Five Days in May

Five Days In May

By Groovekittie

Email: groovekittie@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 for language
Season: Three, T’Pol’s emotional control is tenuous at best.
Summary: On a rescue mission to recover Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and Ensign. Hoshi Sato on an alien planet, Trip and T'Pol are forced to look at a lot more than just the landscape.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Paramount, lyrics belong to my beloved Canadian band, Blue Rodeo
Archive: Ask and ye shall receive.

Author’s Notes: Inspired by one of my favourite Blue Rodeo songs, the title of the story and the titles to each mini-chapter are lyrics from "Five Days In May."

Feedback: Please! It would greatly be appreciated!

Prologue

"Captain, we’re going down!" the frightened voice of Hoshi screamed over the comm, filling the bridge with fear.

T’Pol nodded to the captain and made her own retreat, her heart racing and her face stern as always, never betraying the hurt in her heart.

Day One: Never even let go of her hand ...

"Look, T’Pol, if we’re stuck here, we may as well make the best of it," Trip grumbled at the stoic figure standing in front of him. Her hands were placed stubbornly on her hips, his posture mocking her own, as he leaned in closer, their lips a mere breath apart, their eyes burning.

"Commander, if you are suggesting --"

"All I’m suggesting, T’Pol, is that we cut the act and we just own up to our feelings. That’s all I’m sayin’ here."

T’Pol turned and walked away. "I’m sorry Commander, I cannot do that."

And, that was all she said.

Trip let out a frustrated, primal howl into the night.

"Commander, I hardly think such childish displays are necessary. We shall continue this discussion at a more appropriate time. Right now, we should be focusing on the mission and setting up camp for the night."

"Fine," he growled. "But don’t think for a second I’m gonna let this go, T’Pol."

She nodded her head subtly, allowing little emotion show other than her obvious frustration with this attractive, but extremely emotional, human. Once he had his back turned, she allowed a small sigh of relief escape her lips.

T’Pol knew she should be more honest with him, more ... emotional. He needs to know, he needs that assurance, but she could not bring herself to give him what he so desired.

Once the camp had been set, a small fire burning, and their rations consumed, they settled down to discuss where they should go next. They had been walking most of the day, following the distress signal of the shuttle pod Malcolm and Hoshi had been in when they realised that the signal they had been following had been an echo. For some reason, on this planet the signals their equipment was sending out reverberated and rippled like echoes in a canyon, making their search for their friends infinitely more difficult than it should have been.

Finally agreeing on a direction in which to continue the search in the morning, they settled down to sleep. It being a cold night, they had tentatively agreed to join sleeping bags to conserve heat. It was logical. Nothing more than that.

In less than a half hour, Trip had his arms wrapped tightly around the waist of the Vulcan while she lay there watching the shadows flicker over his handsome face. She revelled in the sensation of his soft breath on her neck and the hypnotic rhythm of his breathing pattern.

Cautiously, T’Pol extracted herself from his firm embrace, not once waking him from his deep slumber and turned to admire the beauty of this man. Feeling somewhat emboldened by the fact that he was unconscious, T’Pol carefully raised her hand and gently traced the line of his jaw with her index finger, enjoying the contrasting sensations of his soft skin and the light stubble peppered along his jaw line. She would have never been so bold if he were awake; Vulcan sensibilities and cultural teachings always prevented her from really appreciating the physical aspects of the Commander.

Eventually, fatigue claimed her, she let her eyelids slide close and she slid into a dreamless sleep. When she awoke sometime later, just before dawn, he had rolled away, leaving a small space between their bodies. She sat up only to realise that he was holding her hand tightly to his heart as he slept.

Day Two: Made all the stars around them shine ...

Another fruitless day of searching resulted in Trip’s mood taking a turn for the worse. At that point, T’Pol hadn’t thought it possible, but he looked ugly to her. His constant belittling of her people and culture, his snide comments and hurtful glances had wounded her so deeply that being in his presence was intolerable.

Her inability to meditate did not make matters any better for her. She could feel her control slipping away with each comment, with each bitter glance and each time he turned his back on her.

Even the beauty of the landscape, the ethereal night sky, was not enough to pull them away from their anger.

"Commander!"

"What?!" he barked.

She took a deep not-quite-calming and uneven breath, clinging desperately to what was left of her control. "Commander," she continued, "you cannot discount the possibility that they are no longer alive. It has been thee days since the shuttlepod went down, and we have not received any sort of transmission . As you know, the environment on this planet can be quite hostile."

Trip spun on his heels. "I can’t believe you would give up so easily, T’Pol."

"I am merely stating a fact. The possibility that they did not survive the crash is a very good one. Given the altitude and the effects of this planet on our technology --"

"They survived the crash, T’Pol," Trip said, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I can feel it."

