Beta Waves - Pt 4

Beta Waves

Author: Aquila

Rating: PG – 13
Category: Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: All things Trek are Paramount’s. The errors are mine.
Summary: Cornered by the enemy, alone and abandoned, Trip fights for his life and the future. Sequel to Theta Waves. There be spoilers.

==

Part 4

Steam rose from the container suspended from the tripod over the fire. She watched as the light evening breeze tossed it about, forming and reforming abstract shapes in the air. His head still rested on her chest, but something had changed. She felt an emotional gulf, which would, she believed, be soon followed by a physical separation.

“Sim loved you - deeply.” Trip sat up, leaning back against the log, shivering slightly as the cool night air filled the void between them.

“I know.”

He had failed to anticipate her response. As a result the carefully crafted sentences with which he had planned to open the discussion evaporated like the steam.

She noted his consternation. “He informed me.”

The clone, thought Trip, had shared her universe for less than two weeks, yet he, with years of association, had never breached her emotional reserve. Jealousy gripped him, squeezing his vitals.

“Were his feelings unrequited?”

To have asked the question more crudely would have been satisfying, but, he believed, ultimately self-destructive. His loyalty to Archer, his duty to Lizzie and his people had to be honoured which meant putting aside his personal concerns for the greater good.

Ironically, T’Pol, the champion of the greater good, was determined to put her needs before those of others. How she answered his question was crucial to the completion of her objective. To give herself time to gather her thoughts, she dipped a piece of cloth into the hot water. She wrung it out. She took the container from the fire and placed it by his side. With the damp cloth in her right hand, she straddled his lap, placing a knee on the ground on either side of his legs. Resting her bottom lightly on his thighs, she gently wiped the tear stains from his face with the warm cloth.

Immediately he was eight years old. He had been home sick from school for the day. It was the last time he could recall allowing his mother to tend him like a child. With blinding hindsight, he recognized that it was the last time he had allowed himself to be truly vulnerable in the presence of a nurturing female, until now.

She put the cloth in her lap to free her hands. Deliberately she lowered the zipper of his uniform to his waist. She undid the buttons of the regulation turtleneck he wore underneath. The shirt also had a zipper. She undid that. When the constraints of his clothing were undone, she pushed the shirt and uniform off his shoulders. Without thinking he pulled away from the log to allow her to remove the turtleneck completely. The top of his uniform hung from his waist.

She rewet the cloth and wrung it out again. She wiped the sweat and grime from his neck, his arms, and his chest. The cool evening breeze evaporated the warm water from his skin. The hairs on his body stood on end in response. He swallowed. His throat was too tight for speech.

“My feelings for Sim were but an echo.”

==

Hoshi and Travis loped side by side on separate tread mills.

“The Trellium will kill T’Pol.” Travis repeated.

“Not if she stays in her quarters until Phlox decides the ship’s atmosphere is safe for her again.”

Hoshi was exasperated, neither the safety of the human crew nor that of the Vulcan would be compromised. Travis refused to accept the elegance of the Captain’s solution.

“His solution,” he declared, “Is to put T’Pol in solitary confinement until the mission is completed!”

==

Before Trip could open his mouth to speak, she stopped him, by placing her fingers on either side of his jaw in a familiar neuro-pressure posture.

“Relax your jaw.” Months of conditioning ensured he instantly obeyed. “Breathe deeply, through your nose.”

The sensations were terrorizing him. Warm, moist puffs of breath on his face, cool evening breezes, her familiar calming touch. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine. He had lost control of his arms and legs.

“It is time to attempt those more challenging postures that I mentioned,” she whispered.

His eyes widened. She soothed him with, “They are but variations of the postures with which you are already familiar.” She felt his jaw loosen again.

“Good. Close your eyes.” He did as she bade him.

Continuing to manipulate his jaw, she adjusted her stance so that her open mouth was just a pursed lip from his open mouth. He moaned as her heat radiated against his skin and the pressure of her fingers massaged away the tension from his jaw and neck.

The sensations kept mounting, distracting him so that he did not notice the change at first. He reined in his distracted senses. What was different? She was exploring his lips and mouth with light flicks of her tongue. The rhythm was random, her touch almost imperceptible.

The pressure of her fingers and the intensity of the heat she radiated increased. The speed of her tongue too. He heard the roaring of his own pulse. The pit of his stomach tightened. His nipples puckered. His tongue sought the invader.

==

There was no going back. The innocence was lost. The salty, metallic taste of him lingered on her lips. She breathed deeply of his intoxicating scent. Ruefully she was reminded herself that two years ago, she had felt like retching whenever he was near.

“There is nothin’ more gratifyin’ to a man’s ego than a satisfied woman.”

T’Pol opened her eyes. He knelt at her side with the wash cloth in his hand.

“My turn,” he said, “The brook is too cold to bathe in. You are going to have to settle for a sponge bath from me.”

With every loving stroke of the cloth Trip memorized her body.

==

They were stowing the last of their gear in the shuttlepod when Trip asked the question that had plagued him as soon as the afterglow faded. “Do I have to wait seven years before you think about seducin’ me again?”

“You do not want to seduce me?” T’Pol froze to the spot. Had Sim misinterpreted the degree of Trip’s interest in her?

“I’ve been thinkin’ of nothin’ else since our third neuro-pressure session,” he admitted. “Talking about the engines with ya was the only way I could keep the evidence of my interest from showing.”

“There is no need for distraction in the future.”

Trip could not believe his ears. “Aren’t Vulcan’s on seven year reproductive cycles?”

“Reproductive cycles, yes.” She stowed the last container.

When she turned he stood within easy reach. Her arm snaked out to grab his neck and draw his head down. Her kiss left him breathless.

“Pleasure is possible any time.”

Trip grinned, “I don’t think humanity is ready for the image of cavorting Vulcans.”

“What of you?” she asked with apprehension. “Are you pleased with the information?”

Trip drew her into his arms and twirled her about, “Pleased? Baby, I am ecstatic. It’s information I plan to use as often as ya let me.”

End of Part Four

Continue to Part 5

Return to Part 3

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

A handful of people have made comments

Very nice...I liked this chapter. Just a hint of smutty. ;)
Q

Oh yes, this I ADORED! My favourite line was this one - "My feelings for Sim were but an echo" - that said it all in my book and very nicely told Trip exactly where he stood in her affections. Everything else was icing. Thank you, Ali D :~)

Yup, just what Alison said. Beautiful chapter!!

YES YES YES! Great job! "My feelings for Sim were but an echo." And then she seduces him. Heehee. Sponge baths- for two. Great work! I'm dying to read the next chapter!

It's cold outside the ski lodge, but this made things a bit warmer. Yeah!