Tripp came out of from under the warp core. He looked at his knuckles to see that they were starched up. He was going to have to go to sickbay to get them fixed but he had a lot of work to do. The last battle that they were in was bad for the ship. Tripp didn't know how long they had before they were in another battle. It seemed that the Romulans were trying something new, and it was leaving Earth and her allies hurting.
"Commander," Tripp looked up at the Ensign standing there with a PADD.
"Yeah," He looked back at his bloody knuckles. The Ensign told him something else that was wrong and how he couldn't fix it. Tripp swore and took the PADD from the Ensign to look at what he had. "Did you try…" Tripp asked, and the Ensign nodded. Tripp kept on asking questions on how they did something but nothing. Tripp sighed. He was going to have to look at himself. The clock on PADD told him that he was going too late for dinner with his family. "I'll take a look at it tomorrow," Tripp took the PADD with him to look at it tonight after the kids went to bed.
Tripp made his way down the corridor to the mess hall. He entered the mess and looked around for his family. He saw them sitting at a table. It looked like Charlie was going to town with his food and T'Mir was trying to figure out the texture of the food rather than eating it. T'Pol was trying to help her but T'Mir was having no help. Tripp smiled and made his way over to them.
Charlie looked up. "Papa," He said with a dirty face.
"Hey, Four," Tripp ruffled Charlie's hair. Charlie smiled. Tripp turned to see that T'Mir was holding out her dirty hands for him to take. Tripp looked at his wife and knew that she needed a break from their children. He reached out for her and T'Pol saw his hands.
"What happened to your hands?" T'Pol asked as she finished handing T'Mir off to him.
"Don't worry about. I'll go to sickbay after dinner," Tripp smiled. He took some napkins and started to clean T'Mir.
T'Pol raised an eyebrow like she didn't think he was going to go. "And what about this," She made a motion around her face around her chin. Trip smiled. He knew that she was talking about his beard.
"I just haven't had time to shave," Tripp smiled.
T'Pol shook her head as she started to eat her own food because she didn't have a baby sitting on her lap. Tripp looked down to see what T'Pol had gotten him for dinner. He shifted T'Mir so he could try to eat with a six-month-old. Tripp got through most of his meal before T'Mir didn't want to be held anymore and Charlie was done with his food. Tripp looked at T'Pol and knew that she was done.
The family stood and T'Pol took Charlie's hand before they left the mess hall. They made their way back to their quarters. Tripp helped get the children settled before heading to sickbay to get his hands looked at. Phlox even gave him a look as he fixed up his hands. Tripp got back just in time to put the kids to bed. The children were sleeping in the same room now. Tripp thought that he read four stories before Charlie was asleep.
Tripp made his way back to the living area to find T'Pol had gone to their room to mediate. Tripp picked up the PADD that he had left on his desk before going to sickbay. He sat on the couch and started to look over what he could do to fix the problem in engineering. Tripp wanted this war to be over with so he could relax. Tripp knew that if he leaned his head back, he would fall asleep. This problem wasn't going to get done until the morning, He set it on the coffee table and made his way to his room.
T'Pol was still meditating as he undressed and got into bed. Tripp closed his eyes and was asleep before he heard T'Pol get in the bed next to him.
It was the second shake that woke him. He was tired enough to go back to sleep when he heard. "Commander T'Pol to the bridge," Tripp sat up and watched as T'Pol got up. He watched her as she dressed and left their quarters. After she left, he heard the first cry of T'Mir. He knew that it would wake Charlie. He made his way to the children's room.
He saw tears streaming down T'Mir's face. He picked up his daughter and looked down at Charlie to see that he was still asleep. He carried T'Mir to his room as he dressed because he was going to be needed in Engineering. He was going to have to wait until Ella was here before he could leave. After he was dressed, he took T'Mir back to the living area where the doors opened, and Ella was there. She didn't say anything as she took T'Mir from him and went to the children's room.
Tripp was tired of this. He just wanted one night to sleep all the way through. Once engineering was working as best as he could, he made his way back to his quarters. He was almost sleeping on his feet as he entered. He saw that Ella was gone and the children were taking a nap in their room. Tripp made his way to his room and saw that T'Pol was sleeping. He took off his clothes and climbed in bed next to his wife. He was out before he hit the pillow.
Tripp woke to someone touching his face. "Papa," Tripp saw Charlie standing next to his bed. Tripp glanced over and saw that T'Pol was up.
"Yeah," Tripp sat up.
"Mama said that it is time for breakfast," Charlie said.
Tripp threw off his blanket. "Alright," He stood up and pushed Charlie to the doors. Tripp got dressed. He would shower later and maybe shave. He stepped out of his room to see that T'Pol was with T'Mir. "Ready?" He said to T'Pol. She nodded and stood.
They headed for the mess hall as a family. Tripp watched as his children ate and watched as T'Pol looked tired as much as he did. She was trying to look at a PADD as she helped T'Mir eat her food. Tripp tried to eat his own food. Tripp glanced over at Charlie to see that he was eating. Tripp was glad of that because Charlie had habit of not eating when they were eating.
