Faith- Part 8

"FAITH OF THE HEART"
An "Enterprise" story
By Alison M. DOBELL

RATING: PG-13..
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://www.carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY": "When members of the crew go suddenly missing, Captain Archer finds the only witness is unable to tell them anything. Lt Reed takes it upon himself to turn detective."
Disclaimers in Part One

Part 8

* * * * *

He lay with her in his arms. Afraid to close his eyes and have the dream vanish. The beauty of her presence gracing his soul with completeness that seemed to make sense of his whole life. Everything had conspired to bring him to this point. She stirred and enjoyed the expression on his face as her eyes flickered open. A gentle smile curved his lips, his eyes laughing at her with love and deep content. She gave a ghost of a smile and his heart was on fire. She knew instantly what he was feeling. "Are you alright?"

"How could I be anythin' else with you in my arms?"

Her smile had vanished but her look was such a deep well of calm and stillness that it drew him. "How about you? You okay?"

She nodded then cradled his face with the palm of her hand. "This cannot last, Trip." She said gently.

His eyes began to mist. His heart to break. "No, no, don't say that! Never say that!"

"Sssh, it's okay. You know this isn't real."

"How can you say that when I can feel ya in my arms? Touch ya in my heart? Nothing has ever felt *more* real than being right here with you."

"Trip, your mind and my mind have reached out to each other."

He smiled, felt his spirits revive. The sheer joy that such a thing was possible almost overwhelmed him. "Yeah," He grinned slowly, watching the planes of her face. "How about that?"

"When you wake up the connection will sever."

"Then I won't wake up."

"You have to."

He frowned slightly. Starting to feel a sense of foreboding. "Why?"

"So that you can hold me for real."

That silenced him, cut through the intensity of emotion he was feeling for her. She was right and yet he did not want to leave her. Leave this. "T'Pol, how're we able to connect like this?"

"We are dreaming."

"Yeah, I get that, it's just..."

"There is no distance that cannot be bridged by the power of thought."

"What?"

She brushed her lips gently across his then pulled away again. Those few inches of separation were killing him. She stroked his cheek. "When we dream we enter a very deep state. We connect on levels denied to us on waking but touched in meditation."

"O-kay, so where do we go from here?"

"This dream state tells us that we are both alive, Trip, but not what state we are in."

He felt his heart miss a beat. Sure he would not like the next part of the conversation. "You're talking about what happened to you with the Hirogen, aren't ya?"

"And you."

He shook his head with slight impatience. "What happened t'me was nothin' and you know it. A slight bump on the head and that was it. What happened to you..." He could not go on. It hurt too much.

"I was.... damaged, Trip. My body will repair."

"Ya aren't gonna die?"

She smiled softly and the wonder of it robbed him of speech. "No, I will not die."

The smile vanished like the sun going behind a cloud. "T'Pol?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Why do I suddenly feel as frightened as hell? What's goin' on?"

"You're waking up."

"I don't want to."

"You cannot prevent it and the Captain needs you."

"He does?"

"Yes."

"What about you?"

"I will be here. Waiting for you."

"Where's here?"

He felt her place her hand over his heart. The clouds must be getting thicker, darker, because he was losing the light. The warmth fading. He could hardly see her face. Panic began to flood his heart. Her lips brushed his one last time and he clung to her like a child but he was losing her. She was fading, her touch becoming lighter and lighter until it was only a memory. The darkness becoming claustrophobic. His heart hammering like thunder as he returned to consciousness with a shudder, cheeks wet with tears. The lights were on in his quarters and Captain Archer was shaking him gently, a concerned look on his face.

"Trip, wake up! Trip, are you all right?"

He looked at the Captain in shock then grasped some of what T'Pol had told him. The Captain would need him. Now was not the time to be selfish even if his heart was riding on the outcome. He swallowed slowly, trying to calm himself down. "Yeah, just a dream Cap'n."

His friend nodded but there was no smile. No sparkle in his eyes. "Good because we have some visitors."

Alarm swept across the Commander's face. Captain Archer hurried to reassure him.

"No Trip, not the Hirogen. Vulcans."

That got his attention and good. He sat up. Eyes wide as saucers. A tinge of suspicion in his voice. "Vulcans? What in tarnation are Vulcans doin' here?"

* * * * *

Dr Phlox noticed that Lieutenant Reed had hardly moved in almost three hours. He seemed to be in something of a quandry, as if having some kind of internal dialogue with himself. After observing that the lieutenant seemed to be getting more frustrated with himself not calmer he decided to intervene. The Denobulan cleared his throat gently as he stepped up to check Ensign Sato's monitor. The lieutenant was holding the ensign's hand. He looked up in surprise then sat up straight in his chair. Dr Phlox noted he did not let go of Hoshi's hand.

