...Touching and Touched - Part 2

...Touching and Touched

by Hopeful Romantic

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Star Trek: Enterprise is the property of CBS/Paramount. All original material herein is the property of its author.

Date: 7-17-05

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part Two

Chapter 4: Carpe Diem

“Where’s Captain Hernandez?”

Archer looked up from his deep contemplation of the melting ice in his tea glass. Karyn, Lorian, and Soval were back, their mysterious little tête-à-tête apparently over. Behind them, the E² crew members were politely excusing themselves from the other guests, migrating by small groups into the banquet room.

“We saw you talking with her,” Karyn continued.

“She had to get back to Columbia.” Archer adopted an enthused smile for the two of them. He might as well put the best spin possible on this, for their sake. “I have good news for you. Columbia’s going to the Expanse.”

Lorian and Karyn glanced at each other in surprise. “In addition to Enterprise?” Lorian queried.

“No—instead of,” Archer said, in the same upbeat tone.

Bless their hearts, they had the decency to look dismayed rather than thrilled. “But why?” Karyn asked.

Archer kept his voice matter-of-fact. “Enterprise got pulled for a special assignment. So this is a great opportunity for you.” The last, he said sincerely, because it was true enough.

The kids weren’t fooled, of course. Neither was Soval, listening silently beside them. “I’m sorry, Papa,” Karyn said quietly. “I know how much you wanted to go back.”

“There’ll be other missions to the Expanse.” Archer sounded more confident than he felt. “We’ll get back there.”

“That is small comfort,” Lorian responded, an edge of sympathetic frustration evident in his voice. “Can anything be done?”

Archer gave them a resigned little smile. “Accepting the inevitable gracefully seems to be the only option available.”

Karyn took his hand. “Hey. Would attending an old-fashioned Vulcan bonding ceremony cheer you up?”

He frowned faintly in confusion. “Bonding ceremony? Who...?”

Karyn motioned to herself and Lorian. Archer’s mouth fell open in happy astonishment. “You two? You, too?”

Lorian answered with a small but unmistakable Lorian-smile, while Karyn laughed delightedly at Archer’s reaction. “We couldn’t let Trip and T’Pol have all the fun.”

Archer looked to Soval. “I take it you’re in on this, too?”

Soval nodded in confirmation. “I have been enlisted to initiate the bonding meld.”

“Soval informs us that, traditionally, the couple’s family witnesses the bonding,” Lorian said. “We are planning the ceremony for this evening. If your schedule permits—”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Archer declared warmly.

“If you’d like to bring Captain Hernandez...” Karyn let her words trail off.

It was gracious of them, Archer thought, giving him the final say as to whether Erika rated as family. He took Karyn’s hand lightly, his smile softening with wistfulness. “No. I think that’s over.”

Karyn’s face fell. “Oh,” she said softly. Archer shrugged faintly...accepting the inevitable, gracefully. It made her want to cry. She didn’t know what to say, so she gripped his hand tightly, but it wasn’t enough. Finally she hugged him. Wordlessly, he returned her embrace.

“Captain, please, join us in the banquet room,” Lorian offered. “We and our old crew are having something of a family gathering. It is only fitting that you be there.”

“Yes, come with us,” Karyn urged.

“Thanks,” Archer smiled. “I’d like that.”

Karyn turned to Soval. “You too, Ambassador.”

“I?” Soval inquired.

“Trip calls you a member of our extended family.” Karyn’s eyes sparkled impishly. “A ‘cantankerous old uncle,’ if I remember correctly.”

Soval allowed himself a small sigh of resignation. “I believe I shall never escape that designation of Commander Tucker’s.” With dignity intact, he nodded. “I shall accompany you.”

The four found T’Pol pacing near the big double doors, looking uncharacteristically fidgety. “Nervous?” Archer teased gently.

“Trip is nervous,” T’Pol replied. “He and his parents are due here momentarily.”

