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Unexpected Redux - Chapters 8 & 9

Author - Hoshi's Sis
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Unexpected Redux

By Hoshi’s Sis

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount invented the characters and the original storyline; I just went and played with it a bit.
Genre: Friendship/Angst

Thanks to my wonderful beta Peter Simon

A/N Thank you for all your wonderful comments, suggestions and discussion.

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Chapter Eight

After having woken woke up a few hours later, Trip walked down the corridors and felt embarrassed at how he had acted towards Captain Archer. Phlox had told him to go to the mess hall and to get some nourishment, but Trip felt it was more appropriate to apologise to his friend and Captain.

So he went to his ready room instead. Just now, he pressed the comm button on the outside of the door, and wiped his hand nervously through his already tousled hair.

“Enter.”

“Have ya got a minute, Sir?”

“Sure, sit down, Trip,” Archer replied, a little apprehensive as he indicated to the nearby chair. “What can I do for you?”

“I ……. I want to apologise for what I said earlier. I don’t know what got into me … Damn, I do know what got into me, hormones raging you know … but that’s not what I meant.”

“Don’t worry about it, Trip, I understand.”

“No … Hell, I had no right to say those things. I didn’t mean what I said – I don’t think your naïve or a monster.”

“Maybe not a monster,” Archer replied, thoughtfully, “but you were right about one thing: I gave the order to grow a sentient being, to use him for our own purpose, and then I stood by and watched him die.”

“You had a huge weight on your shoulders, saving Earth and all.

“Would you have done the same thing if you had been in my position?” asked Archer.

“No,” Trip replied. Then after a little time thinking, he mumbled: “Hell I don’t know … desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“They sure do,” replied Archer, thinking back to their mission last year.

“That’s kinda why I’m not angry at what Trevella and Allion did. It seems like they might have been in the same no win situation. I’m not saying what they did was right, just that maybe their situation was pretty bleak and that they had no other option left open to them?”

“I don’t think it’s quite the same, but I can see you’re reasoning behind it,” replied Archer, glad that he and Trip were finally laying their cards out on the table.

“So there could be some truth to what they said about how going back could endanger us and their mission,” Trip said, pressing his hand to his side, indicating the child inside him.

“Yes, there could be, but I can’t just lie down and take what they said at face value without looking at the greater whole,” Archer said as he came nearer to Trip and perched beside him on the table. We don’t even know if we can trust these Guardians; I’m not happy putting the ship into danger on the trust of two people who we know are liars.”

“I understand that, Capt’n,” Trip replied, feeling his emotions begin to overwhelm him again, “but I have to think about her now. I couldn’t do anything to stop it or prevent it, when Elizabeth died. I didn’t know her long, but it still hurt … a lot. I won’t let that happen again -- this child’s just an innocent pawn in everything, and you can be damned sure I’m gonna protect her and make sure she’s safe. I can’t do that, though, if you go against their wishes! I have to trust them that they have her interests at heart. It just feels like we’re flying blindly into danger.”

Trip hesitated for a moment. “Damned hormones!” he muttered quietly as tears began to well up in his eyes.”

“Hey,” said Archer suddenly as he grabbed Trip in a giant bear hug. “It’s going to be all right … You can be damned sure we’ll all make sure she’s safe; you’re not alone in this.”

“Ya serious about that?” asked Trip, wiping his damp eyes.

“Yes!”

“Well, in that case you all can have a share of these damned hormones that are soaring outta control. There’s nausea, tiredness …”

“Smart ass,” laughed Archer, shaking his head as he rubbed Trip’s back protectively, not hearing the comm buzz outside his ready room.

Travis walked inside, eyeing the scene between his two Commanding Officers. “Just came to give you a navigation update, Sir. T’Pol thinks we’ll intercept the Daladian ship in about four days. Their warp signature seems to be getting stronger, which would indicate that they aren’t going anywhere near their top speed, or that they’ve stopped.”