"Uh Dr Phlox, can you tell me how Hoshi is doing?"

The doctor was smiling, about to caution him not to expect too much too soon. He froze, eyes glued to the readings. That could not be right. He tried again. Same result. Thinking something was wrong Lt Reed jumped to his feet, all nerves and fear. "What is it? What's wrong?"

The doctor turned his head and looked down at Ensign Sato sleeping peacefully then up into the lieutenant's anxious face. He blinked and took a moment to answer. "Nothing."

Lieutenant Reed was puzzled. "Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?"

"I mean that Ensign Sato is doing much better than she has any right to be doing."

Lieutenant Reed put his hands on his hips. "Doctor, you are not making any sense. Why doesn't Hoshi have any right to get better?"

"That is not what I said, Lieutenant."

He was about to argue when the Denobulan held up his hands. Lieutenant Reed snapped his mouth shut and waited.

"Allow me to show you something, Lieutenant."

The armoury officer nodded and stepped round the biobed then joined the doctor. Dr Phlox showed him the initial scans he had taken of the ensign when they had first rescued her. He pointed out the internal tearing and some internal bleeding. "Now look at this scan. This is the ensign's current physical condition."

Lieutenant Reed frowned. Shook his head after a moment, looking baffled. "I don't understand. How could she heal that fast?"

"I don't know but I am beginning to form a suspicion."

Alarmed, Lieutenant Reed put a hand on the doctor's arm as he went to step away. "Suspicion?"

The doctor looked down at the restraining hand and the armoury officer immediately removed it.

"Yes, suspicion. I thought it had to be an anomaly at first. An error in the diagnostic equipment." He paused for so long that Lieutenant Reed feared he was not going to continue.

"Doctor? What happened?"

The doctor mentally shook himself. "Sorry. I find myself on the horns of an ethical dilemma."

"Dilemna?"

"Yes. Doctor/patient confidentiality to be exact."

Lieutenant Reed looked at the sleeping Ensign Sato and made a decision. "I do not think Ensign Sato would object if you told me the cause of your dilemna, doctor."

"I wasn't talking about the ensign, Lieutenant Reed. I was talking about Commander Tucker."

Completely at a loss he just stared at the doctor. What did any of this have to do with Trip? Dr Phlox saw his expression and gave a heavy sigh. Well. It was not as if it was *bad* news just unexpected and more than a little baffling. It would be good to share the information with someone who might give an objective point of view. His eyes dropped to the sleeping ensign. Plus the lieutenant had a good motivation to try to make sense of what was happening. His mind made up he decided to take Lt Reed into his confidence.

"You understand, Lieutenant, that strictly speaking I should not be having this conversation with you until I have spoken to the Commander?"

"I understand. I will be the soul of discretion."

Dr Phlox nodded. He believed him. "Very well. In an effort to make sense of what is happening to Ensign Sato let me show you the scans I took of Commander Tucker." He brought up the images of the brain scan he had done on Trip just after Lieutenant Reed had helped bring him to sickbay from Sub-Commander T'Pol's quarters. "Here you can clearly see the site of the injury. The skull was badly fractured. There was internal bleeding and here you can see where the soft tissue in the brain had swollen. At this point it was impossible to tell what other damage there might be but I was certain there would be some brain damage though this could not be determined until the swelling had gone down."

The doctor scrolled forward and compared later images. Lieutenant Reed leaned forward. Not sure he was seeing what he was seeing. "The swelling's gone down."

"Yes."

Lieutenant Reed looked at the doctor. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"A damaged brain but that is not what you are seeing."

At the frown on the lieutenant's face, Dr Phlox switched to another screen and showed him another brain scan. "This scan I took some months earlier, it shows the Commander with no brain damage whatsoever. Now, this is the latest image I took."

Lieutenant Reed frowned. "I... I can't tell the difference."

"Exactly!" Said the doctor but he was not smiling.

The lieutenant shook his head. "I don't understand."

"The same thing has happened to Ensign Sato. Only her damage was caused by being raped. Look, there is no sign of tearing, no internal scarring, and no bleeding. Every one of the raped crew members were pregnant. Once their conditions were stabilised I induced terminations in their pregnancies. A simple procedure this early on and one that would cause them no harm. To look at this scan now you would not believe anything untoward had even happened."

"How is that possible?"

Dr Phlox shrugged. For once at a loss. "I do not know."

"Are they *all* like this?"