Tripp wanted to relax and maybe a sleep a straight night through. He looked at his kids and thought that they needed a place to run around that wasn't on a ship. They were getting older. Charlie would be four by the end of the year and knew every inch of the ship. Tripp had a feeling that once his sister was old enough, they would be getting in trouble together. He looked at T'Pol and knew that she might be done.
After breakfast, Ella came to pick up the kids. T'Pol headed for the bridge and Tripp headed for engineering. Tripp spent most of the day working on repairs on the ship. He somehow made a meeting that the captain was having with the senior staff. Tripp saw how tired the senior staff looked. Tripp tried to think when the last time was that they had break from this war. It seemed that they were having battle after battle. Tripp tried to think when the last time that they had a poker night or even movie night. The last movie night was interrupted by a battle. After this war the whole crew needed some time to themselves.
Tripp knew that he was late as he headed back to his quarters. The kids were probably already in bed and T'Pol might be mediating in their room. He opened the doors and walked into the darkness. He looked in on the kids to see that they were both sleeping. Tripp made his way to his room to see that he was right and T'Pol was mediating. Tripp didn't say anything as he disrobed and climbed in bed. T'Pol would say something to him if she needed to. Tripp closed his eyes.
"You're late," T'Pol crawled into bed after him.
"Sorry, had a problem with the wrap nacelles," Tripp opened one eye and looked at his wife.
T'Pol crossed her arms and looked forward before looking back at him. "I know this is hard, but we promised each other that we would make time for each other and the children."
Tripp sighed and looked at T'Pol. "I know. I lost track of time and…" Tripp knew that he didn't have a good excuse. When they almost missed Charlie's last birthday and made a promise not to let work get in the way of their family. "I'm sorry," Tripp reached for her. T'Pol pulled away from him. "All I can say is that I'm sorry," T'Pol picked up a book on her nightstand. Tripp knew that she wasn't going to talk to him. Tripp threw off his blanket and stepped out of bed. "I'm done with this."
T'Pol closed her book and gave Tripp a look. "Done with what?" She asked. T'Pol was wondering if he was done with her or children. She hoped that he wasn't going to leave her and the children.
"With this war and this ship," Tripp threw his hands around their room. "At first, I love every moment of this. I love arguing with you and I feel that we don't even do that anymore," Tripp sighed and climbed on the bed. "I know what I signed up for I knew what I was getting into," Tripp smiled. "I didn't think that I would meet the love of my life and start a family with her," Tripp leaned over and kissed T'Pol. "I don't know how you feel, but after this war I want to settle down with you and our children either on Vulcan or Earth wherever you want to go. We can even choose a planet where no one knows us," Tripp placed a hand on T'Pol's face. She leaned into it.
T'Pol looked him in the eyes. "I would like that," She placed a hand on his hand. "The children need a space to run, and they are going to need their own rooms at some point."
Tripp's smile grew. "After this war, we are going to retire from space. Where would you like to live?" Tripp removed his hand from her face. He looked down at her body. He tried to think when the last time they spent any alone time with each other.
"Earth," She said. Tripp just captured her lips and kissed her until he heard a moan. T'Pol wrapped her arms around him. Tripp pulled them lower on the bed.
T'Pol made her way to the conference room, Captain Archer had wanted the senior staff to meet in the conference room. T'Pol had to think of all the work she had to do. She also couldn't stop thinking about the plans that Tripp and she had made for after this war. T'Pol knew that it was what they needed. They decided to find a house in San Francisco to close to Starfleet because they had a feeling that they would still be working at Starfleet. Tripp liked that he would be closer to his family.
T'Pol entered the conference room to find that she was one of the last to get there, she didn't see her husband there yet. She wondered if he was still in engineering. She found a seat close to where Jonathan was standing.
Captain Archer looked around to see that Tripp still wasn't there, he was making his way to the comm system when Tripp came running in. Tripp thew Jonathan a look before taking his seat. Jonathan started to pace and took a breath before looking at his senior staff.
"As you all know, we have been at war with the Romulans for almost four years," Everyone nodded. T'Pol knew the date because it was the same day as Charlie's birthday. She looked at everyone around the table and knew that all wanted this wat to be over. They all felt that their lives were on hold, and they wanted to live it. "We have gotten some intel that the Romulans have a base on the Cheron."
"What is on the planet?" Lieutenant Reed asked. T'Pol could see that he was trying to figure out a plan to take out the planet.
"The last we knew was that they were making ships there," Jonathan looked at Malcom and could see the wheels turning in his head.
"If we take out that planet, we might just stand a chance against them," Malcom smiled.
"That is the plan," Jonathan smiled. "Instead of going on the defense, we are going on the offense," Everyone around the table knew that this was something that they needed. The people on Earth and their alliance were getting tired of this war and some were saying give the Romulans what they wanted so this war could be over.
"Our team is going to lead this operation," Jonathan looked at each and every one of them. "We are the most battle worn of Earth, and they want us to lead the other ships." Jonathan slapped his hands on the table. "Let's start thinking…"