Accustomed to Her Face - Ch 7

Accustomed to Her Face

By Amok2

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Star Trek and all of its spin-offs are the property of UPN and Paramount. I’m SO not in it for any profit, just the fulfillment of my own overactive imagination.
Genre: T/T Romance/Angst
SPOILERS: “HOME” and Vulcan mini-arc. Again, I’m taking the preview and running wild with it.

NOTE: I’m coming in just under the wire but IT’S DONE. HURRAH!!! First fanfic completed! For some reason I don’t think it’ll be my last…
But thanks to all of you for your encouragement and all of your kind words. It definitely gave me the spark I needed to get going.

It might not be the ending you wanted but I think I still got the message across that I think they’re gonna get through this obstacle and end up together. I’m a believer.

==

Chapter 7 – CONCLUSION

VULCAN, FIRE PLAINS
1100 hrs.

As the transport pod shot over a series of jagged mountain ridges, a valley emerged underneath that defied anything Trip had ever seen before. Trip saw what he thought was impossible: a raging sea of red. Then he realized that this ocean pulsated and undulated in waves of flame and molten lava, an endlessly moving mass teeming with its own life.

He sat mesmerized for a few moments while the transport maneuvered over the Fire Plains to a landing area a safe distance away, where a mountain path wove parallel to the plains.

As it landed, he finally tore his gaze away from the phenomenon.

“Commander?” T’Pol asked.

“I’m fine, T’Pol. I’ve just never seen anything like it,” Trip said.

She gave a slow but shallow nod and arched an eyebrow before turning and exiting the transport, Trip following.

No one else had traveled with them on the transport, which left them in a swirl of sand as it lifted off.

“There is another one of those coming back for us, isn’t there?” Trip yelled under its roar as he shielded his eyes and watched it take off.

“Of course,” T’Pol said, her own voice raised above the sound of the transport engines. “It will return for us at 1700 hrs.”

She tilted her head toward the mountain and slid her eyes to Trip. In her gesture, he understood immediately in which direction they would travel. He returned the nod and followed her as they began the day’s expedition.

==

The terrain was challenging, to say the least, but mostly because of the rise and fall of the path paved into the side of the mountain. The pair kicked up dust with every step and soon they were both indistinguishable from the ground they walked upon. Trip kept up with T’Pol’s brisk pace; aware that she was releasing whatever pent-up tension she’d built up at her mother’s house. The two suns overhead beat down on them and several times during their first few hours, Trip stopped for water and to wipe his brow.

At one of his rests, T’Pol also finally paused with him.

“I don’t think my human lungs can take much more of this, T’Pol,” said Trip, who panted between sips of water. He grinned at her. “I hope that doesn’t make me less of a man in your eyes.”

“There is no shame in admitting your limitations, Commander,” said T’Pol. “We would not want to repeat your last experience in the desert.”

“Well, besides the dehydration and delirium, it wasn’t so bad,” said Trip, a smile tugging at his lips. “But if we could avoid that again, I wouldn’t mind.”

“You should have said something if I set too rapid of a pace, Commander,” said T’Pol, who continued the silent introspection she’d fallen into since they started walking.

“It was a joke, T’Pol. What’s going on? You haven’t said two words since we got here.”

“I believe I have just spoken several words to you,” she said.

“Now you’re making jokes?” Trip said, inwardly glad he had stirred a response. “Seriously, T’Pol, are you gonna tell me what’s on your beautiful mind?”

T’Pol breathed deeply, then started walking again, turning once to tell Trip, “It is just a little farther to the point I want to show you. Can you continue?”

Trip frowned at her avoidance of his question, but he nodded and resumed his labored exertions.

He followed her agile movements, which deftly maneuvered around the rocks and rough terrain where the path broke off before it resumed again. There was a stretch when the Fire Plains were obscured from view by unusual rock formations, then T’Pol disappeared around the mountain’s corner. Trip sped up to catch up with her, but when he emerged on the other side, he could not catch his breath.

“Would you look at that!” he softly exclaimed, his mouth open.