"I have not checked yet but that is my next course of action, Lieutenant. Only six hours ago Ensign Sato was in a very sorry physical state."

The armoury officer was silent for several minutes. Trying to take in everything the doctor had said and what it could mean. Slowly his eyes narrowed as he remembered something. "You said you had a suspicion?"

The doctor nodded solemnly. "Yes. But I want to check all the patients first before giving the idea serious consideration. Until I have done so I must insist you say nothing to anyone about this discussion."

Lieutenant Reed nodded, too stunned to argue. He walked back to his seat and took Ensign Sato's hand in his, not sure what to think. While he was glad that Hoshi was doing so well he worried about what it might mean.

* * * * *

Commander Tucker could not believe that the Captain was actually going through with this. "You can't do that, Cap'n. What do Vulcans know about humans?"

The Captain sighed. "Be reasonable, Trip. They have facilities on Rastak that can help everyone."

"I don't care if they've got Disneyland and the Grand Canyon we're humans. We don't want any Vulcans poking about inside our heads."

"Technically they only want to poke about in yours."

The Chief Engineer made a face. "Ha ha, very funny I *don't* think. This is nuts, Cap'n. Apart from anything else when's the last time you remember the Vulcans offering to do anything for us?"

"This is different. There's also another reason to go along with this."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"We'll be in the same facility as T'Pol."

The Commander went completely quiet. His mobile face stilled. "We will?" He asked quietly.

Captain Archer nodded. Not sure if convincing Trip was a good thing or a bad thing. It was hard to be certain of anything where the Vulcans were concerned. "Yes."

"So if I agree, I can see her. Is that it?"

"I presume so though maybe not for a day or so."

He frowned. Suspicious again. "Why not?"

"Because she's undergoing surgery."

Trip's mouth formed a completely round hole. No sound came out of him. He closed his mouth and sat down. Captain Archer sat next to his friend. "Look Trip, I'm as puzzled as you are. It's not as if there's a handbook on Vulcans. We have to play this by ear and right now they're bending over backwards to help us."

"Yeah, that's what's worryin' me too."

"What makes you think I'm worried?"

The Commander gave him a look and the Captain sighed. Trip knew him too well. "Okay, so I don't completely trust them either but they *are* our allies."

"Then how come I felt safer with the Hirogen?"

"Tr-ip!" Warned the Captain, drawing out his name.

"Look Cap'n I'll do as you say. Hell, I'd do anything if it meant helpin' our people, you know that. I just don't feel too happy about it, that's all. Somethin' about this whole thing gives me the creeps."

Captain Archer nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "I know what you mean but be diplomatic. Don't say or do anything that I'm gonna be spending years apologising for."

"Where is your faith, Cap'n?"

* * * * *

It was always night in space. The dark velvet backdrop was eerily silent. Nothing seemed to drift on the solar winds. Faint pinpricks of stars looked like ragged holes in the vast fabric of space letting the light leak through. Coming into view was their first sight of Rastak. Captain Archer was not sure what he had been expecting but as they drew close enough to get some useful scans he realised it was almost entirely desert. He glanced across at Commander Tucker. His friend was not a lover of the desert. Their last adventure on one had almost been his friend's last. He noticed that Lieutenant Reed was watching the Commander intently but when the Captain turned his head a little more to catch the armoury officer's eye he looked away and back to his instruments. Mentally the Captain shrugged. He must have been mistaken.

Lieutenant Rolrak stood on the Enterprise bridge next to Captain Archer's chair. Captain Vornak had described it as a courtesy. The Captain however got the impression it was intended to ensure that the crew of Enterprise did not change their minds and just keep right on going. Now why did that thought hold such appeal? He caught his Chief Engineer's eye and knew Trip was thinking the same thing. *Damn you, Trip, for making me as suspicious as you are. They just want to help*

As they approached the planet, Captain Vornak hailed them. "Captain Archer, allow me to welcome you to Rastak!"

The Captain nodded politely to the image of the Vulcan Captain that appeared on his screen. "Thank you, we appreciate your help Captain."

"If you will follow us down the Enterprise can land."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Captain Vornak."

Something tentative solidified in the Vulcan's eye but the Captain missed it. It was an invitation that brooked no refusal. Almost too subtle to notice, Commander Tucker picked up on it. Being around the Sub-Commander had cued him in to a lot of the subtle non-verbal clues. What it told him sent a chill down his spine and made his mouth go dry. For some stupid reason he could hear the robot from the television series "Lost in Space". It was saying over and over again, "Danger, danger Will Robinson". As his heart began to ice over with dread the little voice in his head went into full panic mode. *Oh Lord, we are making one hell of a mistake*

* * * * *

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