...Touching and Touched - Part 3

...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: 7-26-05

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Part Three

Chapter 5: The Simple Version

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sim ple adjective 1. Not involved or complicated. 2. Manifesting little sense or intelligence.
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All things considered, Catherine and Chuck took it pretty...okay. That is, after T’Pol got Catherine some water, and Trip coaxed Chuck back into the banquet room and sat him down with his Scotch. Where Dad had scrounged the booze this time of day, Trip didn’t even want to know. The two of them listened silently as Trip stumbled through an explanation of the subspace corridor in the Expanse, the alternate timeline, the other Trip and T’Pol, and Lorian’s Enterprise. When he tried to explain about T’Pol, though...

“...And about one minute before I’m gonna tell her I have feelings for her, her long-lost childhood betrothed shows up, who she dumped three years ago, and says, ‘Hey, T’Pol, if you marry me, I’ll get your mom her old job back, which she was drummed out of on account of your being blamed for that P’Jem thing that you didn’t have anything to do with anyway, no pressure, but all you gotta do to keep your mom from rotting away in retirement is to be unhappy for the rest of your life.’ So of course she marries the skunk, because she’s an honorable woman, but at least she leaves him in the dust right after the wedding and comes back to Enterprise ‘cause that’s part of the deal. And we could ignore each other, but we stay best friends instead, ‘cause we’re not gonna let the skunk ruin that, are we? And it’s hard, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is, because we can’t tell each other how we feel, T’Pol being married an’ all, but we’re doing all right, and then boom! Lorian comes back from the dead, or the never-was—see, we thought maybe he didn’t exist at all after the timeline reset itself—but he’s back, and he says, ‘Hey, Mom and Dad’—see, we kinda adopt each other because he’s an orphan and we’re so glad he’s alive an’ all— ‘Hey, Mom, your marriage is not logical, and I don’t think it will last long.’ So the first thing T’Pol and I do after hearing that is, we tell each other how we feel, which makes things better and worse, ‘cause she’s still married, but finally the skunk ‘fesses up that his folks put him up to it and he was just being a good son—seein’ as how Vulcans are really big on family responsibility, even when the parents are selfish idiots—and he turns good-guy and releases T’Pol from her marriage.” Trip took a deep breath. “I called you two the very next day.”

He looked from one parent to the other...expectantly, hopefully, apprehensively. Catherine still appeared shell-shocked. Chuck took another pull on his drink, but said nothing. Trip felt as if he were floundering. Then he sensed T’Pol’s presence resonating through the bond, buoying him up. Though she was standing behind him, he smiled, and he knew she saw him with her mind’s eye.

Archer and Soval were approaching, with Lorian and Karyn between them. Sensing the tension in the air, the kids hung back, taking care not to enter the arena prematurely. Archer stepped forward, sweeping Catherine up in a warm hug of greeting. “It’s great to see you, Catherine.”

“Jon.” Catherine smiled at him, a little nervously, as she stole glances at Lorian and Karyn, then T’Pol. “This is all such a surprise.”

Chuck shook Archer’s hand. “I can think of a few other words.”

“I’ll bet,” Archer chuckled. “How’re you doing, Chuck?”

The elder Tucker shrugged, at a loss. “I don’t have any idea.”

Archer motioned to Soval. “You know Ambassador Soval.”

“Well, according to what I’m hearin’, we don’t,” Chuck said, clearly exasperated. “Uncle Soval. Has the whole world gone crazy?”

“I know it might seem that way.” Archer looked them up and down. “I can see part of the problem right now. Each of you has the pinched face of someone trying to make sense of time travel, and everything that goes with it.” He indicated Lorian and Karyn. Catherine gave him a clipped nod, while Chuck just looked heavenward.

“Shared confusion lightens flummoxation.” Surak should’ve put that in the Kir’Shara, Archer thought dryly. Aloud, he said, “I have a little trick that works for me. Time travel gives me a headache, so I don’t try to make sense of it. I just go with it. Everything looks a little less bewildering when I’m not trying to fit it into some conventional reality.”