He saw before him that remarkable ocean of red and orange, moving as if in a tempest of unbridled fury. And more startling were the gigantic stone statues bordering the far end of the Fire Plains, guardians of a natural phenomenon unlike any he’d ever experienced. Even at this distance he could feel its heat on top of the suns’ own energy.

“It’s beautiful,” said Trip, who sat down on a boulder and continued his admiration of the plains.

T’Pol sat next to him, close but not touching him, though after awhile she tentatively reached out with her left hand to brush his right hand.

Her touch, though feather-light, shot straight to his core. He looked down at their hands and then at her profile, looking solemnly at the lake of fire.

Her voice was quiet as she began to speak.

“I used to come here when I was younger. I would spend a day, sometimes more, traversing this terrain to get to this point. And here I would sit, as we are doing now. I would reflect upon my life and the choices I would make, the person I would become. The person I would strive to become,” she said.

Trip remained silent but gently brushed his finger over hers.

“I find great peace here,” she continued. “I would always come here when my thoughts were troubled, as they are now. I would never tire of the beauty of this place. It is a reminder of our past and our struggle to reconcile it with who we are now. But I do not think that that struggle is over yet.”

As he looked at her and then at the Fire Plains, he understood why she’d brought him here. Not just because it was one of Vulcan’s best known natural attractions and the subject of one of its legends, but because of its symbolism to T’Pol. Here the Vulcans had erected monuments to remind them that they had to maintain constant vigilance over tempestuous emotions that roiled underneath the surface. That green blood is every bit as hot as red, if not more.

T’Pol had discovered there was a more powerful, positive emotion that could be unleashed for good: love.

Trip wasn’t sure, but he thought that as their fingers brushed on that rock he had somehow absorbed not only an understanding of T’Pol’s turmoil, but a non-verbal way of conveying to her that unconditional willingness to bear her burden with her.

T’Pol must have sensed his heightened awareness because she turned to him then and in their eyes they saw right through to the other’s soul. Every insecurity, every doubt, every fear was there. But there was also hope, determination and most of all, the certainty that the feelings they shared would last them as long as they lived.

I am to my beloved as my beloved is to me, he thought. T’Pol heard the same thought echoed in her mind.

==
They might have stayed that way long after the suns had set had T’Pol’s superior hearing not picked up the first wail of a sand storm in the making.

T’Pol turned her hand in his and tugged on it, prompting Trip to look at her in confusion. He sensed her concern.

“T’Pol?”

“Commander, we must find shelter. Immediately. A sand storm will hit us in 4.3 minutes,” she said, with some urgency in her voice. She slid off the rock, his hand still in hers and turned around, quickly visually scanning the mountain. In the corner of her eye she saw an opening about 100 yards from their location.

Wordlessly she began to walk toward it, Trip in tow. She let go as she sped up, prompting Trip to match her pace. Behind him, he could hear the whirlwind picking up strength, howling now, close now.

They were nearly there when the storm hit, pushing both of them to the ground. T’Pol steeled herself and felt for Trip’s arm, pulling him to his feet and against the winds, which were threatening to pull them off the mountainside. Blinded by the sand swirling all around him, he held on tightly to T’Pol and let her superior strength lead them into a small cave.

Trip almost fell into it, but recovered and started coughing, still bent over. His coughing drew T’Pol’s concern. She laid a hand on his back and with the other fetched a bottle of water.

He looked up and smiled at her, signaling he was ok as a response to the concern he clearly saw in her eyes, but took the water gratefully.

After a few swallows he handed the bottle back to her, but he was still coughing. But after a few moments, it subsided. The storm did not.

He stepped over to where T’Pol had moved, to the narrow entrance of the cave. He did not see anything outside but sand, a wall of continually moving flecks with winds now up to 100 mph.

“We got out just in time,” Trip said, laying a hand on T’Pol’s shoulder.

She turned around and he released his hand. “I must look a mess, huh?” Trip said, starting to wipe off some of the layer of dust that caked his clothes, hair and face.