Archer put his hand lightly on T’Pol’s shoulder. “They’re good people,” he said reassuringly. “They’ll just need a little time to adjust.”

T’Pol glanced at her son as she replied. “They may need more than a ‘little’ time, Captain.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The cavernous banquet room was filled with the chatter of a hundred happy voices when Lorian and Karyn entered with Archer and Soval. Everyone was still visiting, comparing notes on new assignments, homes, travels, family members.

Lorian stepped onto the modest dais at one end of the room, handing Karyn up to join him. Archer and Soval remained off to one side, watching as the crew grew quiet, turning its attention to its former captain and first officer.

“We have an announcement,” Lorian began.

“And because you’ve been our family, we wanted you to know,” Karyn continued.

Lorian felt suddenly shy to be at the center of the crowd’s rapt attention. Quite illogical, considering he had been the focus of their attention for over five decades as captain of Enterprise. He endeavored to keep his voice measured and calm. “Some of you may know that, soon after we arrived here, Lieutenant Archer and I...began courting.”

The crowd erupted into an affectionate cacophony of whoops and squeals of delight. “I knew it!” Dr. Kelsey called out triumphantly. “That kiss Karyn planted on you on Captain Archer’s Enterprise while you were telling your parents’ love story—that was the real thing, wasn’t it?”

Lorian looked down, blushing faintly, while Karyn beamed beside him. He cleared his throat before managing to reply. “Indeed yes.”

More whoops. Then half the crew was shushing the other half, while simultaneously prompting the pair. “So? So? How’s it going?”

Karyn saw that Lorian appeared to have lost the power of speech. She took over. “He asked me to marry him.”

Big whoops. “And? And?!”

“Yes!” Karyn laughed. “I said yes!”

Cheers. Lorian, blushing deeply now, finally cracked a shy smile. Karyn took his hand as the crew clapped and whistled wildly for them, and Archer and Soval looked on with parental satisfaction.

“How’d it happen?” asked Beau Greer, the former tactical officer.

Lorian arched a wry eyebrow. “You all witnessed it. She swept me off my feet with that kiss.” He got an appreciative laugh from the crowd.

“Then he swept me off my feet,” Karyn smiled. A chorus of “awwws” followed.

“Tell us about the wedding!” Abbie Mayweather from Security called out eagerly. “Details—we want details!”

Karyn smiled at Archer. “Not many details yet, except that Captain Archer is going to marry us on Enterprise.” This announcement got awwws and cheers.

“When?” one of the children asked.

“We don’t have a clue,” Karyn said with a little laugh. “We’d love for all of you to be there, but we don’t know how to do it. Columbia is launching in a few days for a deep-space mission. Admiral Gardner told us to have an ‘understated’ wedding. And all of you in Starfleet will be returning to your assignments by tomorrow.”

“Earthers.” Abbie Mayweather rolled her eyes. “They’ll give you a day off for a funeral, but no time off for a wedding.”

“That is why we gathered you here,” Lorian explained to the group. “There is no way of determining when or if we will all be together again...so perhaps this day can serve as our celebration.”

There was a moment of silence, as the crew tried to accept this consolation prize.

Then Kelsey, forthright as always, broke the stillness. “We’re all here now.”

There was a general murmur of assent. Everyone watched her curiously, wondering what she was up to. Kelsey climbed up on a chair and surveyed the crowd. “What’s the earliest anyone’s gotta leave?”

People started calling out days and times. The Starfleet crew members turned out to have the least time, most being obliged to leave for their postings by midnight.

“Well then,” Kelsey concluded, “it looks to me like we have the rest of today. Plenty of time.”

Lorian and Karyn stared at her, taken aback. Was she suggesting...?

“C’mon,” Beau said. “It doesn’t matter how much time we have. How do we stage an ‘understated’ wedding with a hundred guests?”

“It’ll be on Enterprise,” reminded Hill, Kelsey’s nurse. “That won’t attraction any attention.”

