...Touching and Touched - Part 5

...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.

A/N: Sorry it took so long, y’all. Chalk it up to Real Life, and a slight detour to pursue delusions of publication. (More on that in January.)

Thanks to Jenna (my prodigal beta returneth!) and TJinLOCA for beta goodness, along with my stalwarts Stephanie and Ludjin. I also sing the praises of pookha for her marvelous attention to detail, and for her kind permission to use her inspirational musings about the crew of the good ship Enterprise.

I named a character in this chapter after a character in “The Great Escape,” one of my dad’s favorite films.

Date: 10-9-05

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

Part Five

Chapter 7: Gifts

NX-02 Columbia
Spacedock, orbiting Earth

Lorian keyed open the door to his quarters, but Trip stepped in front of him before he could enter. “You’d better let me have a look first and make sure the coast is clear.”

Lorian looked blankly at him. Trip translated, “Make sure Karyn’s not in there.”

Lorian’s face lit with comprehension. “Understood.”

Trip ventured inside. The quarters were empty...and really spacious, he noted with interest. All they did was knock out the bulkhead between two cabins? Plenty of room for a double bed too, he saw with a grin. He began examining the bulkhead, mentally taking measurements—

“How long does it take to search one room for three women?” came Chuck’s voice from the corridor.

“Sorry,” Trip said, waving the others inside. “All clear.” Chuck, Lorian, and Soval entered, Soval acting as custodian for the wooden chest with the Vulcan wedding robes.

Lorian crossed to his dresser and pulled a small jewelry box from a drawer. “Father, I’ve brought you here to ask a question.” He opened the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of velvet, were matching gold wedding bands. “These are my parents’ wedding rings.”

The sight of T’Pol’s wedding band hit Trip surprisingly hard. He remembered sitting with Lorian at old T’Pol’s bedside in her final hours, holding her hand as he whispered to her of his forever-love...seeing the gold wedding band on her finger, its soft gleam blurred by his tears.

“I thought to give my mother’s ring to Karyn,” Lorian said, “but I’m not certain it’s mine to give.” He looked up at Trip. “You and Mother will be marrying soon. Perhaps you wish to have the rings your counterparts wore.”

It only took a moment for Trip to know how to reply. “These rings are part of your life, Lorian—your memories of your birth parents. They belong to you.” He picked up T’Pol’s ring, feeling the memories wash over him again as he placed it in Lorian’s hand. “If you want this to be Karyn’s wedding ring, you have my blessing.”

Lorian gazed at the gold band cradled in his palm. “Then I shall give my mother’s ring to...my bride...” He paused, suddenly overcome by emotion. “Forgive me,” he whispered.

Trip moved instinctively toward his son. To his surprise, Chuck beat him there, putting his callused hand gently on Lorian’s shoulder. “Nothing to apologize for, son,” he said. “The day I married your grandma, I found myself gettin’ choked up more times than I could count. We Tuckers are a romantic bunch.”

Lorian managed a faint, bashful smile as he recovered his composure. “So Karyn continues to claim about me.”

“Spunky and perceptive,” Chuck laughed. “This gal is just gettin’ better and better.”

Trip stood back and watched the two of them, enthralled. It was nothing short of magical.

Soval observed the interaction between the elder Tucker and young Lorian with fascination. He would never cease to be amazed by the extraordinary adaptability of humans to unexpected circumstances, given sufficient motivation.

Lorian secured the wedding band safely in a pocket of his uniform. “I have long been adept at maintaining a balance between emotion and logic, but I am finding balance quite impossible today.”

“It’s your wedding day, Lorian,” Trip said with a smile. “For humans, it’s one of the most emotional days of their lives.”

“Not only for humans,” Lorian replied. “My mother spoke with much fondness of her own wedding day.” His voice softened. “Especially after you were killed.”

Chuck felt a sudden stab of pain deep in his gut. He looked from Lorian to Trip in confusion. “Killed?”

Lorian glanced at Trip as well, before answering Chuck. “My birth father, the other Charles Tucker III, died when I was still a child.”

The pain flared up like fire, choking off Chuck’s voice and breath, scalding his already-scarred heart. It was horrifyingly reminiscent of the moment he and Catherine had gotten their first look at that trench in Florida and realized that Elizabeth was really gone. He stared at Trip...alive, solid and strong...and beside him, Lorian, whose downcast blue eyes were shadowed by a sorrow grown fainter with age, but never completely forgotten.

