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Child of Time- Ch. 8The Child of Time By JD1 Rating: PG, Mystery, Romance Author’s Note: Thanks for the reviews. I took some of your advice and fixed chapter's six and seven though it's nothing major. Summary: Trip and T’Pol are still stuck in a cave with limited supplies; will they be rescued in time or at all? ******************************** Chapter 8 Truth Can Be Found in the Strangest Places Trip had managed to make a small fire and helped T’Pol sit up. She was sitting behind the fire, staring blankly at it. But Trip had been staring at her. "Not’in," Trip said with his boyish grin. "What is it?" T’Pol practically ordered. "Nothin’, really. It’s just… I don’t know. Watchin’ ya… do--whatever--is interestin’." Trip replied, sheepishly. "I was meditating." T’Pol corrected, almost amused. "I was wonderin’, why do ya do that?" Trip asked, his curiosity obvious in his question. "Meditate?" With Trip’s nod she continued. "It allows Vulcans to better control their emotions. Suppressing them requires mental discipline." Trip thought about that for a moment. When he looked up he asked, "Since we’re stuck down here for a while, do ya think you could teach me t’ meditate?" He had a hopeful glint in his eyes and almost looked like a kid again, something T’Pol couldn’t say no to. She nodded and began to explain the basics of meditation. Trip listened like a wide-eyed child listening to one of his favorite bedtime stories. He did everything she said, and within about two hours Trip had mastered it, well at least the basics. When they had finished, Trip gave his thanks. She nodded her head and after a silent moment she asked, "Why did you want me to teach you this?" T’Pol had obviously not bought the afore-mentioned boredom, so Trip replied, "You said it helps you t’ control your emotions, so I thought if I learned, it would help me to keep from becoming so hot headed. That way I wouldn’t get into so many fights with ya." Trip shrugged sheepishly, clearly embarrassed by his answer. T’Pol, however, was touched by it, though she would never show it. But Trip could see through her Vulcan mask and he knew that he had said something right. They stayed like that for a while, silent and unsure of what to do next. Trip sat on one side while T’Pol was on the other, since she complained her nasal injection was starting to wear off and he smelled bad. Trip could see she was shivering, since they couldn’t get the fire going again and they had no blankets it had gotten very cold in there. He stood up and walked over to her, then sat down next to her. He draped his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "Better?" He asked quietly. T’Pol acknowledged his presence by looking at him and answered his question with a weary nod. He held her tighter and allowed her to lay her head on his shoulder as she fell asleep. He watched her, as he had begun to a lot lately. He watched the way her chest rose and fell in a steady pattern as she breathed in and out. His eyelids grew heavy and he too fell asleep. **The Next Morning** The next morning passed quite uneventfully. They still couldn’t reach Enterprise and their food was running dangerously low, but they were able to start the fire again. T’Pol had been meditating for the past hour. Trip had tried but there was too much on his mind. Instead, he was watching her again. He had been thinking a lot about her lately, ever since the conversation he had had with Selack he had really started to re-examine his feelings for her. He knew that after all this time they had spent together on the ship, he had a great respect and loyalty for her. He also knew that under all his feelings for Vulcans in general, he was very willing to consider her a friend and admit to that she meant a lot to him. And, maybe on some level, he was even attracted to her. But did he have ‘feelings’ for her? That was the big question that had been on his mind for a while. His eyes never left her for almost three hours while she meditated and he thought. When she had finished meditating, she looked up to she Trip staring at her with a far a way look in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow when he shook his head and noticed she was looking at him. The terror in his eyes made her smile, though she quickly covered it up, but not before he saw it. "Did you just smile?" Trip asked as a huge, boyish grin grew over his face. "I did not." T’Pol stated in a defensive tone. "Oh, yes you did." Trip said, victoriously. T’Pol raised her eyebrow and turned away. "Ah, come on. You’re just sore ‘cause I’m right and you’re wrong. Just say it and I promise I won't tell." T’Pol whipped around at that comment. "Are you saying that if I do not… ‘say it’, then you will tell everyone that I…" She cut herself off, not wanting to say it. "Yep," Trip said, triumphantly. T’Pol sighed and gave in. "Fine, I did…smile." "Thank-you." Trip gave her a sincere and sheepish smile. Just then they could hear a noise against the wall. The same wall that was created in the cave in. "Do you hear that?" Trip asked. "Yes, it sounds much like a phaser." T’Pol responded. They looked at each other and hoped that they knew whoever was about to break through. **************************** Please R/R. I hoped you liked it. *********************** Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS! |