“Don’t you have any sand in your eyes?” Trip asked.

“No. Vulcans have a clear inner eyelid that filters out the more harmful elements of our homeworld, including dust and radiation,” said T’Pol.

“I can see where that would come in handy here,” Trip said.

T’Pol reached into her bag and removed a cloth and used her bottle of water to make it damp. Still busy wiping the dust off him, he didn’t notice that she waited patiently in front of him until she laid a hand on his shoulder.

He stopped and straightened up, confusion showing on his face, then replaced by mild surprise as she began to wipe the dust from his face. Tenderness enveloped his features as he watched her careful movements. As she finished, he stopped her, closing his fingers around her wrists and willing her to meet his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, first softly and slowly, then with urgency, pushing her gently against the stone wall. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. They kissed for several moments and then held tight to one another.

“No matter what happens, I love you,” whispered Trip as his head rested on her shoulder.

“As I do you,” T’Pol said.

“Are you gonna tell me what went on between you and your mother?” Trip asked. He felt her tense, but he pressed on. “You can tell me. I know whatever she said, it bothered you.”

T’Pol stifled the urge to break away from him and retreat to another part of the cave, but there was nowhere to run and as the storm raged on outside, she thought Trip was entitled to know. She turned to him and tugged on his hand, leading him further into the cave, where they could feel a cool draft coming in from somewhere and where the sound of the howling wind was a little less deafening than at the entrance.

She told him everything, including her renewed doubts, her unwillingness to be a pawn in whatever political machinations were in play on the planet. She told him how part of her still wanted to be the dutiful daughter and Trip could tell that if it came down to it, if it was a choice between family and love, her call would be anybody’s guess.

But one thing Trip realized as he listened to her was that she was madly, irrationally and unquestionably in love with him. And that certainty filled him with a feeling he could envision staying with him for the rest of his life. He had never in his life felt so loved as he did in that instance when she all but confessed it to him, again. He would never doubt her, no matter what she chose to do. He would know that he was the only man she would ever entrust with her heart, her mind and her soul.

The two held each other as the sands whipped and whirled unabated outside. Eventually the two fell asleep. It was T’Pol who stirred first. Trip was dreaming when T’Pol gently shook him. He blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the dim cave and the narrow band of light that came in through the entrance.

“The storm has passed, Trip. We should make our way back to the transport site. Are you up to it?” she asked. In response, he rose and stretched before nodding.

On the return trip, T’Pol slowed her pace to match her companion, who noticed she no longer had the possessed look that carried her so doggedly hours earlier. Her expression showed serenity and determination. She looked like a woman ready for a fight, but confident she would not lose.

==
The two got back to the transport just in time. By the time they returned to T’Pol’s home, they were both exhausted. Due to the two suns, there was still plenty of light out. Trip wondered if the night would ever come. As they descended from the transport, he thought about how good a shower and neuro-pressure would feel right about now. He turned to tell her when he noticed that she stood still on the top step looking intently toward her house. He could’ve sworn she frowned. He followed her gaze and saw a tall, dark-haired and moderately handsome young Vulcan man standing patiently in front of T’Pol’s home.

Immediately, Trip’s expression darkened and there was no doubt that he was not just frowning, but scowling in the instinctual recognition of his rival. He purposely looked at the Vulcan as he twisted back toward T’Pol and offered her his hand to continue her descent down the stairs. T’Pol, accepted his act of defiance and extended her hand. Trip took it and clasped it in his own, gently leading her down. Both glared at the Vulcan, who was typically unreadable but who had taken special note of how the two were still hand-in-hand as they walked toward him.

The male Vulcan spoke as the two came within a few feet of him. He bowed slightly to Trip and administered the traditional Vulcan greeting to T’Pol. “T’Pol. Your mother informed me you had arrived. With a guest. I wished to discuss our arrangement with you.”

Trip could have sworn he saw her glare at the man, but he wasn’t sure. Instead, T’Pol turned to Trip and said, “Commander, this is Koss.”

