son close.
"I can take him, Commander," Crewman Edgerton smiled. Tripp shook his head. He was going to have to spend some time with his son.
"Did he take a nap yet?" Tripp asked.
"No, Sir," Crewman Edgerton said.
Tripp nodded. "Come back in a few hours," Crewman Edgerton nodded and left the quarters.
Tripp took his son to his room. He knew that T'Pol didn't like Charlie sleeping in their room. He placed Charlie on the bed before he took off his clothes. Tripp crawled into bed with Charlie. He hoped that Charlie would go to sleep right away so he could fall asleep. Charlie started to play with Tripp's face and talk to Tripp in his baby talk. Tripp smiled and let his son voice calm him before Tripp pulled him next to him and held him down. Charlie was having none of it. He started to cry and push Tripp away. Tripp knew to let him do that. He would tired himself out. It didn't take long before Charlie was asleep. Tripp smiled before closing his own eyes and falling asleep.
Crewman Edgerton entered the Tuckers' quarters to find that it was quiet still. She went to the door of Commanders Tucker and T'Pol's room to see that father and son were still sleeping. Charlie had his head on his father's chest. He had one hand over his heart. Crewman Edgerton smiled before backing away. She found the camera that Commander Tucker had given her when she started to watch Charlie. He didn't want to miss anything and told her to take as many pictures as she could. She went back to the bedroom and took the picture before leaving again.
Tripp woke to Charlie poking him in the eye. Tripp looked into his son's blue eyes and smiled. "Hey, Four," Charlie laughed. Tripp sat up and looked around the room to see if anything had changed, but nothing had.
There was a knock on the door and Tripp knew that it was Crewman Edgerton. Tripp got up with Charlie and headed for the door. He handed his son off to her before going into the shower. After his shower he went to find food. He was glad that Crewman Edgerton and Charlie weren't there, so he could leave in peace. He got food and headed to engineering to check on things. Everything was good so he went to sickbay to find T'Pol standing over the couple. It looked like the male was up.
"We are to take them to their new quarters before you take over for me," T'Pol said.
Tripp nodded. They took them to their new quarters that were on the on a lower deck. Tripp entered the room to see that empty before putting them in. He closed the door behind him. He reached for T'Pol before she walked away.
'How was it?' Tripp asked with his mind.
T'Pol sighed in her head. 'Fine. I'm tired and need to meditate.'
'Make sure to see Charlie,' Tripp could see that his wife was falling asleep on her feet even she would never say it out loud. He knew her body and could feel how tired she was.
T'Pol nodded before walking away. Tripp wanted this to be over so he could hold his wife and son together.