T'Pol lay in bed, she didn't want to get up, only to lay next to her husband's warm body. She knew that she didn't have a lot of time because the children would be up soon. Tripp wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head.
"Hey, what are you still doing in bed?" Tripp asked.
T'Pol cuddled him. "I just want to be close to you today."
Either one said anything about Tripp being gone for a few days on Tranirus. It was only a week ago, but after hearing Tripp's story about why he was down there. T'Pol was glad that she had Tripp to herself. She couldn't think about what life would be like if she couldn't be with Tripp. He was her rock.
"You know that this isn't going to last long," Tripp mumbled. "Our children are going to up soon."
"I know," T'Pol mumbled.
"And you have a meeting with the captain this morning," Tripp ran a hand along T'Pol's body.
"I know," T'Pol sighed. She pulled away from Tripp.
Tripp sat up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "If you still need me, you know where to find me," He kissed the back of her neck.
"Don't do that or we are both going to be late," T'Pol pulled out of his arms.
T'Pol stood and headed for the bathroom. Tripp fell on the bed. He would love to spend the day in bed with his wife, but they had responsibly that needed to be done. Tripp threw off the blanket and got out of bed because he knew he would hear Charlie call out for him or T'Pol.
T'Pol tried to wipe off the banana mess from T'Mir before going to see the captain. She didn't have time to go home to change. T'Mir decided to play with her food instead of eating it this morning. Tripp had taken the kids back to their quarters and to Ella before heading to Engineering.
T'Pol entered the ready room, to see the captain frowning. T'Pol stopped trying to get the banana off her uniform. "Everything alright?" T'Pol asked.
Captain Archer looked up and sighed. "No, the conference on Earth isn't going so well. From what I'm hearing this person doesn't agree with this person about something. They are asking me back to Earth to help them."
"We are needed on Earth," T'Pol mumbled.
Captain Archer nodded. "I don't want to go but Starfleet is asking me there."
T'Pol nodded. "Should I tell Ensign Mayweather to set course for Earth?" Jonathan nodded.
"How is the rest of the ship doing?" Jonathan held out his hand for the PADD that T'Pol was holding.
"Good," T'Pol handed him the PADD.
Jonathan looked over the report. "How is Tripp doing?"
"Commander Tucker is doing good," T'Pol said.
Jonathan looked up at his first officer. He could see that she needed to spend some time with her husband to reassure that he was there. This was one too many times that they had been apart from each other. "Maybe when we get to Earth, you and Tripp take some shore leave."
"Maybe, sir," T'Pol mumbled.
Jonathan looked at her for a moment before looking back at the PADD and asking a question. They spent the rest of the meeting going over the ship and the personnel on the ship.
"Are you sure you want to stay on the ship?" T'Pol asked Tripp. They were standing at the shuttle. The kids were already in the shuttle with Ella.
Tripp leaned over and kissed T'Pol. "Yes, someone has to stay to command the small crew."
T'Pol nodded. "Your parents are going to want to see you."
Tripp shook his head. "They only want to see their grandchildren. They don't want to see me."
T'Pol found that it was hard to believe. She knew her in-laws and they would love to see their oldest son. "Alright," T'Pol stepped into the shuttle. "I'll call you tonight."
T'Pol didn't know what else to say. She felt that she was losing her husband, she knew that he would never leave her or the children, but something felt different with them, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She took a sigh because she couldn't think about her relationship right now. The captain needed her at this moment.
T'Pol glanced at her children. They needed some fresh air while they were on Earth. She settled on the shuttle and Charlie took a seat on her lap. "Take us out," T'Pol told the crewmember.
"Yes, ma'am," The crewmember started the shuttle.
T'Pol felt that she was leaving something behind.
The morning was bright and sunny. The children had too much energy. She was needed with the captain in the afternoon. He was giving a speech with all the delegates. Then tonight she was having dinner with her in-laws, but right now she needed to get the children outside.
"Ella," T'Pol called out. "We need to find place where the children can play."
Ella smiled. "A park will work." T'Pol nodded.