Trip’s jaw remained set and square as he appraised the man and finally said, “Pleased to meet you” with it being evident that he meant not one word of it.

“Koss, this is my guest, Commander Tucker from the Enterprise,” T’Pol said.

“Commander,” Koss said, tipping his head slightly. He turned back to T’Pol. “There are urgent matters I need to discuss with you. Privately.”

At that, Trip moved forward, a possessive defense on his lips. But T’Pol placed her fingers on his forearm and he stopped. She ignored Koss and spoke to Trip. “Trip, I won’t be long. Please go inside and I’ll join you shortly.” Trip looked as opposite as pleased as he could, but he held his tongue and nodded. He put his hand over the fingers still lingering on his arm and looked at her with concern. “Ok, but if you need me, just holler.”

Trip curtly nodded toward Koss and headed back into the house, steam practically coming out of his ears. He knew he was going to be jealous when he saw the man T’Pol was being forced to marry – hell, he was jealous of himself once – but he did not realize how deeply he would feel animosity toward the man. He wanted to throttle the big galoot, but knew realistically that even Vulcan women could snap him like a girly-man. But he would go down fighting, he thought, as he smiled ruefully to himself. He plopped his bag and clothes in a dusty pile as he entered the shower, hoping that by the time T’Pol was back he would be calmer.

==

As soon as Trip was inside, T’Pol started on Koss.

“How dare you come to my home unannounced,” T’Pol hissed. “You can schedule another appointment and leave this instant. I do not wish to speak to you at this time.”

“T’Pol, it is my right to see you and to speak to you. We are betrothed and though you sought to sever that promise once, it will not be so easy again,” Koss said.

T’Pol spun around, her posture set to fight mode. “What if I declare the kali-fi?”

“A fight to the death? I doubt your champion would survive,” Koss answered matter-of-factly.

“You assume to know who that would be,” T’Pol said.

“It is quite obvious it is the human you have brought to your house, this Commander Tucker,” Koss said. “You have lived among humans for too long, T’Pol. You are no longer able to suppress your emotions. At least when it comes to this human, you cannot. It is clear you have developed feelings for him.”

“Then you understand why I would declare the kali-fi,” T’Pol said.

“And following our customs, I would accept. But think carefully, T’Pol. Would you risk sacrificing the life of your beloved? Is it not better to refrain from your emotional tirade and listen to what I have to say? Why should there be needless bloodshed?”

T’Pol brooded silently but allowed Koss to continue.

“Your mother has informed me of your conversation this morning,” he said, the information causing T’Pol to employ every calming technique she knew not to snap at him and not to think of how she was going to confront her mother later about the breach in private conversation. “She felt you needed to be further convinced to follow through on our commitment to one another.”

“Our ‘commitment’ to one another was chosen by our parents while we were still children,” T’Pol said. “We have not even seen one another since we were 7-years-old.”

“We are no longer children, T’Pol. These matters are much more serious. This union will guarantee your mother’s safety,” he said.

T’Pol eyes widened and she stepped closer to him. “Explain yourself. How is my mother’s safety in jeopardy?”

“You have been away from Vulcan for too long, T’Pol. If you had returned when you were supposed to, this could have been prevented,” he said. “Your family fell out of favor with your unorthodox behavior and your transparently emotional response in following the humans to the Expanse. But if that were all, there could still be ways of rectifying the situation. But it is worse. We are at a precarious stage in Vulcan history, T’Pol. Factions are forming, cracks in our society have widened and we are not who we appear to be to outside worlds.”

He continued, “The government has become paranoid, seeing conspiracy in every challenge, however minor. They have targeted your mother because of your actions, interpreting them as the beginning of a revolution that could topple our society. Your insubordination is a threat to them and their control. They will incarcerate your mother on charges of treason unless you agree to our union.”

“There is no basis for that charge. How could they do that? And how does a marriage between us prevent that from occurring?” she asked.