Lorian had lost his father, and Chuck felt as though he’d just lost a son. Quietly, he said, “I’m sorry, Lorian.” It was the first time he had called the boy by name.

Trip put a hand on Lorian’s arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. Lorian placed his own hand over Trip’s, the touch brief but conveying a wealth of meaning. When he turned to Chuck again, his expression was more peaceful. “For eighty-seven years, all I had were a child’s memories of my father. To be with him again now is a gift beyond measure.”

Despite the heartache he still felt, Chuck found himself smiling a little. Trip had said almost the same thing about Lorian.

A gift.

Whatever else Chuck might think of this mind-boggling situation, he knew that when Trip and Lorian had found each other again, something had been set right.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NX-01 Enterprise
Orbiting Earth

Lieutenant Robert Hendley prided himself on being the best scrounger in Starfleet. That’s why Captain Archer had hand-picked him to be Chief Quartermaster for Enterprise. If it needed to be found or fashioned, Hendley and his people would figure a way to do it.

Hendley was going the extra kilometer for his latest assignment. After all, it wasn’t every day the captain’s great-granddaughter was getting married to Commander Tucker’s son. Hendley’s crew had done pretty well, the last two hours, to transform Cargo Bay Two into a proper venue for a wedding, after Maintenance had cleared it out. Scaffolding and bolts of some real nice silk—traded for something or other last year while they were in the Expanse—concealed the dull gray walls. Benches had been whipped up by Carpentry for anyone who needed to sit, and a raised dais and podium had been borrowed from a conference room for the wedding party. There was a nice length of carpeting for the center aisle, for the bride to make her entrance. Lieutenant Sato had supplied music from the archives to pipe in during the ceremony.

Outside the ship, Hendley had a shuttlepod directing traffic, escorting visiting ships to the airlock to debark their passengers, then to the launch bay till after the wedding. And he had Maintenance rig a couple of tow lines for that big-ass cargo shuttle that wouldn’t fit.

The idea of a shipwide feed didn’t cross his mind until that contingent from engineering showed up and pretty much insisted on it. A skeleton crew would need to stay on duty, and they had to see the ceremony, no ifs ands or buts. The group from engineering even volunteered to help set everything up. Then Hendley got the notion of hooking up a feed through the security system, for anybody who was stuck on duty but wanted to watch. He had to put in an emergency call to the Chief Quartermaster on Columbia for a bunch of A429B’s, since Repair hadn’t gotten to all the fried circuitry that had been blown out by the attacking Vulcan ships. Hendley loved shiny new ships three months overdue for launch—they had a lot of surplus everything.

Then there were the deliveries to the staging areas for each half of the Happy Couple—on opposite sides of E-Deck, natch. Full-length mirrors for primping, thread for last-minute alterations—evidently Commander Tucker’s mother was quite the seamstress. The bride was on site when Hendley personally delivered an assortment of thread to Commander T’Pol’s quarters, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lieutenant Archer in her wedding gown. Unfortunately, T’Pol was an unbreachable rampart defending the door against all comers. Hendley would have to wait and see the bride with everybody else. But he did learn what color the gown was, on account of the shade of blue thread Mrs. Tucker picked out.

For flowers, Hendley had his second, Fuller, get hold of her connection at the wholesale flower district, while he arranged with Lt. Commander Reed for a quick transport of flowerage up to the ship. But it looked as though someone had gotten their comm signals crossed when Hendley started receiving confirmations of cancellations of orders for flowers.

He called Fuller. “Something screwy is going on with the flowers.”

“Nope, no problem, Boss,” she answered. “Turns out we don’t need any flowers, that’s all.”

“A wedding with no flowers? You feeling all right, Janette?”

“I didn’t say there wouldn’t be any flowers,” Fuller answered patiently. “Come to the cargo bay. You’ll see.”

Hendley double-timed it to Cargo Bay Two—and found the cavernous bay heaped with flowers. Tons of ‘em. Also ribbons and other foofoo to prettify the place. It smelled wonderful.