“Thanks, Travis,” replied Captain Archer as Trip threw him a concerned look. Archer decided it was time to take Trip’s mind off the subject. He took the pad Travis handed him, and focused his thoughts on a game plan of distraction, while Trip turned away, slightly embarrassed, trying to hide his red rimmed eyes.

“Is Commander Tucker okay?”

“He’s fine, Travis,” replied Archer and guiding the younger man out of the room. “Why don’t you go and relieve Davis on the bridge? I believe his shift is nearly finishing.”

“Damn, that’s gonna get the rumour mill flowing again,” Trip said.

“Shouldn’t be anything new to you my friend,” laughed Archer affectionly. “Come on, let’s go and watch a movie and relax.”

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Later the next morning, Trip was in the mess hall reading some engineering reports, trying to take his mind off his queasy stomach.

“Mind if I join you?” asked Malcolm, walking up with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast.

“Sure,” replied Trip, averting his eyes from Malcolm’s full breakfast plate. “Great, just what I need right now. The sight of food …

“Feeling okay?”

“What do ya mean?” asked Trip as he covered his mouth with his hand and tried to think calming thoughts that would tame the powerful urges in his stomach.

“Travis said you look kind of upset yesterday, I just wondered if you were feeling all right.” Malcolm said as he tuckered into his food, enjoying it immensely.

“I’m fine.”

“Well you have been kinda moody lately, flying off the hand and all. Come to think of it, you look kinda green around the edges--”

“Sorry!” Trip interrupted. He jumped off his chair, mumbled a quick “I gotta go somewhere,” into Malcolm’s direction, and started running for the bathroom nearby.

Odd.” thought Malcolm as he pushed his plate to the side. He stood up and went to after Trip to see whether he was okay. It just took one look at his friend’s pale face, as he flushed the toilet and dabbed cold water onto his face. “Come on, Trip. We’re going to see Phlox. You are anything but fine.”

“Just give me a sec, will ya?” replied Trip. He took some deep breaths while Malcolm handed him a towel. “There’s no need to see Phlox, not much he can do anyway.”

“What’s going on, Trip? You look all full. You’re obviously sick, you look worn out, and you’ve been more emotional than my Aunt Fanny these last couple of days. Put that together with us looking for the Daladian ship again, for reasons that the Captain and Commander T’Pol won’t let on, and it’s Deja Vu the Xyrillians all over again,” joked Malcolm, not realising how close to the actual truth he actually was. Yet, as he looked over at Trip, a warning bell began to ring in his head. “Did something happen on that ship, Trip?”

Looking over at Malcolm, Trip realised that he couldn’t lie anymore, especially not to a good friend. “Come on, let’s go and sit down. I’ll tell ya all about it while you finish your breakfast. You look like you need a good laugh to start your day anyway.”

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Chapter Nine

The next couple of days were rough on Trip as nausea took hold and his hormones raged tenfold. Gossip over the cause of Trip’s mood swings was flying round the ship like wildfire, especially after Travis had mentioned to Hoshi that he thought Trip had been crying in the Captain’s quarters. Different theories were offered to explain his behaviour. One crewman opinioned that a lost promotion might have resulted in drinking bouts at night, thus causing massive hangovers the next day. Apparently, the Captain called him on it, which resulted in Trip getting upset. Another theory was that the Commander might have contracted to a mysterious ailment from the Daladians, and that theory would also explain why Enterprise was racing to intercept them now.

The idea of pregnancy hadn’t factored into anyone’s minds; there had been a lot of crew changes since Trip’s encounter with the Xryillians, so most crewmen weren’t privileged to that information. Except from Starfleet Medical, who had had a field day with all the data Phlox had gathered. Those who were still around didn’t think that such a misfortune could be encountered twice. Even if it had occurred to anyone, he or she hadn’t placed a bet in the ship’s pool for their Chief’s Engineer’s misfortune.

