Tripp was making his way home to his family. Tripp sighed because he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. He was glad to be off tomorrow and maybe he could see his wife unless they were in the middle of battle. He would only see her when they were handing off children.
They still didn't find a nanny. Nurse Johnson was gone and back at Earth. It has been a couple of months since she left. Starfleet wanted to make sure that they found someone who didn't care where the kids came from. He hoped that they would find someone soon because the war between the Romulans was getting worse. He didn't know how long they could keep up with this war. Tripp knew that he was done in space and wanted to settle down on Earth with his family and watch his children grow. Charlie's fourth birthday was coming closer, and he didn't want to spend it in the middle of a battle.
Tripp entered his quarters to find Charlie playing on the floor with his sister. They both smiled up at him as he walked in. T'Mir reached out for him. Tripp picked her up as he bent down and gave Charlie a kiss on the head. He checked to see if T'Mir needed a change, but he could smell that she was clean. It looked like Charlie was clean too. They probably had breakfast already. He looked around for T'Pol. He knew that he was late.
T'Pol came out of their room. She saw him. "They already had breakfast. T'Mir has a clean diaper on." She leaned down and ran a hand through Charlie's hair. T'Mir waved her hands at her mom. T'Pol ran a hand over her head. T'Mir made a baby noise.
T'Pol made her way to the door. Tripp reached for her arm. "Hey, aren't you forgetting something," T'Pol raised an eyebrow at him. "This," Tripp leaned down and kissed her. "I'll see you tonight," T'Pol nodded before leaving their quarters.
Tripp settled on the couch with T'Mir and sighed. He didn't know when the last time that he got to spend any time with his wife alone. The only words they had spoken to each other were about the children or about the ship. He knew that they needed a moment to reconnect with each other. They had to remember that they were a couple first and parents second. He may need someone to watch the kids for the night. He had to think about who could watch the children for the night so that he could romance his wife.
Tripp smiled because everything was plan for tonight. The battles had stopped for a moment, and everyone had let out a sigh of breath. The chime to the door went off and Tripp opened the door to see Ensign Miller standing there with a smile on his face.
"Ready for babysitting duty," He raised a hand to Tripp.
Tripp smiled and let him in the quarters. "Thank you for doing this on your day off."
Ensign Miller waved him off. "It is my pleasure," He looked around for the kids. He found them playing on the floor.
"They have eaten. T'Mir should be down in an hour and Charlie will be an hour later. We should be home in a few hours.
"Go and have fun. I think Commander T'Pol needs it," Ensign Miller smiled.
Tripp nodded before kissing the kids goodbye. He left his quarters and made his way to the bridge. He stepped on the bridge to see that T'Pol was sitting in the captain's chair reading a PADD. Tripp nodded to Hoshi and Travis as he made his behind the chair. Tripp leaned down close to her ear. He knew that she felt him there. "How soon can you get off?" He whispered in her ear.
He heard a hitch in her voice. He saw goosebumps on her neck where his breath was touching. He watched as she glanced around the bridge to see if anyone was watching them. Travis and Hoshi somehow kept their faces turned to the front. "As soon as the captain or Lt. Reed come on the bridge."
"I'll walk you home," Tripp whispered. T'Pol nodded and tried to cross her legs.
Tripp stood behind T'Pol as they waited for the captain or Reed to come. Reed walked on the bridge with a smile on his face. "Sorry, I'm late," Reed went and took his place at security. Tripp gave his friend a look that only had Reed's grin widen. "The captain should be here in moment. If you want to leave Commander T'Pol I can watch the bridge."
T'Pol didn't hear the sarcasm in his voice but Tripp heard. Tripp narrowed his eyes at Malcom. He might kill his friend later. "I think that I will," T'Pol stood and headed for the lifts. Tripp gave Malcom one more look before following his wife to the lifts. The doors closed on them. T'Pol crossed her arms. "If you are picking me up, who is watching our children?"
Tripp smiled. "A friend."
"What are you up too?" T'Pol raised an eyebrow at him.
Tripp looked around before leaning over and kissing her. "When was the last time that we had a moment just the two of us?"
"It had to be before we had children," T'Pol leaned away from him.
Tripp laughed. "I have the night off and there is babysitter watching our kids. Let's spend it together."
"What do you have planned, Mr. Tucker?" T'Pol asked.
Tripp pushed something on the panel. "Let me show you, Mrs. Tucker," The lifts moved in a different direction.
The lift stopped and the doors opened. T'Pol gave him a look because this was the corridor that led to his old quarters. Tripp didn't say anything when he grabbed her hand and led her off the lift. He led them down the corridor to his old quarters. T'Pol gave him a look because this room was mostly used for storage for them. There were things they weren't ready to give up or it was things of Charlie's that T'Mir could use. Tripp let them in.
All the boxes were moved to the side and in the middle of the room was a table with only two chairs. On the table, there were two candles lighting the table. Also on the table were two plates and two glasses of water. Tripp took her hand and led her to table and pulled out her chair. T'Pol didn't say anything as she took a seat. Tripp took the other chair. T'Pol looked down and saw that it was a vegetarian dish. She glanced over at Tripp's plate to see that it also vegetarian.
Tripp reached over and grabbed her hand. "When was the last time we had an adult conversation that didn't revolve around the children?"
