"Can I sit here?" T'Pol looked up to see Tripp standing there with a tray of food. They were in the Mess Hall for dinner.
Before T'Pol could say anything, Charlie shouted. "Papa," He jumped up in his chair and held out his arms for Tripp to take. Tripp put his tray down and took Charlie in his arms. T'Pol saw that Tripp had a shower and shave. She wondered where he took a shower.
"Hey, Four," T'Pol didn't like that he called their son that but she didn't say anything because he was here.
T'Pol watched as Tripp settled Charlie back in his chair. He looked back at her and T'Pol nodded. She watched him take a seat and start to eat. He didn't say anything to her as he talked to Charlie about his day. T'Pol watched as Charlie's face brightened up as he talked to his father. As they talked, Charlie crawled into Tripp's lap. T'Pol tried to read her PADD, but she kept looking at father and son.
After dinner, Tripp walked back with them to their quarters. Charlie missed being carried his Tripp's arms. T'Pol could tell that by Charlie placing his head on his father's shoulders. They entered the living area. Tripp was ready to put Charlie down, but Charlie wouldn't let his father go. Tripp gave T'Pol a half smile.
"I was wondering if I could give him his bath and put him to bed," Tripp asked. T'Pol nodded and watched Tripp head for Charlie's room.
T'Pol settled on the couch and brought up the PADD she was looking at during dinner. Soon the words started to blend because she could hear Charlie laughing as Tripp gave him his bath. She was sure that there was water all over the floor. Tripp liked to have water wars with their son. She listened as their voices became clearer as they came into the bedroom. She knew that Tripp was putting Charlie's pajamas on.
"Alright give Mama a kiss before our story," Tripp carried Charlie into the living area. He leaned Charlie down so he could give her a kiss. T'Pol could smell a clean baby and saw that his pajamas were the ones that Tripp's parents sent. She let Charlie give her a wet kiss before Tripp pulled him away. Tripp carried Charlie back to his bedroom.
T'Pol put down the PADD she was reading and listened as Tripp read Charlie a story from Earth. It was something about three pigs and a wolf. All she knew was Charlie loved the different voices that Tripp used for the pigs and wolf.
She heard him say goodnight to Charlie and turn on his nightlight. T'Pol quickly picked up the PADD that she had dropped as Tripp came out of the bedroom. He looked at Charlie. "He is out and should be until morning," T'Pol nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow to watch him until you," Tripp headed for the door. "Have a good night, T'Pol."
"Goodnight, Tripp," She watched as he left her quarters.
She waited to see if he would come back, but he didn't. She thought that he would want to talk about something, but he barely spoke to her. He did ask about the baby at dinner and told her he was sorry about missing the appointment. He also asked about the rest of her day, but he didn't try to touch her or kiss her. He only touched Charlie. She was wondering what game he was playing. She might have to ask him.
She knew that Charlie was down for the night and made her way to her room to mediate. She looked at the bed and realized that she would be sleeping alone tonight. It's not that she hasn't slept without Tripp since they been together, but something felt different about this time. She didn't like the feeling that this made her have. She turned away from the bed and went to change before she meditated.
T'Pol spent an hour mediating, and she thought that Tripp would try to invade her thoughts, but he never did. She got up and made her way to bed and climbed in. It was cold under the blanket, and she couldn't reach for Tripp to keep her warm because he wasn't there. She turned and picked up the book of Vulcan poems to read. She only read a few words before she stared at the ceiling. She kept asking herself, did she end it too soon?
T'Pol sat in the captain's chair, looked at the view screen, and saw nothing but stars. She should probably be reading the PADD in front of her, but she kept thinking about Tripp. For the past three weeks, he has had dinner with her and Charlie every night. A couple times a week, he put Charlie to bed. A couple of times, he even spent the day with Charlie. T'Pol couldn't say anything because Charlie loved having his father around. He didn't talk to her unless it was about Charlie or the new baby or work. He didn't try to kiss her or hold her. And T'Pol missed that. She missed his arms around her at night and some part of her missed his snoring.
"Commander," T'Pol looked around to see who was talking to her and saw Captain Archer standing to the side of her with a smile on his face. "Everything all right? I have been calling you for some time."
T'Pol shook herself. She had let her mind wander when she should be watching out for any Romulan ship. "Sorry, Captain. I won't let it happen again."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. He was worried about her and Tripp. Their conversations were all business and neither one was trying to flirt with the other in meetings. Jonathan could tell that that they still had feelings for each other, but they weren't acting on it. He knew about the fight that they had and decided to stay out of it until they asked him for help or if their work suffered.
"Commander, will you come to my ready room with me?" Jonathan led the way to his ready room. He didn't know if T'Pol was following him or not, but he knew his first officer and she would be. He took a seat behind his desk and saw that T'Pol was right behind him. "Please take a seat," He pointed to the other chair in the room.
"No, I think that I will stand," T'Pol folded her hands behind her back. T'Pol thought that this was about the ship.