Catherine nodded cautiously, while Chuck mulled it over, chewing his lip in a very Trip-like gesture.

“As for Trip and T’Pol,” Archer went on, “think of them as...Romeo and Juliet. But without the suicides.”

Chuck didn’t look convinced. But a tiny smile graced Catherine’s face as she looked anew at her son and his beloved. Trip could almost see the shackles of preconception fall away as his mother’s normal, friendly countenance returned. She approached T’Pol. “I understand you helped my son through the loss of his sister. I want to thank you for that.”

“He honored me with his trust.” T’Pol’s expression softened. “Your son has also aided me in times of great difficulty. His compassion and kindness have been a source of strength for me.”

Catherine smiled warmly at her. “You couldn’t have picked a finer man.”

T’Pol’s face remained composed, but Trip felt her exquisite smile through the bond. “On that point, we are agreed, Mrs. Tucker,” she replied.

“Please, call me Catherine,” his mom said. Inwardly, Trip heaved a sigh of relief. Mom was big on courtesy—she didn’t offer to be on a first-name basis with just anybody. She meant it.

Catherine turned to Lorian and Karyn. Taking their cue, Trip and Archer brought them forward. “Mom, Dad,” Trip said formally, “this is our son Lorian.”

“And his fiancée, my great-granddaughter Karyn,” added Archer.

“Kids, meet my folks, Catherine and Charles Jr.,” Trip finished. He stepped back, nervous as hell, unconsciously holding his breath again.

Dad’s face was still unreadable. Mom came through with flying colors, though, giving the kids a pleasant smile. “We’re glad to meet you both.”

“The honor is ours, Mrs. Tucker,” Lorian replied.

“We’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” Karyn added warmly. Unlike everyone else, they weren’t the least bit self-conscious.

Catherine studied Lorian, taking in his Vulcan ears and placid demeanor, contrasting them with his fair hair and startlingly blue eyes. “Chuck...he has your eyes.”

Chuck downed the rest of his Scotch and cautiously ventured closer. His guarded expression softened the tiniest bit as he looked into Lorian’s calm face. “I’ll be damned. Those are the Tucker baby blues, all right.”

Suddenly, Catherine realized they were examining him like a horse up for auction. “I’m so sorry. We don’t mean to stare.”

“There is no offense where none is taken,” Lorian answered mildly. Trip smiled to himself, recognizing Surak’s words. Lorian went on, “We understand if this situation is quite disconcerting to you both.”

“It is an awful lot to swallow,” Dad responded bluntly.

“Hush, Chuck,” Catherine intervened smoothly. “You’re talking to our grandson.” She gasped softly. “Oh my goodness...our grandson.” She smiled at Lorian again, with the same affectionate gaze she would give a new baby. When he responded with a tiny smile of his own, she positively beamed. Trip knew then that she’d really made the shift, bless her. Lorian was family to her now.

She turned her attention to Karyn. “And Karyn, you’re such a pretty thing. Tell me about your ancestry, child.”

“My great-grandmother...” —Karyn nodded to Archer— “...Papa’s wife, was Ikaaran.”

Catherine repeated the word carefully. “Ikaaran.”

Chuck gave Archer a sly look. “At least you settled down and had a family in some reality or other.”

“Don’t start,” Archer warned good-naturedly.

Catherine noticed that Jon’s usual easy confidence was subdued, his lovely smile quieter. And there was a sadness in his eyes that seemed to extend far deeper than the loss of Admiral Forrest. She was beginning to understand why no one wanted to talk about what Enterprise had gone through during the war. It must have been the kind of horrible that family was never supposed to know about. And for Jon, the captain, it must have been worst of all.

She set her troubling thoughts aside and focused on happier matters again. “What kind of ceremony are you planning?”

“Planning?” Karyn laughed. “There’s not a whole lot of that going on.”

“We’ve decided on traditional human vows, as soon as I dig them out of the database.” Archer looked a little nervous. “This will be my first wedding.”