The flower source turned out to be the guests—the crew from E². They’d all been giftless, the wedding being impromptu and all, and they’d hit on the idea to raid a bunch of flower shops on the way to their shuttles. About seventy people had arrived so far, and more were coming in, each one with another armload of fresh blooms.

Hendley was impressed. He made ‘em all honorary scroungers on the spot.

Fuller joined him. “Everything else on the list is checked off, Boss,” she said.

“Great,” Hendley nodded. “All we have to worry about now is seating the guests and arranging a shitload of flowers.”

“I saw that ‘reception’ is not on the list,” Fuller noted. “I am confused. And my sweetie is downright wounded.”

Hendley shrugged. “The captain called and said he’d made other arrangements. It’s probably some favorite hangout of the Happy Couple. Tell Chef not to take it personally.”

Fuller raised an eyebrow. “Not take it personally? Are we talking about the same man here?”

“Sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment.”

“I shall endeavor to console him, if at all possible.”

Hendley brightened. “I’ll tell you what he can do for me. There’s a bunch of kids here who are bound to get antsy. If Chef could whip up some snacks and drinks...”

Fuller grinned. “You got it, Boss.”

“And we’ll need a runner to the Observation Lounge, for head breaks,” he added. She nodded and took off.

Hendley set Erikkson, Gaston, and Kamal to work arranging flowers along the ends of the rows of benches. Then he took stock of the decorative ribbons and laces piled on a bench in back. There—a roll of velvet ribbon in just the right shade of light blue, same as the thread he’d delivered. He perused the vast collection of flowers, finding a big bunch of blue irises, and adding baby’s breath and fern. Then he happily set about making bridal bouquets.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Phlox was halfway up the access hatch, just having captured his errant Pyrithian bat, when he heard the doors to sickbay slide open. A mellifluous baritone voice intoned politely, “Doctor? Am I disturbing you?”

“Lorian! Let me just...sorry, both my hands are full.” Carefully, Phlox tucked the bat against his chest and clambered back down the ladder to solid decking, where Lorian was waiting. “I understand congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you,” Lorian replied. “Karyn and I were planning on speaking with you together, but I am forbidden to see her before the wedding. Some unfathomable human tradition.”

Phlox secured his bat in her cage. “Ah, yes. To avoid bad luck. Or perhaps simply to...increase anticipation, hmm?” He turned his full attention on Lorian. “What can I do for you?”

“Are you aware that my parents plan to marry?”

Phlox smiled. “Yes. They informed me of a number of things after Commander Tucker had his accident several days ago, as a result of being bonded with Commander T’Pol.”

Lorian nodded. “We do not know when they will marry—they are awaiting clearance from the Vulcan Social Ministry. In the meantime, Karyn and I are planning a gift for them. We have taken the liberty of including you and your expertise in its fashioning.”

“I’d be delighted to contribute,” Phlox said brightly. “What is your gift?”

“A perfected process for safe Vulcan/human genome pairing.”

Phlox beamed. “Outstanding! Now that they are a couple, we certainly have renewed motivation to improve on my counterpart’s well-intentioned but limited and flawed methods.” He paused, a frown creasing his features. “Even with Starfleet and Denobulan resources at my disposal, it may be years before I refine the process to the point where it is safe.”

“Not necessarily.” Lorian pulled an envelope from his uniform pocket and handed it to the doctor. “We have secured the assistance of a clandestine research partner in this endeavor.”

Intrigued, Phlox opened the envelope. Inside he found authorization to enter the Top Security wing of Starfleet’s incarceration facility. He was confused...until he realized. “Arik Soong?” Lorian nodded. Phlox stared at him in amazement. “How did you acquire this?”

“We requested it,” Lorian replied simply.

Phlox shook his head admiringly. “If you had any lingering doubts as to Starfleet’s regard for you, this should put them all to rest.”

Lorian allowed himself a small smile before continuing. “Karyn and I were permitted to show Dr. Soong your counterpart’s research logs detailing his experimentation, and his failures, before my eventual conception and birth. When we asked if it was possible for you to improve on the research now, he readily agreed that you could...and he invited you to visit him at any time to present your ideas for his ‘feedback’.”

Phlox chuckled. “He fell for it. Brilliant, Commander.”

Lorian inclined his head in thanks. “You will not be permitted to take any written documentation from his cell, of course. But if you were to make regular visits, and devise some sort of code for information exchange...”