“Vulcan High Command hardly needs justification for their actions, T’Pol. Logic is slipping further and further away from them as they try to hold on to their power. They can do what they want; however they want. But my family, you remember, has influence and certain members of the government fear us. Our marriage would allow the protection my family possesses to extend to your mother.”

“Why are you risking this, if my mother and I are seen by the government to be so dangerous?” she asked.

“I am honor-bound, T’Pol. I follow the traditions of our people, which also happen to coincide with my own belief that this government is wrongly persecuting our people. Our families have been intertwined for generations in one way or another, T’Pol. My father could not sit by and allow one of his closest friends to go to jail for a crime she did not commit.”

At that moment T’Pol realized what it meant to have free will completely taken out of your hands. Her heart sank, knowing what refusing to marry Koss would condemn her mother. How will Trip forgive me? She thought. She hoped she had been able to convince him that any marriage other than to him would never ring with authenticity.

“I know you do not want this bond, T’Pol. I know you care for this human. You need not sacrifice those feelings, however misguided. I can see now that you would never accept me as a true husband. You have already chosen him. There is no reason for us to go beyond the ceremony. What you do after the official rites are exchanged is your choice. I will not hold you to remain on Vulcan. Our marriage can exist in word only and still save your mother,” Koss said. “Does this make it more palatable to you?”

She slowly nodded, defeated. “I agree to your terms.” She felt ill even as she said it, as though something had hit her stomach. “I shall return to Enterprise with Commander Tucker immediately after the ceremony. You can tell our guests that I have been recalled to duty.”

Koss nodded. “You have chosen wisely. You will come to see that it was the only logical course of action.”

Numb, T’Pol turned away from him and walked back into her house.
==

Her mother’s voice stopped T’Pol from going directly to Trip’s room.

“You have spoken with Koss?” said T’Les, sitting in the living room.

T’Pol stood behind her mother, refusing to face her. But she answered, her voice even more flat than usual, “Yes. He has explained the situation. I have agreed to his terms. I do so only for you, Mother. I do not wish to see any harm come to you.”

She turned to face her mother so that T’Les could not mistake the truth in her eyes as she said, “But were I to have any choice, I would choose to be with Trip,” before resuming her previous posture with her back to her mother.

“Do you really believe a human and a Vulcan can have a future together?” said T’Les.

T’Pol straightened her back and whirled around to face her as she delivered her answer.

“I do, Mother.”

“Then you have lived apart from your own kind for far too long,” T’Les answered, standing to face her daughter directly as she did so.

“The only regret I have is that you have been the victim of my decisions,” T’Pol said. “But I will never regret the feelings I have for Trip. He is a part of me now. I cannot be without him. But I also know he will not cross the boundary of my marriage. So I have also been condemned, Mother.”

T’Les felt a twinge of regret but it was not enough to beat down her vast reserves of emotion suppression. She acknowledged T’Pol’s comment with silence before telling her that the ceremony was scheduled for the next day, late afternoon.

“Koss does not require me to stay after the ceremony, so I shall depart with the commander immediately afterward,” said T’Pol, who swiftly exited the room and headed toward the one person she wanted to be with at that moment and at every moment.

==

The shower was still running when T’Pol stepped into Trip’s room, which was dark save one small lamp light at the small desk in the corner. The suns outside had finally set and the cool desert air breezed through the open windows, sending a chill through T’Pol.

She shut the door and walked into the bathroom, which was filled with steam. She quietly shed her clothes and knocked on the door, causing Trip to yelp. T’Pol heard a hard thud against one of the shower walls.

“Who’s there?” yelled Trip.

“It’s me, Trip,” said T’Pol, who opened the door to the shower at the same time.

“You coulda just said so, you know. You shocked the hell outta me. For a minute I thought it was your mother,” Trip said, looking relieved to see her as she stepped into the shower. “I think I have a bump from hitting the wall. Ow.” He reached behind him and squinted, both from the sting of the bump and from wiping the soap from his eyes. He felt a hand on the back of his head and winced.