The bride and groom under discussion watched speechlessly as the discussion bypassed them completely.

“You’re forgetting about Captain Archer,” Lewis from Astrometrics piped up. “You can’t expect a starship captain to drop everything at a moment’s notice.”

Sure enough, Archer was ignored too, as the debate barreled right by him. “And how do we get everybody up to Enterprise without attracting attention?” Sangerson from engineering went on.

Archer quietly pulled out his communicator, turning his back on the group, as Soval looked on curiously.

“Let’s say we do get everyone up there,” Andrews interjected. “Where do we find a room big enough to hold everybody?”

“Observation lounge!” declared Kelsey. “We already did it back in May.”

“Aw, we were stuffed in there like pimientos,” Beau grimaced. “Not exactly romantic.”

Abbie giggled. “You obviously didn’t see that kiss Karyn gave the captain, then.” The room broke into laughter.

Archer climbed onto the dais beside Karyn and Lorian. “If anyone’s interested, I’ve solved the pimiento issue,” he said, snapping his communicator shut and tucking it away. “In two hours, I’ll have a cargo bay empty on Enterprise. Not the most attractive surroundings, but it’ll fit well over a hundred people.”

A smattering of applause broke out. “Well done, Captain!” Beau grinned.

Archer turned to Karyn and Lorian. “I’ve cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. I didn’t have much planned anyway, because of the memorial. So if this bunch can get up to the ship without causing too much of a stir...I’ll marry you today. If that’s what you want.” He spread his hands. “Just making sure you have options.”

Karyn’s head was spinning. Everything was happening so quickly, she could hardly think. “At least someone is asking us.” She looked at Lorian and saw the same half-dazed, intrigued expression on his face that she knew she must be wearing.

The crew’s conversation promptly galloped off without them again. “I have a cargo ship that’ll hold forty people, easy,” offered Andrews.

“I can take a dozen in my ship,” volunteered Bill Wilson. “If you don’t mind playing with the kids on the way.“

“Wait a minute.” Abbie, clearly upset, hopped onto the dais beside Karyn. “This isn’t some make-up baseball game you’re slapping together here. It’s a wedding!” She faced Archer, nervous but determined. “With all due respect, Captain, a woman’s wedding day is supposed to be a profound, once-in-a-lifetime, remember-forever experience, with flowers and special vows and a beautiful dress...” Self-conscious now, she turned apologetically to Karyn. “I just want you to have the wedding of your dreams. Even if it means we can’t be there.”

The crowd looked a little abashed. As a few murmured apologies drifted up to the dais, Archer nodded toward Abbie. “She makes sense,” he remarked to Karyn, before stepping down.

For the first time since this wild scheme was brought up, Karyn felt the entire room focusing on her. Lorian was wearing one of his inscrutable Vulcan faces, so she couldn’t tell what he wanted. “I would, of course, understand,” he said, “if you preferred the traditional accoutrements to make the ceremony properly memorable.”

So it was up to her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Trip stuck his head into the Great Hall, fully expecting the wake to look like, well, a funeral. To his surprise, though, the guests seemed pretty upbeat. They were dressed colorfully and swapping stories, and most of them were smiling, even laughing.

Trip ushered Catherine and Chuck inside. T’Pol emerged from the throng, an arresting sight in the vermilion-red uniform she had changed into for the party...certainly nothing like the Vulcans his mom and dad were used to seeing. As she approached, Trip was seized by a weird combination of joy and panic.

The third step. Oh God—I can’t breathe. How the hell could I forget how to breathe?

He heard T’Pol’s voice in his mind, little more than a whisper... << Always, t’hai’la. >> He could feel her steadying him, soothing his frazzled nerves, reassuring him. As he began breathing again, he smiled at her.

T’Pol took her place at his side, a portrait of Vulcan serenity. Trip felt a little thrill of excitement as he turned to his parents. “Mom, Dad...this is Commander T’Pol, First Officer and Science Officer of Enterprise. T’Pol, my parents, Catherine and Charles Tucker Jr.”