Phlox smirked. “He’s probably got it all worked out already.” Then he grew serious. “Do you trust him?”

It was a relevant question, one that Lorian had asked himself many times since his and Karyn’s initial meeting with Soong. “This project is a matter of pride for him,” he replied. “Also, he indicated that, from the perspective of a parent who had lost children, he wished to improve my parents’ odds for success.” Wryly, he added, “In addition, we have been plying his voracious curiosity with tales of the Expanse.”

“I assume he finds you fascinating.”

“He finds Karyn more so,” Lorian replied dryly.

Phlox smiled again. “I’ll be sure to pay him a visit soon, so we can get our secret code straight.”

“Thank you.” Lorian brightened hopefully. “And if you are free at fifteen hundred hours today...”

“I’ll be there,” Phlox responded enthusiastically. “We Denobulans are quite fond of weddings.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

T’Pol and Catherine finished tying the shimmering blue lacings that ran down each side of the dress’s plaited bodice. “Okay, hon,” Catherine said. “Take a look.”

With a nervous smile, Karyn turned to face the mirror. The sight made her blush. There was so much...skin showing. It wasn’t indecent or anything; the wedding dress was beautifully designed. But there was a good two-inch gap on each side of the form-fitting bodice where it laced together. Her bare skin was covered only by the criss-crossed blue lacing, all the way down to her hips, where the full skirt burst forth. “Esilia must have been a lot more slender than me.”

“It would appear that the dress was designed to be worn in this manner,” T’Pol assessed. She indicated the bodice’s plunging front and back necklines, also held in place by open latticeworks of lacing, which afforded tantalizing views of Karyn’s bosom and delicate spinal ridges. “The current configuration seems an appropriately deliberate echo of the design.”

Karyn turned this way and that, studying herself in the mirror. The opalescent fabric clung to her like a second skin, whisper-soft, lighter than air. “It feels as if I’m not even wearing anything.”

Catherine glanced at the dress’s cutaway views of Karyn’s bare hips. “That’s ‘cause you’re not. You’ll have Soval beatin’ all the men off with a stick as he walks you down that aisle.”

T’Pol arched an eyebrow at Catherine in gentle reproach, but Karyn had no such cool self-control. She could already feel her cheeks getting hot. She covered them with her hands, unable to stop a squeal of embarrassed laughter. “Catherine—!”

Catherine grinned sheepishly. “Aw, I’ve stuck my foot in it again.” She put an arm around Karyn. “Sorry. I blurt before I think sometimes.”

Karyn shook her head as her blush began to fade. “It’s all right. It’s just...” She ventured a glance at Catherine. “You’re not anything like my other grandmothers.”

Catherine laughed heartily. “I’ll bet!”

Karyn smiled as fond images from her childhood drifted past her mind’s eye. “My father’s mother, Madisen—she was all about lap cuddles, and family recipes, and bedtime stories. And my mother’s mother, Tamlyn...I mostly remember her being quiet and contemplative.” She cocked her head at Catherine. “But you...”

“I’m forthright,” Catherine declared. “Or as Chuck would say, shameless.”

“Direct.” Karyn took the older woman’s hand. “My parents would have liked you.”

Catherine gave Karyn’s hand an affectionate squeeze. Then she knelt down and started fussing with the wedding gown’s skirt. “Let me check the hem on this masterpiece.”

“Were your parents aware of your romantic attachment to Lorian?” T’Pol asked Karyn.

“I thought it was my best-kept secret,” Karyn replied wryly. “But my mother finally clued me in that she’d figured it out. And that she approved.” She absently fingered the lacing on the front of her dress, as she remembered the last day she was with her parents...Mom’s Cheshire-cat smile about Captain Lorian, and Daddy’s musical laughter as he teased her about taking over his job while he was away. “My dad...I don’t know. I hope he knew.” She shook her head faintly. “Now I wish I’d told them everything. But back then, it would have just sounded like a silly teenager’s fancy.”

Catherine got to her feet. “The length looks good. You’re done.”

Karyn beamed happily at Catherine and T’Pol. “All I need now is for fifteen hundred hours to get here.”

“We have nearly an hour to wait before the ceremony,” T’Pol said. “If you would prefer to remove the dress until—”

“No,” Karyn interjected quickly. After waiting her whole life to be wearing her wedding dress? She never wanted to take it off. Well, not until Lorian took it off... “I’m fine.”

