Seek First...- Pt. 2

Seek First to Understand

Part Two

by Aquila

Rating: R
Category: Angst
Disclaimer: Thank you Berman and Braga for creating Trip Tucker. Thank you Connor Trinneer giving him life. Paramount do you own their souls too?
Summary: Spoilers, Alternate Universe, The effect of the Expanse on Trip, T’Pol and their professional relationship. Part Two is told from Trip’s point of view.

==

At this moment

“You bastards!”

I yell out then flop like a hooked fish on a dry dock. I mumble to cover my discomfort, because having woken myself up; I find that T’Pol is hovering over me. I will myself to lie still and regard her through my eyelashes. I can relax. She appears reassured and returns to her pallet.

I think the Captain has made her my minder. He does not trust my judgment anymore.

==

Two days earlier

“Trip, I appreciate your offer to make this a solo mission, but I won’t permit it.” He looked at me with exasperation. “This is an order, Trip. T’Pol must accompany you on this mission.”

I don’t want to give you the impression that I did not want to work with T’Pol. She’s saved my butt on more than one away mission. We work well together and I’ve grown to respect her. By sending his two senior officers into the breach once more, even if it is for Lizzie and for Freedom, well that just doesn’t make tactical sense. He can afford to lose one of us, but not both.

“Yes, sir.” I didn’t salute. It’s not my style.

I know he heard the snap of displeasure and resignation in my voice, ‘cause he frowned, when he said, “Dismissed.”

==

The next day

“Hand me the spanner, please.”

I was hot, sweaty and darn near the end of my tether. The dang machine would not cooperate. I wanted to throw a tantrum, but T’Pol would have complained about the noise. So I asked her real nice to pass me the spanner. Her ability to hear a pin drop at 1000 paces is useful on away missions.

I just stuck my arm out behind me, palm up. It saved time since I was inside the belly of beast so to speak. Wasn’t long before I felt the cool metal on my palm. I closed my fingers around the spanner. I could have sworn her fingers had lingered longer than necessary, as if she wanted to make physical contact with me. Oxygen deprivation must have made me hallucinate to even think it was possible.

Damnation. She had given me the spanner I asked for, couldn’t fault her for that. The fact that the tool wasn’t doing’ the job was my fault; I had asked her for the wrong one. So I spoke out.

“T’Pol, could ya pass me the other spanner that was lying next to the one ya already passed to me?”

I stuck my hand out like the last time. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. So I asked again, a little louder the second time, just in case she hadn’t heard me. Still no spanner in my hand, so I squirmed my way out of the device to find out what was going’ on.

Ouch. My muscles seized up when I twisted up and out, so that I could stand. There she was staring off into space, completely unaware of my presence, totally uncharacteristic of Enterprise’s First Officer, let me assure you.

“Aren’t ya supposed ta be assistin' me?”

“My apologies, Commander.”

She surprised me. T’Pol never apologizes. I grinned at the rarity of the occasion, savouring it, because it would be a cold day in Hades before I heard one again.

I had stripped down on top, keeping’ the trousers on for modesty’s sake. It was hot inside that contraption. I didn’t rush to pull myself together, because the breeze on my damp skin sure felt good. That’s when I noticed my thirst, so I uncorked the water bottle and tipped it down my throat. Damn it felt good.

When I opened my eyes, you could have knocked me over with a feather. T’Pol was giving’ me the once over, like I was prime beef on the hoof. I was flattered and disconcerted at the same time. Never before had she given me an inkling that she was aware of me as anything other than a fellow officer.

“Enjoyin’ the view?”

It was funny for a moment until I remembered why we are here, on this godforsaken moon, more than seven weeks at Warp 4.5 from home. Because she could have interpreted my instant change in attitude as disapproval of her staring’, I tried to lighten the mood.

“Ya know a look like that could be misconstrued by a subordinate officer?”

All I really did was call attention to something’ that it was better to ignore, so it was my turn to apologize.

“Sorry, Sub commander.” I sighed. “I had no right to tease you like that. You’ve never given me any cause to accuse you of harassment.” Except now, I thought.

I lowered myself onto a packing case. The water container dangled from my hand which rested between my legs. My thighs supported my forearms. I hung my head real low. I rolled my shoulders, trying’ to loosen the muscles. It didn’t work, so I rolled my head about.

T’Pol moved from her seat to stand behind me. I like to watch T’Pol move. She’s round in all the right girl places and they move just right under her clothes.

“If you straighten your posture, I will attempt to relieve some of the tension in your neck and shoulders.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. She had offered to massage my sore and aching muscles. She hates to touch or be touched. What was going on? Hells bells, we were on the same side. She wasn’t planning to incapacitate me. So I let her.