Catherine and Chuck were both struck by how beautiful she was. Most Vulcans they’d seen had a remoteness that dulled even the most pleasing appearance, but T’Pol’s velvet-brown eyes were warm and welcoming. She inclined her head formally in greeting. “I am honored.”

They nodded politely back to her. Trip could tell that his mother was bursting with curiosity, while his dad was more wary. Trip said no more for the moment. Just let them get used to seeing him and T’Pol together. There’d be plenty of time to fill in the particulars.

He surveyed the crowd. “The party looks a lot more decent than I expected.”

“The atmosphere was decidedly more funereal a short while ago,” T’Pol said.

“What turned it around?”

“The arrival of Lorian and Karyn’s former crew.”

Trip grinned. “Leave it to that pack of optimists to live up to the spirit of the admiral’s last wishes.” He looked around. “Where are they, anyway?”

T’Pol nodded toward the banquet room. “They have all gathered in there.”

Trip turned to his parents. “Lorian and Karyn are the other two people I want you to meet.” He took a deep breath—yep, he was still breathing—and then led the way toward the banquet room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Karyn looked from Lorian to her former crewmates and back again, trying to remember if she’d ever had a “wedding of her dreams.” She had certainly dreamed about getting married...years of endless daydreams. As she had grown older, the dreams began coming to her at night, evolving from a child’s fantasies to a woman’s yearnings. But always, there had been one constant.

She smiled as everything settled in her mind. “When I dreamed of my wedding, all I ever pictured was...Lorian.” There came a soft, appreciative sigh from the onlookers. Karyn took Lorian’s hand. “All I need is you, love. And I don’t want to waste a moment.”

As hearts melted all over the room, Lorian smiled tenderly at her. “As you wish, beloved. Today we shall marry.”

Karyn’s breath caught, and she found herself laughing joyfully. “Oh, wow. Here we go!” The crew clapped and whistled its approval.

Archer checked his chronometer. “It’s just after eleven hundred hours. There’s time for a little more partying here, then you all can slip out and get to Enterprise by, say, fifteen hundred hours? Agreed?”

“Aye, Captain!” came a chorus of responses.

“Wait another minute,” Abbie broke in worriedly. “Who’s going to give the bride away? It would be Captain Archer, because he’s the closest thing to father of the bride, except he’s performing the ceremony. He can’t walk Karyn down the aisle and be waiting at the end of the aisle at the same time.”

Tony Mayweather patted his wife’s hand. “Maybe she doesn’t need anyone to give her away, Abbie. She’s a grown woman. Hell, she was first officer of a starship for five years.”

Abbie turned meekly to Karyn. “Aw, shut me up. I’m just a sucker for tradition.”

“It’s a sweet tradition, Abbie.” Karyn shrugged and smiled. “But I’m running out of family here.”

Soval stepped forward, the epitome of Vulcan decorum. “Would a ‘cantankerous old uncle’ suffice?” he inquired formally.

Karyn was quite touched, by Soval’s courtly gesture. “I’d love for you to give me away, Ambassador.”

The crew watched the exchange in admiring, breath-held silence, as if they were beholding a rare natural wonder and didn’t want to spook it into hiding.

Soval hesitated. “A certain measure of familiarity would seem logical, given the occasion.” Karyn saw a twinkle of amusement in his eyes that reminded her of Lorian. “You may, if you wish, address me as ‘Uncle’.”

And he had a sense of humor, too. How glorious! Karyn was utterly charmed. “Thank you, Uncle.”

Archer leaned in between them, with a look of mock jealousy. “I don’t get to call him that.”

Soval looked down his nose at Archer, playing the snooty know-it-all of old. “Use of such an intimate honorific must be earned, Captain. When you plan to marry, we will discuss it further.”

“Okay, let’s get the details wrapped up!” Kelsey called out. “Who else can shuttle folks to Enterprise?...”