The door chimed. T’Pol opened it, prepared to ward off any would-be interloper—but it was Chuck. His nod to her was a little self-conscious, Karyn noticed. “I’m lookin’ for my wife.”

Catherine fairly dragged him into the cabin. “Honey, I have so much to tell you! Karyn’s been in love with Lorian since she was a little girl, but never told him—isn’t that sweet? And on their ship, they told the kids bedtime stories about how Trip and T’Pol fell in love!—”

Chuck took her shoulders. “Slow down, Cath. You’re overloadin’ my brain here.” Catherine subsided, with an effort. Chuck had a smile on his face, but Karyn thought it looked forced, even a little sad.

He knows, she realized. Lorian must have told him about losing his father.

“I came here to tell you,” Chuck continued to his wife, “Lorian needs you to hem the sleeves of his...” He trailed off as he caught sight of Karyn. “My God.”

Karyn looked down shyly. Chuck took her hands and simply admired her for a long moment. At last he said, “You’re a picture, darlin’.”

Karyn wondered if she was ever going to stop blushing today. “Thank you.”

Catherine gently but firmly hooked her arm through her husband’s. “If you’re through ogling the bride, we need to go get the groom squared away.”

“I must speak with Trip as well,” T’Pol said. “I shall return shortly, Karyn.”

“Wait, now,” Chuck objected. “You’re not gonna leave Karyn alone, are you?”

“Go.” Karyn waved them toward the door with T’Pol. “You two have catching up to do. Shoo.”

The trio headed out. A moment later, in the corridor outside, Karyn heard her great-grandfather’s voice, exchanging greetings with Chuck and Catherine. Karyn felt a nervous flutter in her stomach...the same way she used to feel when Daddy was about to come in to see her off to one of the ship’s dances. He would admire her dress, and tell her he hoped she would find someone, this time...

She hoped Mom had told Daddy that his daughter had found someone. Even though the someone in question didn’t have a clue at the time.

Archer entered the cabin, a padd in his hand. He had an aura of happiness that Karyn hadn’t seen for a long time. He stopped dead when he saw her. “Wow.”

Karyn giggled. “Everybody’s doing that. Does it really look that good?”

“You look that good.” He came closer, motioning for her to turn around. As she did a slow twirl for him, he made noises of paternal appreciation. “Where did you get it?” he asked.

“Esilia wore it when she married her Jonathan,” Karyn smiled.

“Oh.” Archer looked at the dress again, wistfully. “I can see why it’s special to you, then.”

Karyn was sorry that his joy had dimmed. “I have some other keepsakes that the Archers on my ship saved over the years. Later, when things are a little less crazy, I thought we might sit down together and look through them.”

Archer nodded. “I’d like that.” Then he roused himself, holding up his padd. “As the officiator at your ceremony, I have come to inform you that I have at last found the wedding vows. You have your choice of—”

“Wait, Papa.” Karyn crossed to her overnight bag and pulled out the parchment inscribed with her parents’ wedding vows. “I found this when I found the dress.”

She gave him the parchment. He scanned the handwritten calligraphy, an expression of wonder appearing on his face. “Your parents’ vows.”

Karyn nodded. “They’re a mix of human and Ikaaran traditions.”

“‘I choose you, Charles, to be my husband...to laugh with you, to comfort you, to stand by your side...’” Archer put his arm around Karyn. “These are perfect for you and Lorian.”

She hugged him. “Great. Now all I need is Something New, and I’m a real bride.”

“Something new?”

“Wedding tradition. ‘Something Old, Something New...”

He nodded. “Right.”

Karyn pointed to her dress. “This is Old and Blue.” Then the vows. “That’s Borrowed.”

“Something new, huh?” Archer pursed his lips thoughtfully. Then he smiled, a deliciously enigmatic smile that immediately drove Karyn wild with curiosity.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” he said, crossing to the door.

She followed him. “Papa? What?“

Archer kissed her on the forehead. “See you soon.” Then he was gone, the door shutting behind him.

~~tbc~~

There are both PG-13 and NC-17 versions of Part Six, Chapter 8.

Please go to the ...Touching and Touched menu separation page to access the version appropriate for you.