"That is not logical."

"Fuck logic, T’Pol," he said with such vehemence, it cut through her. Silenced, she sat, keeping her head down, focussing on the low flames of their campfire.

Illogical as it was, she looked hurt. Trip hung his head in shame, yet he could not bring himself to apologise. Instead, he walked to the tree line and stood staring up into the night, admiring the seemingly millions of stars that filled the sky. Each one seemed to dance, each one so eloquent, so graceful. Distantly, Trip wondered what it was in the atmosphere of this planet that could make the stars twinkle so madly. Maybe it was T’Pol, he wondered idly.

Remembering all that he had said to her today in a cruel and desperate attempt to make her angry, to lash out at him, to lose that Vulcan control, Trip muttered to himself, "Ah dammit." He turned back to the camp and sat down silently next to T’Pol, reaching out tentatively and gently grasping her hand. She slowly turned her head and looked into his eyes. She was crying. Well, not quite crying, but her large brown eyes were wet with unshed tears. Trip could feel his heart drop right into his stomach. Consumed by guilt, he wrapped the small woman in his arms and held her tight. Neither said a word.

Eventually, her breathing became slow and even, and Trip realised she had fallen asleep in his arms.

Day Three: It wipes the tears from your eyes ...

Ashamed of his actions the previous day, Trip spent most of the next avoiding the cool gaze of the Vulcan at his side. They walked in silence, only speaking when they were forced to discuss the mission at hand.

Worry for his friends and doubt for their survival had begun to consume Trip’s thoughts. T’Pol’s comments the night before about the chances of their survival filled his head, and his foul mood returned once again.

Choosing not to aggravate him this time, T’Pol kept her thoughts to herself, keeping herself focussed on finding Ensign Sato and Lt. Reed.

"Commander."

"What is it T’Pol?" he said, sounding somewhat exasperated.

Arching one perfect eyebrow, she responded, "I think I have something."

- }}i{{ -

"Wh-who’s there?" came a small stuttering and obviously frightened voice. "Stay back! I-I’m armed!"

"Hoshi?" came the inquisitive response from depths of the trees.

"Commander Tucker?"

"Oh thank god we found ya!" Trip exclaimed as he burst out into the clearing created by the shuttle pod’s crash.

Forgetting momentarily that he was her commanding officer, Hoshi threw down her phaser and ran crying into the arms of the Commander. "Shhh ... it’s all right, sweetheart," Trip cooed soothingly into her hair, doing his best to calm down the young ensign. Carefully extracting himself from her embrace, he gently asked, "Where’s Malcolm?"

As if remembering her place, Hoshi stepped back and did her best to smooth out her wrinkled and dirty jumpsuit. She quickly wiped the relieved tears from her face and motioned to the shuttle pod’s mangled doorway. "He’s in here, Commander. He’s not doing too well. I-I think he’s dying." Her brave face could not hide the terrified tremble in her voice.

Shooting a worried glance at T’Pol, Trip hurriedly climbed into the shuttle pod to find the Armoury Officer lying in a fevered sweat, oblivious to his saviours’ presence.

"Commander, we have to get him back to sick bay," T’Pol said as she scanned the prone man with her tricorder. "He has contracted some sort of infection from his wounded arm and his right leg is broken."

Trip nodded solemnly and for once, Trip was thankful for T’Pol’s emotional distance. Her calm façade kept him from falling apart.

Hoshi leaned her head into the small shuttle pod’s entrance. "How are you going to get him back? The comm isn’t working."

Trip looked at Hoshi over his shoulder. "I don’t know. According to our readings, your crash site is a day’s walk from here. We wasted an entire day before finding out that there’s something in this planet’s atmosphere that is having an adverse effect on our equipment."

"T’Pol --" His voice caught in his throat. T’Pol was leaning down next to Lt. Reed, holding one of his hands. It wasn’t her vulnerable beauty that made him stop, it was the hint of a tear on her cheek. She reluctantly tore her gaze from her colleague and looked up at Trip.

"Commander?" she whispered.

Trip cleared his throat, and lifted his hand to wipe her cheek. "It’s gonna be all right, honey." She did not respond verbally, but chose to simply nod and return her gaze back to the very sick man in front of her. Releasing Lt. Reed’s hand, she pulled out some emergency medical supplies and began working on making the lieutenant well enough for the journey back to the second shuttle pod.

Day Four: She loved the lines around his mouth ...

Malcolm chuckled weakly and took in another spoonful of the weak broth Hoshi was feeding to him as T’Pol adjusted his bedding.

Trip looked up from his own bowl of broth with an expectant half smile gracing his handsome face. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Aw, c’mon, Mal, you can’t chuckle mischievously like that and not share," Trip chastised.

A crooked grin overtook the lower half of Reed’s face just as a light blush-coloured his face.