“You appear to have a minor ‘bump’, but it does not look serious,” T’Pol said as she stood on her tip-toes in front of him, withdrawing her hand only to the back of his neck. “Are you in pain?”

“Actually, no, now that you’re here,” he said, leaning down to kiss her as she wrapped her arms around him. He steadied himself with one arm outstretched against the wall of the shower unit while the other snaked around her waist and anchored her under the water streaming down over them.

They kept kissing while T’Pol’s hands traveled up and down Trip’s back until he broke away and started moving his own hands over her body until he groaned, “We’re gonna use up all the precious water on this planet if we keep this up. Let’s go to the bed,” he said breathlessly.

She barely nodded as she continued assaulting all his senses. He had to break away to open the door and pull her to him, wrapping them both in an oversize towel, which was promptly disposed in a minute as the pair moved out into the room and toppled onto the bed.

Hours later, Trip turned to face T’Pol, who lay tucked into his side absently brushing her fingertips over his chest. He breathed deeply and sighed the sigh of a deeply satisfied man. He smiled and she raised her head, mirroring his look in her eyes, a smile resting there where none would appear on her lips. Then he saw something else cloud those eyes.

“I have something to tell you,” she began. Immediately, Trip knew it was going to be bad. Just knew that whatever happened with her and Koss and again with her mother was not going to be in his favor. But instead of drawing away from her, he drew her closer and felt her lips above his chest; her words cutting straight through to his heart underneath as she explained what Koss had told her. “I have no choice. I cannot let my mother suffer for decisions I have made. I have to accept the consequences of my actions and protect her the only way I am able.”

Trip was silent. Worried, T’Pol lifted her head and rose up on her elbows, searching his eyes for some kind of sign that he understood. Trip blew out a frustrated breath and abruptly sat upright, flipping his legs over the bed and causing T’Pol to employ her superior reflexes to get out of the way in time. He bent over and let his hands hang over his knees until he bowed his head, and then the hands held his head for a few moments.

T’Pol could feel him cursing underneath his breath, a stream of expletives that ran its course in less than 20 seconds. Then he lifted his head and twisted round to his right to look back at her. She was still on her side waiting for him to speak coherent words.

“This is so screwed up,” he said. “I thought you were going to tell me you had changed your mind, that somehow he let you out of it. And now you’re telling me you have to go through with it, that you have no choice. The worst of it is, I would do the same thing, although I’m sure it would cause you the kind of pain I’m feeling now.”

“I am also pained by this,” T’Pol said. “I do not want anyone but you. Koss knows this. That is why I will return to Enterprise. I also know you have too much of the ‘Southern gentleman’ in you to cross these boundaries again while I am married. And for that, we will suffer together.”

“At least we’ll be together,” Trip said. “I don’t know what would be worse, having you married and being away from you or you being married and being so close. But I know that being without you makes me miserable, so I’ll opt for the latter choice.”

“I promise you that a ceremony won’t change my feelings toward you,” T’Pol said, moving to embrace Trip from behind with her hands clasped over his heart. She rested her head on his shoulder and turned to place a kiss on his neck. “I would also not want to be far from you. We are bonded, you and I. And there is nothing that can ever sever that connection.”

He turned to her, his hand on her hands. “I want to believe that.”

“Then do,” T’Pol said, as they kissed and fell back into bed knowing it might be the last time for a long while either of them could get this close again.
==

Trip was putting the final touches on his outfit before the ceremony when he heard a knock on his door. T’Pol had asked him again to be there and in traditional Vulcan robes borrowed from her father.

T’Les appeared in the doorway in a shirt matching Trip’s. “May I come in?”

Trip moved out of the way and allowed her access.

“I see my husband’s wardrobe fits you,” she said.

“Yes. Thank you for lending it to me,” he said, struggling not to speak out of turn with her, but the Vulcan sensitivity to emotion had already been triggered.

“I know you disapprove of TPol’s decision, Commander Tucker, but she is not only adhering to centuries of tradition but she is also saving me from incarceration,” she said.

