Each Touch a Promise - Ch 4

Each Touch a Promise

by HopefulRomantic

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer found in Chapter 1.

Date: 1-8-05

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Chapter 4

Trip hadn’t expected the entire mission to the Borderland to be about controlling urges. A whole mess of urges.

To his surprise, mastering his desire for T’Pol was no longer a problem, now that they had reconnected on a deeper level. Instead of the overpowering yearning he’d been battling for months, he now felt a contented glow of completion whenever she was near.

But as soon as she got kidnapped by the Orions, the impulse-resisting began in earnest.

He’d wanted to go AWOL, steal a shuttlepod, and chase after her. Wanted to lead a rescue party down to Verex III to get her out of that slave market, instead of fix his shot-to-hell engines. Wanted to desert the bridge—never mind that he was acting Captain at the time—and transport her back personally, after she was found. Wanted to sprint to sickbay as soon as he knew she was safe, rather than wait for Captain Archer to return and resume command.

Trip had lost track of how many times he’d wanted to throttle that smarmy mad scientist Arik Soong. He knew he wouldn’t have done T’Pol any good stewing in the brig, though, even if he had done the galaxy a favor by ridding it of its latest hubris-headed Dr. Frankenstein.

So he controlled himself. Barely. His shakiest moment came once he finally got to sickbay and saw with his own eyes that T’Pol was safe and relatively sound. He’d wanted nothing more than to sweep her up in his arms and cradle her to him in a spectacularly inappropriate public display of affection. That would’ve given the rumor mill something to chew on for a while.

He’d been immensely proud of her, watching her calmly take care of some work on a padd because Phlox wouldn’t cut her loose yet. Her ear was ringing, she was bruised and burned from the Orions’ stun-sticks...but she seemed genuinely relaxed. To hear her tell it, she’d handled being displayed like a rag doll and auctioned off like a piece of meat by regarding it as basically one big eye-roll, too far beneath her dignity to get worked up over. She had simply waited for her chance to run.

However, Trip could sense, underneath her veneer of composure, that T’Pol was actually pretty frazzled by her ordeal. He had offered her a surreptitious ozh’esta, asking softly, “You all right, t’hai’la? Really?”

Realizing he’d seen right through her, T’Pol had pressed her fingers to his. “I will be, now. Rest easy, t’hai’la.” And his heart melted, as it had each precious time they had touched like this.

A few days later, he felt connected with T’Pol in a very different way, as the two of them tried their damnedest to blow up Cold Station 12, and Captain Archer along with it. They had worked side by side to determine the away team’s status, so in sync that they were anticipating each other’s requests, finishing each other’s sentences, practically reading each other’s thoughts and feelings. As Trip watched T’Pol give Hoshi the order to send the self-destruct code to the station, he could almost feel the same heartsick sorrow from T’Pol that he felt himself.

As they waited in frozen silence for confirmation that C-12 and everyone on it were lost, Trip flashed back to an image of himself three years earlier...in Sub-Commander T’Pol’s face, bellowing furiously at her for leaving Captain Archer stranded on the Suliban helix. That Trip Tucker seemed ridiculously immature now...or perhaps simply less wise. He had not yet been touched by crushing grief, or blind vengeance, or deep abiding love. A lot had changed over the past year.

Thankfully, the station had survived, and Archer was back on the bridge a few hours later, thawed out and bluffing his way through Klingon space. Trip and T’Pol had shifted their base to engineering to recalibrate the sensors and watch for Soong’s Bird of Prey, and after their tense deathwatch for their captain and friend earlier, the pursuit of something as goofily romantic as sneaking a Vulcan kiss in public was a refreshing change of pace.

Wedged in the corner behind Trip’s workstation, they were by themselves—but engineering’s open, multi-tiered design made it virtually impossible to be truly alone. After hours of watching the sensor grid until they were both bleary-eyed, Trip sensed a break in the passing foot traffic. He slid over to T’Pol and touched his fingers to hers in the Vulcan way. Her expression of contentment told him that she savored the contact as much as he did.

He hummed with satisfaction. “I’ve been dreaming of this for hours. Even Romeo and Juliet had it easier—at least they got to elope.”

“They also perished because of an egregiously miscalculated attempt to escape the consequences of their actions,” T’Pol remarked.

“You’re a real romantic, T’Pol.” His mood undampened, Trip stroked her fingers. “I guess the joy is in the little things.”

Following one final temptation—a last, delicious opportunity to commit Soongicide after another crack about T’Pol—Trip’s gauntlet was finally run. It was almost a relief to get back to the business-as-usual of dodging exploding EPS junctions and insisting to Archer that the engines just couldn’t be pushed any harder, before Trip coaxed a bit more out of them anyway.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The morning before Enterprise was due back at Spacedock, Archer arrived a bit late for breakfast in the Captain’s Mess. As he entered, he caught a glimpse of Trip and T’Pol at the table, contentedly drowning in each other’s eyes, their fingers touching in an unmistakably Vulcan expression of affection. As soon as they realized he was there, they sprang apart, looking like the proverbial deer caught in headlights. Archer, still a bit miffed that they hadn’t filled him in on their mysterious new development, said nothing as he took his seat.