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Ahhhhhhhrghhhhh...and here I thought we'd get the wedding this chapter! Ah...the anticipation builds....great update! :)

Heey, you can't just leave us hanging here... :P
Very much looking forward to the next update!

Oh man, I want the next part soon! :) I tell you I love seeing all the Tucker men and Soval together. It's priceless.

I also love seen Archer and Karyn together, and all of the mentions of Archer's wife in the Expanse. I kind of wish Esilia was able to be found for him.

The brief flash to the vigil by old T'Pol's bedside choked me up all over again, too...

More soon. ;)

I really like your series and can't wait for the next one. The actual wedding might get a little fluffy, but that's one of the things they're for! Your characters are just as they should be, over the top emotions and all. My wedding was nearly 35 years ago, but the day still is and the memories are very special to me, strong emotions and all.
Incidentally, about the delusions of publication thing, been there and done that. Keep practicing your craft on these fan-fic sites and you'll get there eventually. It's surprising how blind most editors can be; research just how often Mario Puzo, Stephen King, and J. K. Rowling were turned down. You won't believe it.

Outstanding. Glad to see this is back now get cracking for the actual wedding! :D

And good luck on the publishing front...

Dang but you're really stringing us along with this wedding! And I for one am lapping it up. More soon please! :)

You... but... you can't.... *sputters*

I am going to die from all of these cliffhangers!!

Excellent update. I hope that you have time to write more, and quickly!!

Thumbs up.

Bout dang gone time this got updated!,,,,,,,, But well worth the wait,,,,,,, real touchin moment with the Lorians parents weddin rings an his offer for Trip to have them,, a real touchin moment an Trip made the right choice,,, an Im guessin that he may of had like a ring already in mind for T'pol.,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Ok HR hon your takin quite a dang long time planin out an not to mention dragin out Lorian an Karyns weddin,,,, so You had better have TnTs weddin be more then a Trip to the Chappel of Love. LOL,,,,,, Just dont burn out on this weddin stuff all on Lorian an Karyn,, save some of it for TnT,,,,,, Please.,,,,,,,,,,,,, Great chappie. Loved it! :)

glad you're back!! you must update soon...great chapter!

Great reading, can just see it all so clear.........part 6????????

Cute, cute, cute! Where are you from, HR? You've got the southern dialect down perfectly, but you've got Catherine saying something is "dear"... that sounds almost British. Are you a Brit? If so, your command of U.S. southern idiom is nothing short of amazing. "Dear" works, of course, but all the southerners I know would use "sweet" instead. I'm a nit-picker, I know. It really doesn't matter... it just made me curious about your nationality. Marvelous story! I'm loving it to pieces!

Distracted--

I was born in Dallas. I've lived in California since I was a child, but I've been around born-and-bred Texans all my life.

As to the "dear" vs. "sweet"... yep, I've got plenty of relatives who'd say, "Isn't that suede?" LOL But I picked up "Isn't that dear?" from my (Texas) aunt. So I s'pose Catherine has some Texas blood in her. :D

...don't forget 'Hon'/'Honey'! My stars, I don't believe a day goes by that I don't hear it.

Fabulous post, as usual, HR! All this buildup to the wedding is excruciating - keep it up ;)

What does PaPa Jon have up his sleeve? Love watching Chuck's reactions/observations - and Trip's assay of Lorian and Karyn's quarters.

Please send more soon - LOTs more!!

-j

Love it, love it! Short though it may be! I know how RL can be, so we'll take whatever we can get!

As for publication dreams? Good luck! I tried the SNW thing last year. They'd be crazy not to publish you; so when you get in, let us know because I can't wait to read it! (I'm assuming SNW because of the timing, but if that's not it, then hey, whatever you get in print I want to read!)

That's it? No more? Not even a paragraph? (*pouts*) I want more story. This is too good to be that short. No fair! ;)

I've been enjoying this series very much. When you get around to Trip & T'pol's wedding please think about having Koss be the one to give away the bride.
Patrick

The only good thing about being sick: I got to read this whole thing, beginning to... here. Even better than I remembered! Still... I want a wedding, dangit! Scratch that, make it two weddings! And what is Papa up to? I can't wait for mo-ore! I can't wait for mo-ore! Ya da da da da-da! (*coughs pitifully while attempting to conga*) More, please! :)