“Since we’re doing a human ceremony...” Karyn looked hopefully to T’Pol. “Would you be my maid of honor?”

T’Pol nodded, touched. “Of course.”

Lorian turned to Trip. “Father, it would please me if you would be my best man.”

Trip felt a sudden lump in his throat. “I’d be glad to, son.”

Catherine watched the exchange happily with the others. Chuck was still stuck back at Trip being called “Father” by this Lorian fellow. It was unnerving.

“There will also be a Vulcan ritual,” Lorian informed the group. “Ambassador Soval has agreed to perform a bonding ceremony for the two of us this evening.”

Trip’s face lit up, while T’Pol’s expressive brown eyes reflected her joy.

“After hearing about your bond, we got to talking last night,” Karyn explained. “And we realized that’s what we wanted.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Catherine said meekly. “But...what’s this ‘bond’ of yours?”

“We didn’t quite get that far, did we?” Trip gulped. “Well, uh, to put it nice and simple—”

“Allow me, Catherine,” T’Pol interjected smoothly. “When a Vulcan chooses a mate, a telepathic link forms between them. We refer to it as a bond.”

“Show-off,” Trip murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Catherine blinked at them in amazement, while Chuck looked vaguely disturbed. “You can read each other’s minds?” he asked.

Soval mentally shook his head. Why humans invariably leaped to that conclusion when first introduced to the concept of bonding, he could not fathom. Perhaps it had to do with their woeful inability to communicate with each other so much of the time.

“Not precisely,” T’Pol replied. “We sense each other’s presence in our minds.” She recalled the way Trip had described the bond to Lorian yesterday. “It is akin to a mental variant of...holding hands.”

Catherine was charmed. “That’s lovely.”

“Or sharing souls,” Karyn murmured softly to Lorian. They gave each other a look that was briefly, unabashedly adoring. In that moment, Chuck saw a shy sweetness in Lorian’s face that, despite the ears, made him look nothing at all like a Vulcan.

Karyn smiled brightly as she faced the group again. “We want you all to be there. It’s traditional for family to witness the bonding ceremony.”

Catherine and Chuck exchanged a quick, uncertain glance, which did not escape Lorian’s notice. “The invitation includes you as well,” he told them.

“Aw, don’t feel obligated to invite us,” Chuck said. Truth be told, he couldn’t think of a weirder way to spend an evening than watching Ambassador Cranky do some bizarre Vulcan mumbo-jumbo to get Lorian and Karyn to hold hands inside each other’s heads. It sounded...unnatural.

“We do not feel obligated,” Lorian replied. “We invite you because we wish for you to attend.”

“You hardly even know us,” Catherine demurred. “We don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“How could we?” Karyn smiled. “You’re family.”

Chuck saw Catherine melt, and he knew the evening of Vulcan mumbo-jumbo was a lock. “Then of course we’ll be there,” his wife said warmly.

Archer gave Karyn a kiss on the cheek. “I have to get going. I have a cargo bay to clear, and some wedding vows to find.” He paused, and Catherine saw his beautiful smile return as he gazed down at the girl. “Have I told you how happy I am for you, honey?”

She hugged him tight. “Only a few dozen times.”

Archer shook Lorian’s hand. “See you on Enterprise.” With a nod of farewell to the rest of the family, he headed out.

Catherine watched pensively as the door of the banquet room shut behind him. “He’s been through a lot more than he’s told anyone, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah, Mom, he has,” Trip said quietly.

Catherine smiled at Karyn. “But when he’s with you...you give him a calm that I haven’t seen in a long time. I knew having a family would be good for him.”

“He’s been good for me, too, Mrs. Tucker,” Karyn replied.

“Please.” Catherine held up a hand. “It’s Catherine.”

Karyn returned the woman’s smile. “Catherine.”

Chuck looked Lorian up and down. Now that he was stuck with this situation, he might as well do what he could to help the boy with the whole wedding rigamarole. “Well, son, you don’t plan on gettin’ married in that uniform, do you?”

