Above/Beyond... - Ch. 1.5

Above and Beyond Friendship

By Beeswax

Disclaimers in Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1.5

The Other Side

T’Pol had always thought the smell of humans unpleasant. Human males were even more offensive than females. However the men on Enterprise all seemed to make a major effort to be and smell "clean." She never was sure if it had anything to do with trying to be kind to her. Quite a few of the men and women wore olfactory enhancers, perfume and cologne they called it. The scents themselves actually seemed to be rather pleasant on the most part, however they wore so much of it that it’s sheer power was overwhelming. T’Pol had mentioned it to Ensign Sato on one occasion.

"Men on ships usually make an extra effort, for two reasons, I guess. First with everyone in such confined spaces, no one wants to be offensive to anyone, much less you... you are the second in command. Secondly, I think it’s because with only half as many women as men on board, the men don’t want to take a chance on making a bad impression."

"Sexual relationships between crew members are frowned upon, are they not?"

"There is no way of knowing how long we will be out here. I’m sure, condoned or not, it will happen eventually, if it hasn’t already." Hoshi’s voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned across the table slightly, "I mean have you seen Crewman Parvell and Crewman Wilson lately?" Then Hoshi had smiled impishly, "Besides, men can always dream." Then she actually giggled slightly and went back to her PADD. T’Pol didn’t ask any more questions.

It was when she had begun to find herself aroused while in the gym, surrounded by quite a few men smelling their worst, that she began to grow suspicious that there was a problem. Even with a room full of sweaty Vulcan males, there couldn’t have been enough pheromones to even begin to effect her. Human males effecting her were out of the question. She had gone to her quarters, thoroughly washed herself, spent some time meditating and then gone to see Doctor Phlox.

His preliminary diagnosis was disturbing to say the least.

"What do you suggest I do, Doctor?"

"You could ask another officer for help."

"A human would not be a compatible companion, even for such a short time."

"Why is it that humans insist on holding on to their resentment of Vulcans, while Vulcans insist on holding on to their... I believe the word the humans use is arrogance?" Only Doctor Phlox could say something so condescending and yet sound so cheerful. T’Pol shook her head slightly, if she was thinking that way, the situation was worse than she thought.

"They wouldn’t understand. Additionally they attach so much value to the act itself that it would severely effect any professional relationship I currently have on this vessel."

"You don’t consider any of these people your friends?"

Three of those humans really were her friends. She had developed a genuine respect for Captain Archer over the past year. Ensign Sato had shown real progress in some of her meditation techniques and was always willing to "girl talk" as she called it, though T’Pol would never take her up on that particular offer. Commander Tucker... she knew she thought of him as something more than a colleague, but her mind wasn’t exactly ready to deal with what else he might be. Friend was probably the safest term to admit to.

Almost as if he could read her thought, the Doctor added, "Commander Tucker is a fine figure of a human, and he seems attracted to you."

"T’Pol felt her face getting hot, but she managed to control her tone. "Out of the question."

"Have you considered asking him that question?"

"This is not something to be discussed, much less with humans."

"That is not a very enlightened attitude. Besides, you may not have much time left, and the longer you wait, the more violent and uncontrolled your behavior will become. If you decided to chose a human partner you should do it sooner rather than later as their bodies are not as sturdy as yours and could not withstand as much force as a Vulcan partner."

"I will not choose a human partner." T’Pol got off the bio-bed. "Thank-you, doctor. I will let you know if I need your services."

"Sub-Commander, I do understand the situation you find yourself in. Other Vulcans have begun to find you distasteful because of your choice to stay in such close contact with humans. I find it interesting that despite your willingness to work with humans, you still think of humans as being something less than..."

"This is about choosing a sexual partner, not..."

"Sub Commander, consider asking a human for help. If not Commander Tucker, perhaps Captain Archer."

"That is out of the question." She had said that already, wasn’t he listening!

"Lieutenant Reed is very discreet."

"He is a junior officer, it would compromise the command structure."

"Commander Tucker is essentially the same rank. You are not truly in his command structure."

This conversation had to end. T’Pol slid quickly off the biobed and headed for the door. "I will take this all under advisement."

Doctor Phlox considered a moment before he added one last thought.

"Considering the problems with Vulcan in regards to humans and your developing reputation, it may be harder to find a Vulcan male than in the past. If you plan to pursue this matter with a Vulcan how will you find one fast enough? The Captain will have to be notified of any Human to Vulcan communiqués."

"Thank-you for the advice, doctor."

"Come see me in the morning if you want to try hormone therapy. It probably won’t work, but we can try."

She had spent several days in thought on the subject while they tried the hormone therapy. Then the Captain had given her the away mission. The Doctor had told her it might not be a good idea, but she had been adamant that this wouldn’t effect her duties and that the hormone therapy was working. She told the doctor she was too busy for him to run any tests that day, so he had no ability to medically argue with her.

Spending that time in such close quarters with only Commander Tucker.... Suddenly his odor didn’t seem that offensive to her anymore. She found herself daydreaming instead of meditating. There was no one there but them, what if she just went out there and... Human men were very sexual driven... Besides, it could help relieve some of his own tension and that would be helping his efficiency and therefore the crew and the ship and the mission and she really was in trouble if she was rationalizing this.

She tried to stay away from him, but instead she found herself being as critical as possible of him, belittling him, picking fights even. Only the arguing was even more arousing. As soon as the shuttle docked she went to see the Doctor again. Her levels were becoming dangerous.

His advice had been the same. Then he gave her a mild tranquilizer to help her relax and left her to go have dinner with the captain. As he reached the door he reminded her again that she was running out of time. She either needed to find a human partner or ask for an emergency transfer home.

She had sat in Sickbay for almost thirty minutes just trying to process it all. Then she had seen Trip in the passage way...

Now as she hurriedly gathered her things in preparation of her exit, T’Pol look down on the sleeping form of Commander Tucker and knew she had made a serious error. This situation was completely out of control.

Continued in Chapter 2

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