"Please take a seat, this isn't about the running of the ship, but one friend coming to another. T'Pol sat on the edge of the chair. "It's not my business about the running of your relationship…"
"I'm sorry if my relationship with Tripp is ruining the running of the ship. I should have never gotten involved with him." T'Pol placed her hands in her lap.
Jonathan shook his head at her. "Your job isn't suffering. If you never got involved with Tripp, you wouldn't have Charlie," Jonathan glanced down at T'Pol slightly round belly. "Or another baby on the way." T'Pol nodded. She loved her children. "I think that you miss him."
T'Pol was about to ask him something when his words stopped her. She knew that he was right. She missed the stolen kisses in the corridors and him gently squeezing her hand when she needed reassuring. She missed him and she wanted her husband back.
"I do, but it seems that he wants nothing to do with me," T'Pol mumbled.
"I find that hard to believe. I've seen the way he looks at you and he is still in love with you," Jonathan said in a quiet reassuring voice.
T'Pol could feel the tears prickling in her eyes. "He's barely speaking to me unless it's about the children or the ship never about us."
"Have you tried talking to him because I think that he wants to be with you. You have seen his quarters?" T'Pol shook her head. "He is barely living there. I think that he wants to be with you in the home you created for your family."
"What do I do?" T'Pol asked herself as much as she asked Jonathan.
"I think you should talk to him first and go from there," Jonathan said.
T'Pol nodded and knew that the captain was right. "Thank you," T'Pol stood and left the ready room. She had to think about what she was going to talk to Tripp about when he came home with them after dinner and after he put Charlie to bed.
T'Pol waited while Tripp put Charlie to bed and for him to come out of the bedroom to talk to him. Tripp turned off the light and closed the door. T'Pol saw a smile on his face when he turned to her. "He is out," Tripp headed for the door.
"Tripp, wait," T'Pol called out. Tripp stopped at the door. "Can we talk?" She asked.
Tripp nodded and took a seat on the couch. There were two feet between them. The only reason there might be two feet between them is because Charlie is sitting between them. Tripp stared in T'Pol's eyes. He knew what she wanted to talk about. It was about them. He waited for her to say something. "What would you like to talk about?" Tripp asked when she didn't say anything for a while.
"I would like to talk about us," T'Pol whispered. "What is going on between us?"
Tripp took a breath. "We are being parents to Charlie," He pointed to the door where Charlie was sleeping.
T'Pol shook her head. "That is not what I meant," T'Pol narrowed her eyes at him. "And you know what I am talking about."
Tripp sighed. He did know what T'Pol was talking about. "You told me that you were done and gave me your rings back."
T'Pol could see the chain he had around his neck and wondered if those were the rings that she had given to him. She reached over and pulled out the chain and Tripp didn't stop her. She heard a hitch in his voice. He still wanted her. She looked at the chain and saw her rings. She looked from the rings to Tripp. "Why are you wearing them?" She asked. T'Pol thought that he might put them in a drawer and forget about them.
"To remind me what I lost," Tripp took her the hand that was fingering the rings and put it between his hands. "I lost the only woman I wanted to be with, and I have to see her every day when I spend time with my son."
T'Pol pulled away from him. "You didn't have to lose me. Why did you do it?"
Tripp looked away from T'Pol's brown eyes. "I guess I always thought that you would be there," He turned to face her again. "I never thought that you would leave me."
"I did. Why haven't you tried together with me again? We are still married and have two children together," T'Pol wanted to feel his hands on hers again.
Tripp ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. T'Pol remembers running her own fingers through his hair. "I was giving you time, but I was still a father and wanted to spend time with Charlie."
"You waited three weeks," T'Pol whispered. "I missed you."
Tripp reached for her and held her face. "I missed you too. I didn't think that you would want me to say anything about us."
"Tripp, if we want this marriage to work, we are going to have to talk and have speak to each other. Do you want this marriage to work?"
"God, yes," Tripp ran a finger over her lips.
"You have to remember us," T'Pol was also talking about Charlie and the new baby.
"I'm sorry I forgot about you. I got so caught up in my work that I forgot about my family." Tripp ran his fingers along her face so he could remember every angle.
"Tripp, I don't care about the ship as much as I do you. I would rather start over in another place with you and our children than having you not around. I remember you telling me that would never leave my side again, but it felt like you did. I had to take care of our son by myself while making sure my job was getting done. We are in this together."
"I'm sorry," Tripp whispered. T'Pol could see tears in his eyes.
T'Pol took his hands in hers. "I'm going to need you to not to hyper focus on fixing the ship. You did this before when I was pregnant with Charlie. Now you are doing it. Tripp, one day this ship isn't going to be our home but where we choose to live to watch our family grow."
Tripp smiled. "Malcom told me my family is where home is, and he is right. How do we start over?"
T'Pol stood, took his hands, and helped him stand. "We don't but we learn from this. Right now, I think we need to sleep in the same bed," T'Pol led him to their bedroom. Tripp glanced at Charlie's door before following T'Pol into the bedroom. She stopped by the bed and reached for her necklace around Tripp's neck. She took it off and put it around her neck. "Let's take it slow tonight."
Tripp only nodded before he reached down and kissed her.