“The last thing I want is for any harm to come to you, but I can’t be happy about her being railroaded into this. It makes both of us feel powerless,” he said.

“She will be following a well-tread path, Commander. In time, she will see that it is for the best. Our culture has survived for millennia like this. She is choosing to follow logic,” T’Les said.

“But not her heart,” said Trip.

“Do not presume to know what my daughter’s heart is, Mr. Tucker,” said T’Les. “She may be experiencing some kind of infatuation for you, but it will be short-lived, I assure you. Do not allow yourself to suffer any longer over this. You do not understand the kind of bond only Vulcans can have with one another – especially those with whom they are betrothed.”

“I don’t presume anything, ma’am,” said Trip. “I know where her heart lies, and it’s for damn sure not with the man she’s about to marry. In every way that’s important, we’re already bonded.”
==

As if to prove his point, T’Pol stopped on her route to the altar to face Trip prior to her ceremony, forcing the acolytes and priests to wait for her to file into the sacred space. In her eyes he saw apprehension, but he also saw her indisputable love. He looked back at her with the same conviction.

“I just wanted to tell you one thing before…” he said, letting the rest hang in the air. “I believe.”

As if in slow motion, she placed a very conspicuous kiss on his cheek. For Vulcans, who do not even kiss their mates except through their fingers, it was the ultimate act of defiance. Then she continued on her way.

For Trip, it was a promise, a hope that they would find a way to be together, completely. For now, they would be together only in spirit. It would have to be enough.

As Trip watched the woman he loved marry someone else he felt everything at once and knew that whatever happened, he was hers until the end.

I'm dressed all in blue and I'm remembering you and the dress you wore when you broke my heart. I'm depressed upstairs and I'm remembering where and when, and how, and why you have to go so far.

I'm dressed all in blue and I'm remembering you and the dress you wore when you broke my heart.
(Lyrics for “Come Around” by Rhett Miller)

NOTE: I heard this Rhett Miller on the way home tonight and it hit me, how perfectly it synced with TnT and their current sitch.

end

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

I'm crying so hard I can barely type! Oh god, this is going to hurt so much tonight...

This was an excellent conclusion to a well-told tale. And like Starwind said, I'm braced for the pain tonight. Poor Trip!

only 7 hours and 22 minutes... this seems so plausible so possible... so damn sad.

well done.

thanks for writing and sharing.

I knew this would end badly... but at least we got to see them together before she would marry Koss. I just hope Home will be as good as this story was! ;)

This was excellent! I doubt the aired version will be even half as good. Thanks.

LOVE IT! really this was so.. for lack of a better word-graceful. it really flows so well, hopeful, yet sad. really beautiful. you have a way with words.

Awesome story. I like T'Les from the show better. However Koss is this story was great because there was less of him than in the actual eppy. The T/T moment in this story were wonderful!

I haven't seen any of Season 4 as it does not come to the UK until January 2005 but I can't resist reading all the fanfic and while my heart is aching and breaking for Trip and T'Pol I just know I'm going to have to invest in a Kleenex tissue factory by the time I get to see those episodes....sob, sob. Ali D

Beautiful. I especilly liked T'Pol taking Trip to her special place.

wow gr8 story luv it awsome keep it up it rules !!!

Well that was depressing as hell!

I hope you have a sequel because I wanted that to go differently ;)

I was hoping it ended better than Home but oh well, I suppose that's how it ended before. The only thing is, I don't personally think there's a lot of moral difference between them indulging in one another up until the very last instant before her marriage, and then just cutting it off - nor very realistic, they'd be lying to themselves to think they could manage it once they got back to Enterprise.

But anyhow, not to run it down cause I really enjoyed it, just wished it had ended differently than Home ;)

I actually liked the ending, that t\t got to spend intimate time together along the way and right before the wedding, and that they came to an understanding that they had a bond that could not be broken by the arranged marriage to Koss. You write this story to ahere somewhat to canon, but you give us the missing scenes that we never got on the series. Well done! It's hard to believe this was your first fanfic. It's excellent! I hope to read more fanfic from you.