-- -- --

Trip and T’Pol pushed open the double doors and led Catherine and Chuck into the banquet room. It was like walking from twilight into sunshine, so different was the mood in this room...dozens of people, adults and children, excitedly chattering among themselves. Several people were volunteering their personal transport shuttles for some kind of convoy. The atmosphere was festive, palpable with expectation. Something was brewing. Trip wondered what they had missed.

“They’re in here somewhere,” he told his parents. “Just gotta hunt ‘em down.” As Catherine and Chuck watched the happy crowd, Trip scanned the room for Lorian and Karyn.

T’Pol drew up beside him, murmuring quietly, “How much do they know?”

“That we’re in love with each other,” Trip said, as he craned his neck, trying to see over people’s heads. “I didn’t even have to tell Mom how I felt about you—she guessed.”

T’Pol waited, but Trip offered nothing further. “You have told them nothing more? T’hai’la...”

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “Considering that an hour ago Vulcans were on Dad’s shit list right behind the Xindi, I figure I should let each tidbit simmer for a while before I spring something new on ‘em. I don’t want to rush things.” Trip spotted the kids on the dais at the other end of the room, with Archer and Soval. “There they are.”

Just then, a bridge officer from Lorian’s old crew—Beau Greer was his name, Trip recalled—brushed by them, and pulled up with a smile of recognition. He turned, calling across the room, his voice booming out. “Lorian! Your parents are here!”

Trip winced. T’Pol resisted the temptation to say a number of things, instead settling for silence and an eloquently raised eyebrow in Trip’s direction.

Catherine and Chuck glanced at each other in confusion. They followed Greer’s gaze to the dais, where they saw Jon Archer and Ambassador Soval standing with a lovely raven-haired young woman in Starfleet blues...and another officer.

A man who looked to be in his forties.

And Vulcan.

He raised a hand toward Trip and T’Pol in acknowledgment.

Catherine and Chuck gaped at him, slack-jawed with shock.

“Wait till you hear!” Greer boisterously greeted Trip and T’Pol. “Lorian and Karyn are getting married today!”

Now T’Pol’s speechlessness was genuine. Trip’s jaw dropped. “Come again?”

“In four hours, on Enterprise,” Greer confirmed. “That way we can all be there. Uncle Soval’s standing in for father of the bride, because Captain Archer’s going to marry them. Lorian was a little worried a while back that it might be ‘unseemly’ if they got married before you and T’Pol did, but I knew you’d think that was silly.” He clapped Trip on the shoulder. “See you there!” And he bounded out, into the Great Hall.

Trip didn’t hear a sound from his parents’ direction. Maybe they had already fainted dead away. Steeling himself, he turned to look. They were frozen somewhere between horror and flabbergastation.

Trip smiled weakly. “Surprise!”

Catherine’s gaze shifted from Trip to T’Pol. “You two are...getting married?”

All the carefully thought-out explanations Trip had prepared for his parents—gone. Vanished. He couldn’t remember a single word. “Well...uh...we kinda are already, in a sorta spiritual-telepathic Vulcan way.” He blanched as his parents looked even more stunned. “But, um—not legally—yet. See, T’Pol is still marr—well, no, she’s not exactly still married—she was released, which is the Vulcan version of a divorce—or in this case, an annulment, since her marriage was never the real deal anyway, it was just an in-name-only blackmail job, an’ she left right after the ceremony, but we honored it, even so. But her un-marriage isn’t legal yet, either, so we’re not married yet. Legally.”

His folks were still staring at him. Trip cleared his throat. “But yes, Mom, we’re gonna get married. Soon.”

Catherine nodded slowly, somewhere in the vicinity of absorbing the information. But as her eyes wandered back to Lorian, she looked adrift again. “And that man up there...Lorian?...is your...son.” She frowned, trying mightily to wrap her head around the idea, but failing utterly.