They found a park in a nice neighborhood. T'Pol found a bench and watched the children play. Charlie was running around the park. She could hear his laughing as he went down a slide. She watched him running upstairs to go down the slide again. Ella was pushing T'Mir on a swing and there was a big smile on her face.
It was a neighborhood like this that she wanted to raise her family in. She had a feeling that either Tripp or she were going to leave Starfleet. They would find somewhere they could work and stay in the city. They only had five more months until their year was over with Captain Archer. T'Pol thought that they might use this time to find a place for their family to grow up in. The captain gave everyone a chance to leave the ship to spend time with friends and families. They had come up with a schedule that would work for everyone. Tripp decided to stay on the ship, and she didn't know why that hurt her.
"Mama," Charlie was standing in front of her. His cheeks were rosy. He needed the fresh air. "Can we come here tomorrow?"
T'Pol nodded. She ran a hand over his blond hair. "Yeah," Charlie smiled, and it reminded T'Pol of his father. Charlie ran away to play. She had to remind herself that her children were half human.
"Commander," T'Pol heard Ella say. T'Pol looked up. Ella was holding T'Mir, who had her eyes closed. "You have your meeting soon. I'm going to take the kids back to the hotel room, feed them lunch and put them down for a nap," T'Pol could see that T'Mir was already falling asleep, and Charlie was frowning. He didn't want to leave but she knew that he would be asleep as soon his head hit the pillow.
"Okay, I'll be back in a few hours, and you can the rest of the night off," T'Pol stood and hugged Charlie and T'Mir. She saw the transporter waiting for her. She stepped in and watched Ella head the opposite direction out of the park.
The transporter took her to the conference. As she stepped off the shuttle, she saw Ensign Sato waiting for her. "How is the captain?" T'Pol asked as they headed into the building.
Hoshi rolled her eyes. "As good as he can be," Someone held open the door for them as they went in the building. "The captain is this way," Hoshi pointed to the left. T'Pol and Hoshi went to the left.
They found the captain pacing the little room he was in. He smiled when he saw T'Pol and Hoshi. T'Pol knew that Hoshi had helped him with his speech. "Did you enjoy your morning?"
"Yes," T'Pol looked over Archer dress uniform to make sure nothing was out of place. The captain nodded. "Are you nervous?" T'Pol asked. She could tell that he was. He nodded. "You have nothing to worry about. They called you here to help them."
The captain nodded and was ready to say something when someone knocked on the door. "They are ready for you, Captain Archer," The voice said on the other side of the door.
The captain took a breath before Hoshi opened the door. They saw a young man standing on the other side of the door. The captain went first and Hoshi and T'Pol followed him out. They made their way to the back of the stage. Someone called out his name and Captain Archer stepped out onto the stage. He smiled at them before he turned to the crowded room.
"Good afternoon, delegates," Jonathan Archer's voice filled the room. Jonathan started his speech. T'Pol tried to listen but all she got was different words like together and war. She thought that he had said something about working together. She stood on the sidelines and knew that Captain Archer was the man needed. It was him that got enemies to work together. If Archer couldn't bring them together then nothing would.
If Jonathan Archer didn't need a science officer, T'Pol would have never met her match in Tripp Tucker. She wouldn't be standing here watching this man talk about work together for one common goal. Their goal was to bring four cultures together and create one federation of planets. The first of its kind.
The thought of her husband had her thinking about him in space on the ship while his family was down here in San Francisco. She knew that he would never leave them willingly. She didn't feel right about this, that this could be her life if something happened to him. She didn't want to raise their children alone. Charlie and T'Mir were going to need their father. She knew that her in-laws would help any way they could, but it would be her by herself.
T'Pol heard clapping and knew that the speech was over. She hoped that the delegates would listen to Archer's words and come to a conclusion about this new idea. Jonathan stepped off the stage with a smile on his face. He hoped for the same thing. He looked from T'Pol to Hoshi. "Thank you for being here. Please enjoy the rest of your trip without Starfleet business," He smiled at them before walking passed them.
T'Pol and Hoshi both turned to leave the stage and the building when someone came up to them. "Where is he?"