"Ah. Look, Sub-Commander! I think his colour is returning!" Hoshi teased.

The blush deepened. "I was just thinking, ‘If I had known that you two would be my nurses, I would have made sure I was injured on all my away missions!"

Hoshi’s sweet face turned a complimentary shade of pink, and T’Pol simply arched an eyebrow.

Trip nearly choked on his broth. "Malcolm, you dog!"

Trip’s laughter filled the night sky and T’Pol found herself turning to take in the sight of his laughing profile. A sense of calm and well being filled her, and she settled herself down as close the Commander as she could without drawing attention to the two of them. Now was not the time for such actions.

For the rest of the evening, the four sat around the fire enjoying the exotic night sky of this alien planet. The three moons, along with the strange rippling (which they had hypothesized to be a strong magnetic field of some unknown origin), resulted in a spectacular sight rivalling nothing any of them ever before witnessed. Streaks of blue, purple and pink rippled and danced across the sky In this alien version of Earth’s aurora borealis.

Trip did his best to keep the mood light and uplifting; and T’Pol ... she did her best not to stare too hard at him. She tried not to focus on the crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he laughed, nor the creases around his mouth when he blessed her with a smile. She did her best not to fall in love with the gregarious human at her side.

Day Five: In everything I’ve done, you are the one ...

"Hey, Hoshi," Trip grunted. "Are we any closer to the shuttle yet?" He did his best to adjust the crude stretcher they had crafted using branches and blankets found in the damaged shuttle pod without hurting the injured Lt. Reed.

Hoshi consulted the tricorder in her hand, adjusted the angle of their approach by a few degrees and responded with a slight nod. The day had passed in silence, no one wasting breath on idle conversation, expending all their energy on getting Lieutenant Reed to safety. The silence was comforting for T’Pol, soothing for her; but she knew it must be torture for the gregarious commander.

How was it that her thoughts always turned to Commander Tucker? she mused to herself.

Just then Trip called lightly over his shoulder, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"What makes you think I was thinking anything of interest?" she retorted, somewhat sharply.

Instead of going on the defence as she had expected, Trip laughed lightly through his gasping breath. "I dunno. You’re usually quiet, but this is a different kind of quiet."

"That makes little sense, Commander."

He hung his head and laughed softly to himself again. "I know."

Unsure of how to respond, she simply remained quiet and did her best not to think about the man carrying the front end of the stretcher. She did her best not to notice the graceful dance of his muscles in his forearms as he shifted the handles to improve his grip. She did her best not to watch the sweat trickle from the neat edge of his hair on the nape of his neck down past the tops of his shoulder blades and settle on the edge of his tank top. She did her best not to notice the --

"You’re not going to tell me what you’re thinking are ya?"

"On the contrary, Commander, I was thinking that you could use a shower once we get aboard Enterprise. I can smell you from here."

Now Hoshi did her best to stifle a giggle, but failed miserably; Malcolm laughed freely. "Ah, Commander, never ask a woman what she is thinking. That is a valuable lesson I learned very long ago. They’re far too honest."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Hoshi joked. The humans smiled, their spirits high as they approached the small clearing where Shuttlepod Two had landed.

Upon reaching the small ship, Hoshi helped the lieutenant climb in as Trip and T’Pol gathered what little equipment they had carried with them.

Finally alone, Trip took a chance and kissed her. Her eyes wide, T’Pol pulled away suddenly. "I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been wanting to do that for so long now. I’m so--"

Placing her hands on the sides of his head suddenly, T’Pol kissed him back.

Breaking their embrace reluctantly, the pair silently packed up the last of their equipment and left the odd planet, unsure if there may have been some sort of chemical, or alien virus, or alien pollen, or if the strange magnetic field of the planet had somehow influenced them just then.

Epilogue

"Commander, I assure you, there is nothing impairing your judgment," Phlox sighed. "If this is some sort of ruse to get out of duty, I could recommend that the captain let you rest. After all, that must have been a harrowing five days ..."

Wrapping his arms around her, Trip leaned down and kissed T’Pol.

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Great story, very sweet and touching, Thank you ! Please continue..

I really like this story I hope you'll continue this soon please.

really liked keep writing

Nice bit of romance in the expanse. The emotions were captured perfectly.

I enjoyed it also. I hope you continue with this story.

Very Nice....Very Nice indeed. You made my day.... More please.....T

Oooh! Sweetness! I'm assuming this is post Trellium-D and pre-Harbinger? Or is it post-Harbinger? Hard to tell. I love it anyway. Nice UST. More please!

As always, I love your work, GK. Always demanding more they are! Though I'm not much better... MORE, PLEEZE! LOL XOX cya @ LJ

Very nice read, keep going GK.

Also pretty! Very nice, thank you again! :)