“No,” Karyn answered flatly.

“Apparently not,” Lorian murmured, a bit bemused.

Chuck had to smile. This gal Karyn had spunk. “Then we’d better find you something proper.”

Soval stepped forward. “If I may suggest...I have robes that would be appropriate, and we are of a similar size. My quarters are at the Vulcan embassy.”

Lorian was wise enough to glance at his fiancée, who appeared satisfied by the suggestion. He nodded to Soval. “That would be agreeable, Ambassador.”

Catherine turned to Karyn. “We need to find you something pretty to wear, too, child.”

Karyn smiled to herself. She already had something in mind, though she had never worn it. She hoped it would fit. “There might be something on Columbia. We’ll start there.”

“I understand tradition dictates that the maid of honor assist the bride-to-be in wedding preparations,” T’Pol stated. “I shall accompany you both.”

“Well, Dad?” Trip asked, with a twinkle in his eye. “You can go with the womenfolk to pick out a wedding dress, or come with us to the Vulcan embassy. Which’ll it be?”

Chuck glowered at him. “Did I wrong you in a former life?”

“You can have him,” Catherine said. “His fashion sense doesn’t much extend beyond coveralls.”

Trip smoothed his dizzyingly-patterned burgundy shirt, looking pleased with himself. “Unlike my enviable panache.”

“Don’t press your luck,” Chuck cautioned under his breath.

“Okay then!” Trip announced. “The best man and the granddad are taggin’ along with the groom and Uncle Soval.”

He almost laughed out loud when both Chuck and Soval gave him identical looks of ill-concealed annoyance. “Commander,” the Ambassador intoned patiently, “endeavor to control your exuberance. Have you learned nothing from your bondmate?”

“Sorry.” Trip tried to look contrite, but he just couldn’t. This was way too much fun. “Just excited, I guess. It’s not every day that my son gets married.”

Lorian turned to Karyn. “We will meet on Enterprise, before the ceremony.”

“You will not,” Catherine declared firmly.

Lorian hesitated. “I beg your pardon?”

“The groom can’t see the bride before the wedding!”

Lorian regarded her with confusion. “Why not?”

“It’s bad luck,” Trip said aside to him.

“That is hardly a sufficient reason.”

Catherine turned to Trip, hands on hips. “Trip, haven’t you taught your boy anything?”

“I only met him a couple of months ago!” Trip protested.

Lorian sensed another inexplicable human custom in the offing. It would be better to accept than to try to comprehend. “I shall abide by your restrictions, Catherine.” To Karyn, he said, “Evidently, I will not see you on Enterprise.”

“Until the wedding, then.” Karyn took his hands in hers and gave him a sweet kiss...their last, as husband and wife yet to be. They stood together, holding hands, gazing contentedly at each other, the rest of the world quickly forgotten.

Then Catherine was shooing Lorian away. “You’ll see her at three, Lorian. Go on, now.”

Reluctantly, Lorian allowed Trip to pull him away from Karyn. Trip gave her a hug and a kiss. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll take good care of him.” Then he and Chuck led Lorian out of the banquet room.

Soval lingered, drawing Karyn aside. Quietly, he said, “I understand that color can play an important role in human wedding ceremonies. Since I am tasked with attiring your husband-to-be, if you have a preference, perhaps I can accommodate it.”

Karyn was touched by the ambassador’s consideration. How she had happened upon the two most charming Vulcans in the galaxy—likely the only two charming Vulcans—she would never know. She shut her eyes briefly, visualizing the color. She’d only seen it once, but the image was vivid in her mind. “Pale blue...almost like ice,” she said. “Something that goes with that.”

For a moment, Soval looked surprised. Then, recovering his Vulcan calm, he gave her a courtly nod. “As you wish, Niece.”

She broke into a smile, blushing faintly. Soval did not know why his use of the light-hearted endearment had such a profound effect on her, but he found that it pleased him. “Thank you, Uncle,” she said softly. “For everything you’re giving us today.”