The gossip went hand in hand with the looks and dearth of silence every time Trip entered a crowded room, and he was beginning to get quite paranoid about it. It didn’t help matters that according to long range sensors the Daladian ship had stopped moving and lay dead in space. To Trip, this could only mean one thing: bad news. The matter caused his anxiety level to go through the roof -- much to the concern of Phlox. Entering Engineering eight hours before they were due to intercept the Daladian ship, T’Pol was determined to do something about this. Asking a crewman for help, she finally found him tuckered away in the far corner, an area he called his office, working on a mass of pads and reports.

Trip looking up when he noticed her coming closer. “Let me guess, Capt’n or Phlox sent ya to check up on me?”

“Neither, it was my decision,” T’Pol replied, causing Trip to raise his eyebrow in surprise.

“Well, sorry to disappoint ya, but I’ve got too much--”

“None of your current tasks are critical or urgent,” interrupted T’Pol, taking a pad out of his hand and setting it back down on the desk. “You can finish your work tomorrow. It’s time for you to take a break and much needed rest. If you would accompany me, I have dinner waiting in my quarters.”

“Dinner and quality time with a beautiful lady?” teased Trip while standing up. “That’s one offer I would never turn down.”

“As you have often shown, Commander,” T’Pol teased right back, making Trip smile and chuckle.

This light hearted banter carried on between them until they had arrived in T’Pol’s quarters.

“This is real nice, T’Pol. Thanks,” Trip said softly before tuckering into his food. “I know Phlox ordered me to eat regular meals, but it hardly seems worth the effort given how little time that the food stays in there.”

“Your symptoms appear more severe this time around,” noted T’Pol. When Trip raised his head with a questioning look, she went on. “Your mood swings and sickness have raised some concerns and questions among the crew.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Can’t seem to stop myself … I just keep finding myself losing it at the simplest things.”

“Would you like to join me for meditation? I doubt it will halt your mood swings, but it would help you to control and to focus your emotions more.”

“I’d like that. Thanks.”

“Would you like to start now?” T’Pol asked, seeing that Trip had finished his meal. “We could start off with a neuro-pressure session to help relax your mind.” Trip’s eyes perked up at this, before he knelt down on the mat, like he remembered from their previous session’s way back.

T’Pol sat down in front of him. “Relax your posture, Trip,” she said before starting to softly ease the tension out of his face, neck, and shoulders. “You have adapted well to your predicament.”

“Adapted, how so?”

“As I recall, you didn’t handle the concept of being pregnant very well. This time I sense you are more centred with the whole idea.”

“Yeah, I know what ya mean. It’s weird, being male and all, but it feels like it’s the most natural thing going on. Do ya think that our bond could be making me feel this way? Cos since the meld, it feels stronger than before; I’ve even starting to have those white room dreams again. They’re not quite the same as before, since I’m not an active participant this time--.”

“It’s more like your presence is there,” T’Pol interrupted, “but there is something else, an additional aura of serenity that pervades your whole being with the feeling of hope and trust …” Her voice faded as she remembered the scene.

“So you’ve felt it to,” Trip said with a slight smile, bringing her out of this train of thought. “What do ya think it could be?”

“It could be the child,” T’Pol suggested. “She may have empathic abilities. The Daladians believe her destiny is to unite her people”.

“Hmmm,” Trip thought, “that sure would make her job easier.” His eyes twinkled slightly when he looked at her. “So how long have you been sensing my presence with ya in the white room?” he ribbed all the while wriggling his eyebrows.

T’Pol showed a bare hint of a smile when she replied. “Lie on your back.”

Trip just smirked, and did as he was told.

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Chapters 10 & 11)

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A handful of people have made comments

Yes, I'm first, I really liked this chapter, Trip is getting better and better, and I can't believe that Hoshi hasn't fiquered it out yet, lol. Once again great stuff can't wait for more.

Great update. Poor Trip going through with this pregnancy will be hard on him. Can't wait to see the crew's reaction when they find out.

This is just getting better and better with every chapter. Even I finally adapted to the idea of Trip being pregnant AGAIN! Nice work, go on, please!

This is good. I hope you keep going.

Excellent stuff, can't wait for more! :)