T'Pol and Hoshi traded a look. "Captain Archer is in his dressing room before leaving," Hoshi said. She hoped that she could get this young woman away them.
"No, not Captain Archer, Commander Charles Tucker," The woman threw a look at Hoshi before turning to T'Pol.
"Commander Tucker is busy," T'Pol didn't know who this woman was but it seemed that she was a fan of Tripp.
The woman looked T'Pol up and down. "I don't know what he sees in you."
"Excuse me," T'Pol looked at the young woman to see that she was cadet.
"You heard me. Now tell me what you did with Commander Tucker," The woman looked around and T'Pol noticed that security was making their way over to them.
"Is this woman bothering Commander?" One of the security officers asked.
"Yes, please just take her outside," T'Pol said. She watched them for a moment before leaving the building and heading back to the hotel.
T'Pol looked around and didn't see the woman. She got on the transporter and headed to the hotel. She made a note to mention this to Tripp about this woman. This woman could be a threat to her family, and she didn't catch the name of the woman.
T'Pol got back to the hotel just in time for the children to wake up from their naps. T'Pol gave Ella the rest of the day off. T'Pol tried not to think about the woman as she spent the afternoon with the children. Before she knew it, it was time to go to dinner with her in-laws. T'Pol took the children to the restaurant and found Chuck and Megan waiting for her. Charlie, knowing his grandparents, ran to them. Megan and Chuck hugged him. T'Mir buried her face in T'Pol's neck.
"It is okay, T'Mir, it is Grandma and Grandpa," T'Pol whispered to T'Mir. T'Mir raised her head and looked at them for a moment before burying her head in T'Pol neck again. T'Pol turned to her in-laws. "Sorry, that she is being shy."
Megan smiled. "It is fine. Where is Tripp?" She looked around for her son.
T'Pol sighed. "Tripp is on the ship and couldn't make it."
Megan frowned but smiled when she felt Charlie tugging on her sleeve. "Let's get a table," She said to Charlie.
T'Pol was right that Tripp's parents would miss him. They got a table, and they enjoyed the evening. They asked about the ship and how things were going. T'Pol told them that Tripp and she were going to start looking for a house and move to Earth. Chuck and Megan were happy about them being closer to them and that they could see their grandchildren more. T'Mir was finally warming up to her grandparents when she let out a laugh that her grandfather made her have. T'Pol enjoyed the rest of dinner. T'Pol and the children said goodbye to Chuck and Megan. They were heading home to Mississippi and T'Pol and the children were heading back to the ship the next morning.
T'Pol checked the hotel room one more time before closing the door, because they weren't coming back. Ella held T'Mir, while Charlie waited for T'Pol to take his hand. T'Pol took his hand and headed out of the hotel. There was a shuttle waiting for them outside the hotel. T'Pol helped get the kids on first when she saw the woman from the conference watching them from the corner. She didn't make her way over to them. T'Pol watched her for a moment before getting in the shuttle. She was going to have to talk to Tripp.
Tripp was waiting for them when the shuttle dock. He took T'Mir from Ella and helped Charlie out. T'Pol got out of the shuttle with the bags. She nodded to Ella. Ella smiled and headed for her room. Tripp took one of the bags and lead the way out of the shuttle bay.
Once they got to their quarters, Charlie went to play with the toys that he left here. Tripp set down T'Mir and the bag down before reaching for T'Pol and pulling her close. He kissed her. "I've missed you."
T'Pol pulled back. "You could have come with us. Your parents miss you. Why did you stay behind?" T'Pol pulled out of his arms and crossed her arms.
Tripp ran a hand through his hair. "I was planning on it. Malcom was going to watch the ship, but he came up to me and asked if I could he had personal business to take care of." T'Pol narrowed her eyes at him. "It's true," He threw up his arms. "I love spending time with you and our children and it seemed that he really needed to go down there." Tripp leaned forward to try to kiss her. T'Pol held out a hand to stop him. Tripp sighed. "I love you and I love our children." He whispered. "There is no place I rather be than with you and the children."
T'Pol looked in his eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. "Alright," She glanced at the children to see them playing. T'Pol wrapped her arms around Tripp's neck. "I've missed you, too."