Love and Logic- Ch. 4

Love and Logic
By agentpippin

Rating: PG, Romance, Humor
Disclaimers in Chapter One

Okay, here's the final chapter. I had fun writing this, and I hope you had fun reading it, despite the fact that I kind of forgot about this for a month or two. Oopsie daisy.

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Chapter Four (Conclusion)

The mess hall was packed for the movie, and yet to Trip it didn't seem crowded at all. He mused about the results of living in a five-child family, and decided that that was probably one of them.

T'Pol sat serenely next to him, waiting patiently for the film to start. Trip had thought about the possible implications of sneaking some of the popcorn that sat in a bag on her lap, but had decided that he liked his career where it was. //One stolen handful an' she'd be soundin' alarms all over the Vulcan embassy,// Trip thought, grimacing inwardly.

The lights flickered, and in the space of an instant, Trip's mind went into something-wrong-with-the-ship-must-find-out-what-it-is-and-fix-it mode. Sheepishly, he calmed down as he realized that the movie was starting. He glanced over at T'Pol, indulging for a moment in gazing at her backlit profile. Her spine remained ramrod-straight, and Trip sighed inwardly at her formality.

"C'mon, Subcommander, ya gotta relax," he muttered to her as the opening credits (accompanied by too-loud horror flick music) rolled across the large screen. "Try the popcorn, it isn't just for decoration, ya know."

T'Pol gave him a sideways glance that indicated all too clearly her opinions on such human tendencies as Trip's eagerness. She picked up the bag and drew out a couple of kernels. Trip watched as she ate them, frowning slightly and spitting out a popcorn seed.

"Better," he told her. "Munch it while yer watchin' the movie."

"Munch it?"

"Just eat it."

T'Pol gave a barely audible sigh and continued to snack on the popcorn. Trip had to fight to keep from laughing at her expression whilst the mutant zombies attacked the small town of Winchesterton and its inhabitants ran screaming for their lives. The same look occurred in scenes such as when the zombies were miraculously distracted by a squad of various heroic Winchesterton inhabitants and led to the lake, whereupon they drowned in its murky depths. //Bless humanity and its capacity for entertainment at any cost,// Trip thought happily.

The lights slowly came back to normal as the screen went black and murmurs and laughter raced through the room. "What'd ya think?" Trip asked with a grin, standing up and stretching.

T'Pol remained in her seat, puzzlement as the dominant expression her face. "I do not understand," she began, and Trip grinned all the more widely. "Surprise."

She peppered him with questions as Trip accompanied her to her quarters, trying to explain the movie and what made it entertaining. T'Pol was obviously unsatisfied with his replies, and turned to face him in the corridor.

"Why do humans watch these type of movies?" she asked for about the third time.

Trip sighed. "It's so stupid it's funny," he told her, lifting his hands in an 'I don't have any sort of answer to that question, so just accept it as yet another quirk of humanity' gesture.

T'Pol raised a solitary eyebrow. "And as humanity continues to evolve, you continue to use this as an excuse?"

Trip mock-frowned. "Don't say we're evolvin' - makes me feel like a specimen of somethin' under a microscope."

"What term would you choose, then?" T'Pol asked, challenge evident in her voice.

He shrugged. "Adaptin', maybe. Learnin'."

"Indeed." T'Pol made no further commentary, and Trip hoped he had least partly cleared matters up for her.

They reached her quarters, and T'Pol turned to him again. "Good night, Commander."

Trip grinned. "We should do this again sometime."

T'Pol gave him a 'look'. "You wish to partake in such a frivolous human indulgence again?"

"Well, we can do something Vulcan if you want - I don't suppose ya have movies on Vulcan?"

"No."

"Your loss. Seriously, what do ya do for fun?" Trip probed.

T'Pol gave in. "We meditate, or pray. Art and music are also common on my world."

"Really, now?" Trip was intrigued. "Show me some Vulcan literature, then."

Trip realized his mistake a couple seconds later as T'Pol went into her quarters and returned with a heavy-looking tome. "This should satisfy your curiosity."

"Ah... thanks," Trip said carefully, studying the book. It was entitled "Teachings of Surak."

"Waitaminute! - it's in English?" Trip said suddenly. He flipped it open and riffled through the pages. They contained some drawings here and there, but the text was entirely English.

"Yes," T'Pol stated. "There are numerous humans who have expressed a desire to learn more about Vulcan culture - including yourself," she added. "This book was translated for the benefit of those humans. I would ask you to be cautious with it - there are not many copies of Surak's teachings in your language."

"Well, thanks, T'Pol," Trip said, realizing the gift she was giving him. "I'll be careful with it."

T'Pol inclined her head. "Thank you, Commander."

"Well... see ya," he told her, waving as he headed down the corridor.

T'Pol watched him as he turned the corner and disappeared from sight. She stood for a moment longer, then went into her quarters.

Another book sat on her desk. She picked it up and slipped into the chair, settling back against the cold metal.

The book was also in English, and it was titled 'Frankenstein'.

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Awwww, how cute. Okay, I should prolly write a sequel...

Anyways, thanks everybody for the reviews! Thanks also to Karen, who put this up on TripTpolers.

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Three people have made comments

Hi agentpippin, Karen got you over here, but I actually got this story up. Glad to do so. Please write more for us.

I just loved this story. The ending was absolutely perfect and put a happy little smile on my face. The thought of T'Pol curling up to read Frankenstein was wonderful. A touch of pure genius! Hope you plan lots more outings and interactions between Trip and T'Pol as their friendship grows and deepens. Thanks, Ali D :~)

"You can put that eyebrow down" lol. so funny