Trip nodded, afraid to open his mouth now. His eyes flicked to T’Pol. She had her unreadable Vulcan Composed Face on, but he could feel her gentle sympathy through the bond. And he sensed a little “I told you so” in there, too. Most illogical of her, damn it all.

Finally Chuck spoke. “He looks like he’s pushing fifty.”

Might as well go down in flames, and put on a nice show for everybody. “Actually, Dad, he’s a hundred and one.”

Chuck scowled at Lorian for another long moment, then turned away, shaking his head.

Catherine was eyeing Karyn with a different kind of befuddlement. “Jon is...father of the bride?”

“Great-grandfather,” T’Pol corrected her.

Trip shut his eyes. Well now, how’s about a full-on bonfire for the crowd?

Catherine looked more confused than ever. Still, she valiantly tried to make sense of it. “‘Uncle’ Soval?”

Trip laughed with relief. At last, something he could correct! “Aw, he’s not really anybody’s uncle. That’s just a term of endearment.”

“For Ambassador Cranky?!” Chuck blurted.

“He’s changed a lot lately, Dad,” Trip replied lamely. “We don’t call him that anymore. We think of him as part of the family now.” He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. That wasn’t gonna translate at all.

His mom had a genteel half-smile on her face, but he could practically see her brain circuits smoking, crisping, burning out before his eyes. “I need to sit down,” she said woozily. T’Pol hurried to pull a chair out for her.

Chuck hmmphed. “I need a drink.” He stalked out of the banquet room.

Trip rubbed his eyes tiredly. Kill me. Kill me now.

~~tbc~~

Continue to Part Three, Chapter 5

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Hah, HAaaaa! Terribly funny - Poor Catherine and Chuck - T'Pol'll be the only sober one by nights end. Oh, I'm still chuckling...this was definitely worth the wait!

Ha! First to comment. Glad to see that you are continuing this, HR!

lol
This was great! More please!

You are a genius! This is hysterical!

MORE! WE NEED MORE!

humourous

I can't wait to see what happens next!

I can't wait to see what happens next!

This was so hilarious! "Surprise!" Nearly fell out of my chair at that one. I sure hope they explain Lorian and Karyn to Trip's poor parents before they pass out from the shock! Soon!!!

LOL!!!
Just perfect HR.
Poor Trip,,, but I guess he kinda had it comin considerin he just kept puttin this off.
Cant wait for the next part.

That was hilarious! I sympathize with Trip's parents. That was a lot of info to take in in so short of a time. Can't wait for Karyn adn Lorian to get married. Update soon, please.

Too funny! Looking forward to more.

You win the award for absolute best explanation EVER of T'Pol's marriage and divorce!!! I was laughing my head off:

I couldn't stop laughing.

First off, let me say I've loved this series since you've started writing it. A great AU, one of the best out there with a balance of romance, humor and sadness. This was just hysterically funny, this last chapter. A little romp that now poor Trip more then T'Pol has to deal with. But can we get the Tuckers (Chuck and Catherine) personally introduced to Lorian? What will they think? Will they take to him so easily and warmly as T'Les did? I think it's a great concept, and I'm waiting to see what Charles II will do now with two Vulcans in the family. Will he accept it so quickly? Can he let go of his prejudice? I'm kinda tempted to say no to that. That would be some great angst. ;) But then again, I've been called evil before.

Poor parents, their heads are spinning right now... Man tht's going to take awhile to straighten out. Trip really put his foot in it this time.

This was soo funny! More please...

Excellent as always, Hopeful Romantic. Absolutely loved the bit with Greer spilling the beans about Lorian. Can hardly wait for the wedding and to see just how long it takes Mom and Dad Tucker to accept all of this...

My eyes are watering, that was so hilarious. What did I love most?... Well... there's 'Uncle Soval'... and Greer spilling the beans... and Trip's dad needs a drink (I can BIG TIME see my dad doing that!)... and then... "Kill me... Kill me now." TOO funny!

please update! I have to know how it continues!!!!!!!!!!!!