“It is my honor,” he replied. With a nod of farewell, he departed.

Karyn turned to the waiting T’Pol and Catherine. “Ladies, shall we...?”

As they made their way through the Great Hall, Karyn searched the crowd. She spotted Admiral Gardner in conversation with a few guests near the buffet tables, and headed over. “Excuse me, Admiral...”

Gardner brightened when he saw her. “Lieutenant Archer! I understand congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you, sir,” she replied. “In fact, that’s why I’m here. I know it’s short notice, but if you’re free at fifteen hundred hours, swing by Enterprise. Lorian and I are getting married.” As Gardner’s mouth dropped open in surprise, Karyn grinned. “Hope to see you there, sir.” With that, she collected T’Pol and Catherine and left to find a shuttle to Columbia.

~~tbc~~

Continue to Part Four, Chapter 6

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Hopeful Romantic, you keep living up to your name. Good fic, well written, good dialogue, excellent personalities. Good fluff. Keep going!

Oh, HR! Chuck's version of events had me ROLLING! ("Ambassador Cranky" and his "Vulcan mumbo-jumbo"... too funny! "Did I wrong you in a former life?" LOL) Is Karyn gonna wear T'pol's dress from "Home"? I hope so! That would be perfect! You've got a little pathos in there too, though. Archer is so pitiful. Are you gonna have mercy on him and find him somebody to love?

Trip's monologue at the beginning had me laughing my ass off!! Poor Mom and Dad! LOL I hope Trip can find something more suitable to wear as well. Somebody might have to take that boy shopping!

This is freaking awesome. I hope you never end it.

"Unlike my enviable panache." Heh.

Just can't stop reading your story!
Please update as soon as you can :-)

I love this story! Can't waith for more!

I think you need to incorporate Archer as the wedding crasher (yeah, I know, he's actually invited)... he really, really needs a woman. Really. :) Awesome chappy! :)

I happen to like Trip's panache. It gives him character, at any rate! I second nikitee, get Archer a woman! Soon! Awesome, can't wait for more! :)

Oh Man HR They just get better an better. :)
Its nice to see Chuck warmin up even if he is taken his good ol time.

OMG I just realised that Polly will be Karens maid of honor,, so dos that mean she will be as badly dressed as trip is?LOL

Oh An Archer dont need women,,, hes a Trek Capn,, their married to their ships. ;)

This was loads of fun! I can't wait for the wedding. Hee. :)

I'm curious about the dress Karyn has in mind? Could it be someone else's wedding dress? Her mother's? T'Pol's from the past?

And yeah, Archer does need a woman. However, I just want him to end up with Hoshi. LOL. :)

Another wonderful chapter, HR! I was picturing Trip trying to get that whole explanation out in one breath that you had at the beginning, and it had me laughing (not to mention the looks T'Pol was undoubtedly giving him for describing Koss as a 'skunk'). And Lorian's reaction to the whole 'groom can't see the bride' bit... Glad to see at least one of the parents is accepting him, now if Chuck would just come around...

OMG, that was wonderful!! I was practically choking on my coffee over poor Chuck Tucker ... “How’re you doing, Chuck?” “I don’t have any idea.” LOL! and another favorite: Truth be told, he couldn’t think of a weirder way to spend an evening than watching Ambassador Cranky do some bizarre Vulcan mumbo-jumbo to get Lorian and Karyn to hold hands inside each other’s heads. Sounded... unnatural.

But the best line of all was - "Did I wrong you in a former life?" ROFL!

Another great chapter, HR! Keep it up!

You do such a good job with character voices. I loved Archer's line, *“Shared confusion lightens flummoxation.” Surak should’ve put THAT in the Kir’Shara,* LOL! Please keep writing.

It's all good...per usual... ;)

Fave line: "Did I wrong you in a former life?"

-jwc

p.s. Send more soon.

p.p.s. Pretty, pretty please?