Above/Beyond... - Ch. 5

Above and Beyond Friendship

By Beeswax

Disclaimers in Chapter 1

Chapter 5

Decision

She was gone when Trip woke up. He shook his head ruefully as he got up off the floor.

"Well at least we didn’t break nothin’ this time." He said to himself as he picked up his clothing off the floor. As he began to pull them on he noticed several candles on the floor surrounded by splattered wax and a pile of broken glass over in one corner where he thought he remembered seeing a vase before. "Okay, at least we didn’t break anymore of me this time."

He was at the door when it opened from the outside. One look at Archer’s face and Trip knew it had hit the fan.

"Good Mornin’ Cap’n?" Trip said uncertainly.

Archer stepped into the room and let the door close behind him before he spoke.

"T’Pol is in sick bay suffering from some kind of severe hormone imbalance." There was both accusation and concern in his voice. Trip knew the Captain knew everything.

"Well, sir, I thought I was helping it... I mean she asked me to help and I thought I had only now things are really complicated and I’m in a whole lot of trouble right now, aren’t I?"

Archer sat down on the bed and looked up at his friend. "Why didn't she just ask me to take her home?"

Trip slumped into the chair opposite. "She said no one'd take her cause of us and the guy is supposed to be in Fur Pan, in heat or whatever the hell it is and because this was chemically induced..." He sighed. "I offered to fight her. But she said it was too likely she'd kill me." Then more softly, "She almost did anyway."

Archer shuddered.

Trip went on. "Then we ended up connected in the head and she said she was leaving and... Captain she said it was just a one-time thing, only it wasn't. She's been playin' with my head, my memories and then this panic takes over and I had to be with her, to stop her, I thought, only instead we... and I woke up on the floor and you say she's in sick bay with a hormone hangover. I don't understand what is happening. Cap'n, I'm sorry. I really thought I was helping."

Archer pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking, for a moment before he spoke. "Trip, Phlox thinks this is bad. You're right. This wasn't just a one-time thing. Because T'Pol wouldn't really let Phlox do much of an examination the first time, and just assumed this could be handled the normal way, the Doctor says a whole set of biochemical reactions has been set in motion. Further, because T'Pol is now telepathically linked, bonded to an emotional being her brain is even further out of whack. She has to go home to be treated by a Vulcan specialist who can deal with this both on a medical and telepathic level."

Trip slouched further into his chair. 'So she's still leavin'?"

Archer nodded and then added, "and you have to go with her."

"What? But you see what a mess I already made of this whole thing."

"Phlox says until she can get help, the only way to keep her even close to balanced is to cont...."

Now Trip was on his feet. "You can't be serious. Have you seen my shoulder? Do you want me to show you the bruises? The bite marks? And you want me to keep at this?"

"Trip..."

"Besides look at how bad I've already screwed this up. I can't go with her. And..." He was reaching now, "You need me here!"

"Phlox thinks that considering the strength of the bond, you wouldn't be any good to us with out her anyway. Look Enterprise can take you three quarters of the way there. It's only five days further in Shuttlepod 2."

Trip fell back into the chair. "So you're saying I don't have any choice."

Archer shook his head. "Not really. We are already underway. We'll drop you off in three days."

Archer stood up and walked to the door. As it opened he looked back over his shoulder.

"Phlox thinks you should come to sickbay and stay there with T'Pol. He says the two of you... can have his quarters until you need to leave." Archer looked down for a moment, and then added, "There is no one else Trip, you're her only chance." Then he was gone.

Trip just sat quietly in the darkened room until he felt like he had caught his breath and then he got up and went to sickbay.

Continued in Chapter 6

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