After the steward brought their meals, Archer waited until Trip and T’Pol both had mouthfuls before he spoke. “So do I keep pretending I didn’t see that finger-touch, or are you going to fill me in?”

He was rewarded with a satisfying spit-take from Trip, while T’Pol choked a bit as she swallowed her food. He waited, smiling pleasantly, as the pair eyed each other self-consciously and squirmed.

“Nothing has changed,” T’Pol finally began. “Technically.”

“It’s just a theory,” Trip went on.

“Lorian’s theory,” supplied T’Pol.

“Which means it’s really logical,” Trip added.

Archer propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward, all attention. “I’m on pins and needles.”

“He thinks Koss has some ulterior motive for forcing the marriage on T’Pol,” Trip said at last. “So it might not be permanent after all.”

Slowly, Archer nodded. “So...this being a marriage in name only at this point, anyway...your response is to make up for lost time?”

“No!” both Trip and T’Pol blurted out at once.

“I would not—”

“She would never—”

“It would not be honorable—”

“She’s a married woman—”

Archer held up a hand, and the two stopped spluttering. “I know it would be anathema to you,” the captain assured them. “But it would also be understandable, considering that T’Pol was blackmailed. The marriage wasn’t honorable, so why should you be?”

“Because we are honorable,” T’Pol declared with dignity.

Trip nodded vigorously. “We’re leaving the dishonor stuff to the skunk—um, to Koss.”

“Skunk?” T’Pol asked curiously.

“Uh—just a little pet name I have for him,” Trip tossed off dismissively.

“But a skunk is a foul-smelling—”

“Cap’n,” Trip continued quickly, studiously avoiding T’Pol’s gaze, “we want to do this the stand-up way.”

“But until then, you’re making yourselves crazy, aren’t you?” Archer asked. “Tempting each other like this?”

Trip slid his hand over and clasped T’Pol’s. They both looked serene as she explained, “To us, it is more...an affirmation of a promise.”

“Now that we know there’s hope, we can wait practically forever,” Trip agreed.

Archer breathed an inward sigh of relief. Finally. “You’ve told each other how you feel?”

As Trip and T’Pol traded bashful glances, Archer grinned. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ And it’s about time.” He went back to his breakfast. “Remember, though, this is a small ship with a very active rumor mill. And you can bet you’re the number one topic, now that Lorian is back. Since we three are the only ones who know the details about T’Pol’s pathetic excuse for a marriage, if anyone else sees you doing that finger-touch...”

“Ozh-esta,” Trip clarified helpfully. “And we only do it when we’re alone, or where it’s safe. Like here, or your ready room.”

Archer suddenly felt like a parent cautioning two teenagers not to neck in public. “Just take care you don’t do anything that can be...misinterpreted.”

“Aye, sir,” the kids said dutifully.

“So what now? You wait for a meteor to fall on Koss?”

“Aw, there’s better ones than that on my list,” Trip snickered. “My favorite is still number thirty-two: Hungry sehlat, no high ground.”

“List?” T’Pol inquired suspiciously.

“Uhm—just a game the Cap’n and I were playing one night, while we were tyin’ one on,” Trip murmured evasively.

Archer raised his coffee mug in salute to his best friends. “I’m just glad I finally have the chance to root for a Happily Ever After.”

Trip beamed at him, and T’Pol nodded graciously. Archer smiled warmly back at them.

~~tbc~~

Chapter 5

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Nine of you have made comments

I loved this, and Archer acting like a parent chastising the 'kids' made me smile though I couldn't see him holding their hands at the end like that. The congratulations - yes (and about time!). Ali D :~)

Nice continuation, but I can't wait to read more.

MORE!!!!!

I can see Archer rooting for them!
Love how you rewrote the R&J scene! Keep rewriting!

Another nice chapter. I didn't like how Trip acted in Cold Station 12. I preferred the Trip from season 1 who shouted at T'pol for even contemplating the idea of leaving Archer behind and not this Trip who was prepared to blow up his Captain and close friends without even considering another plan.

Wow!! Great Chapter!!!!
You had me LOL with the Part where Trip admited to T'pol that he gave Koss the nickname of "Skunk"! I love how you rewrite how things unfolded on the show. I cant wait to see what would happen after the Vulcan arc if you take it that far. Please update soon!

More, we must have more!

I love your version of what happened with Soong so much better than theirs.... Oh and the Koss/Skunk nickname had be laughing!

"Hungry sehlat, no high ground"! LOL!!!! Now there's one I hadn't thought of! Keep 'em coming please! :)

I loved this chapter as well. And I like supportive Archer. The re-write of the Romeo and Juliet scene is great as well. Can't wait to read more. :) Skunk! LOL, I can so hear Trip saying that word. :)