“Thanks.”

She began by placing her thumbs on either side of my spine, where my neck meets my head. She followed that by placing her fingertips gently under my ears and along may jaw line. She began to apply pressure in small circles, that grew wider and wider as my muscles loosened.

Her touch was assured. She’s done this before, I realized, with a shock. Contemplating who T’Pol had done what with when occupied my for five minutes, until I couldn’t fight the fatigue any longer..

I had to contain myself when her hands reached the base of my spine. That woke my hormones up. She massaged the top of my ass. If it were anyone else, I would swear she had been copping a feel. She must have noticed that I had begun to awaken, because her hands traveled to the knots hidden deep in my trapezoid muscles. I sagged lower and lower, so relaxed I couldn’t hold myself up.

Without warning she pulled my unresisting body against hers. My head rested just below her breasts. If I had moved an inch I might have been liable for assault charges. While I thought how envious Malcolm would be, she slipped her hands down my chest to my pecs.

As Surak is my witness she drew lazy circles with her fingers all over my front. Then she pressed hard and deep into my flesh. The hair on my chest returned the friction of her fingers. My head rubbed against her abdomen. I concentrated on recalling the optimum performance stats for plasma injectors and kept my eyes shut real tight!

She flipped me over onto the ground, covering me with her body. I didn’t know what the hell had happened. For a moment I thought she had gone plum loco and that my virtue was at stake. But then I heard the sound of phasers and all thoughts of losing my virtue to T’Pol were blasted from my head.

“T’Pol, what the hell happened?”

She continued to cover me with her body. She pushed down, using her greater strength to plant me in the ground like a crop of cotton. She squirmed, which rubbed her breasts and hips against my back.

“T’Pol?” I spat out the dirt that I had swallowed on impact. “Sub-commander?”

She rolled off, saying. “I will search for survivors.”

I got up, wiping the dirt from the knees of my uniform. “I’ll survey the damage.”

For one surreal moment I watched her run across the battleground, her pert ass in the air, her torso parallel to the ground. I shook my head in disbelief. The Vulcan Science Officer just felt me up and I enjoyed it.

==

Later that day

“Stop beating yourself up! At least you were awake.” I told her. “I was the one who fell asleep on duty. That’s a court martial offence.”

“You cannot be brought before a court martial if you are dead.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I gave her a mocking salute. “Survive now, so that I can be prosecuted to the full extent of the regulations later. Your motivational skills are slipping, T’Pol.”

==

That evening

I stood before the fire, rotating my shoulders. I was fully clothed. I had spent the better part of the afternoon, setting up a tent, building a fire and camouflaging the shuttle. T’Pol had conducted a reconnaissance of the area. We came together over a meal of rations to debrief each other.

“The situation requires that one of us mounts a watch at all times.” I told her. She was my superior officer only when the chain of command had to be seen to be followed. “I’ll take the night watch.”

“You are not properly rested. I will take the night shift.”

“What do you mean I am not rested?” Son of a gun she knew I hadn’t been getting much sleep.

“I know for a fact that your sleep was disturbed last night by an incubus.”

Why use the word incubus? One of its meanings is an evil spirit that has sexual intercourse with women as they sleep. There was nothing improper about my nightmare, was there?

“A nightmare?” Things were going from bad to worse. “Did I talk in my sleep?”

“Incomprehensibly, yet with enough volume to awaken me.”

“Was I loud enough to alert the enemy?”

If I had been the reason the scouting party found us before we were ready, all the more reason to stay awake. The nightmare wasn’t going away any time soon. I had had it every night since I learned how my little sister died.

“Perhaps.” That was a major concession.

“That settles it then, I’ll take the night watch.” I swallowed the last of my coffee.

“There is an alternative.”

I glared at her.

“We stand night watch together. I need far less sleep than you do. The night will pass more quickly, if we share the duty.”

She didn’t trust me any more than the captain.

End of Part Two.

Continue to Part Three

Return to Part One

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Four of you have made comments

God bless you! There is a serious drought of T/T at the mo. Get It On, T'Pol!

I always am thrilled when I see you've written another story, Aquila! This one does not disappoint! I look forward to more! Thanks!

Excellent, I loved the two takes - one from T'Pol's point of view the other from Trip's. Hmm, is our favourite Vulcan getting all hot and bothered over our favourite Engineer? And just how far will it go? We can only hold our breath and hope! Thank you so much, Ali D :~)

Hey! I'm starting to like first person things.. I can't wait to see whatelse we will see from this duo point of veiw story! Much Happiness! DO Do go on!