T'Pol picked up her fork. "Before we had children to think about." She took a bite of her food.
"Let's change that. Let's try not talking about children," Trip picked up his fork.
"Alright," T'Pol said.
They spent the next hour just talking. It was nice to reconnect with each other. Tripp didn't let go of her hand. It felt like they were dating for the first time. T'Pol told him what was happening on the bridge. Tripp didn't know when the last time that he had worked on the bridge. He knew that it was between Jonathan, T'Pol, and Malcom that was on the bridge. They even had Hoshi or Travis doing a couple of nights commanding the bridge. Tripp told her about the happening in Engineering at night. He liked how much work he was getting done.
The food was gone, and Tripp had pushed the plates away and reached across for T'Pol's other hand. Tripp reached over the pressed his lips to hers. T'Pol let out a moan. Tripp had just realized that it has been a while since they sex.
Tripp broke the kiss, stood up and pulled T'Pol with him. He moved around the table and pulled T'Pol close that she was pressing against him. Tripp had missed the feeling of her pressed against her. Tripp ran his hands over her body and let them rest on her hips. Tripp deepen the kiss as T'Pol let out a moan. Tripp moved back towards the bed until his knees hit the bed. He sat on the bed, pulling T'Pol on his lap. It didn't take her long to reach for the front of his uniform. He knew that it was going to be awhile until they made it back to their quarters.
Tripp woke to T'Pol body pressed against his. Tripp moaned. He had forgotten how close they would sleep together when they were sharing smaller quarters. He didn't want to get up but knew that they had to get back to their children. He pulled away from his wife, got out of bed, and started to dress. Once he was dressed, he shook his wife up.
"T'Pol, we need to get back," Tripp watched her eyes open. He always loved the color of her eyes and was glad that their daughter had her eyes.
T'Pol didn't say anything as she got up and dressed. Tripp reached for her hand and lifted it to his mouth. He gave her one more kiss before they left his old quarters. They made their way back to their quarters.
Tripp opened the doors to their quarters to hear laughter. He looked and saw that Charlie was running around being chased by Ensign Miller.
"Stop it, Ryan," Charlie laughed. Charlie stopped in front of Tripp and T'Pol when he saw them. "Mama, Papa," Charlie held out his arms for them. Tripp bent down and picked him up.
Ensign Miller stopped running. "Commander T'Pol, Commander Tucker."
"Thank you for watching them, Ensign Miller," Tripp looked around and didn't see T'Mir anywhere.
"She is sleeping in your room," Ensign Miller said as if he could read Tripp's mind. "I was trying to get this one to sleep," Ensign Miller gave Charlie a look. Charlie buried his face in his father's neck.
Tripp gave his son a look before turning back to Ensign Miller. "I'm sorry that we were late."
Ensign Miller waved it off. "It was no problem. I like this little bugger," Ensign Miller reached over, tickled Charlie's stomach, and Charlie let out a laugh. Ensign Miller looked at T'Pol. "I'll see you tomorrow, Commander," T'Pol nodded before Ensign Miller left their quarters.
T'Pol waited until the doors were closed before making her way to their quarters to check on T'Mir. "I'll get this one to sleep," Tripp carried Charlie to his room. "Time for bed," Tripp said to Charlie. Tripp felt like life was back to normal again, but they needed some time just the two of them.
"Thank you for coming on the ship, I know that it is hard for you after you just graduated," Captain Archer said.
"It is no problem," Ella Haiden smiled. "I always wanted to come into space.
Jonathan nodded. "Now Starfleet explain everything to you."
"Yes, the children are mixed. I don't see that as a problem. I think that it is the way of the future," Ella followed Jonathan Archer down the corridor. "Does your crew know that I am coming?"
Jonathan smiled. "No, I want to surprise them. They have been through so much," Jonathan stopped in of a set of doors. He rang the chime. He knew that both T'Pol and Tripp should be home. They heard someone calling from the other side. "Wait here," Jonathan smiled at the young woman. Ella nodded as the captain entered.
Jonathan saw his friends sitting on the couch while Charlie was on the floor, playing some game. Jonathan looked back at his friends to see that Tripp was feeding T'Mir while T'Pol was reading something with her feet under Tripp's leg. She started to straighten but Jonathan waved her back down. "I have a surprise for you," Tripp raised an eyebrow at his captain. "Your new nanny, Ella Haiden," Jonathan opened the door and the young woman entered.
Ella looked around and saw the cute little boy playing on the floor and his two good-looking parents sitting on the couch. She saw the baby that the father was holding, and her heart melted. "Hello," She smiled at the parents.
"This is my first officer, Commander T'Pol and my Chief Engineer, Commander Tucker," Jonathan smiled. "The little guy on the floor is Charlie and the angel that Commander Tripp was holding is T'Mir."
"Your children are beautiful," Ella said. Ella went over to Charlie. "What are you playing?" Charlie handed her his toy. "Do you think we can play together?" Charlie's face brightened and nodded.
Tripp and T'Pol watched the young woman with their son and saw how he reacted with her. She was hands on, and they felt that their son would learn something from her. Tripp and T'Pol turned to Jonathan and mouthed thank you to him. Jonathan nodded. They knew that they found a nanny for their children.