Chosen Minds

Chosen Minds

By Peter Simons

E-Mail: simons@cryp.to
Rating: R (to be very careful)
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Paramount, no infringement intended.

Summary: This is the conclusion of the Mind series. It follows up to »The Greater Good, Part III«.

»But Charles, we have done that the last five nights. Why have you become so fixated?«

»I love the feeling of calm and peace afterwards, T'Pol. It is wonderful! But I cannot do it without you.«

»But wouldn't you rather like to play? We haven't played for so long!«

»I simply feel you shouldn't neglect this aspect of your species.«

»Doing it five consecutive nights hardly constitutes negligence, Charles.«

»We could do it first and play afterwards?«

»You never wish to play afterwards, Charles. You are always exceptionally quiet and solemn after we have meditated.«

»Okay. Then we will play first.«

»Three hours.«

»Three? But that leaves hardly time to meditate, T'Pol.«

»You should not neglect this aspect of your species, Charles.«

»There is a Vulcan myth, which we could play. It is the story of the warrior princess T'Mir and her chosen one. It is a myth from ancient times.«

»That sounds great, T'Pol. How would it work?«

»I would be T'Mir, of course. She was a terrifyingly beautiful female—«

»She couldn't possibly be as beautiful as you, T'Pol.«

»Charles, she was more beautiful than you can imagine.«

»I cannot imagine anything more beautiful than you, T'Pol.«

»Right. Well, she would have looked exactly like me then.«

»She must have been beautiful!«

»She was! And since she was a very undisciplined person, she allowed herself to feel desire for a beautiful male she had seen while she was hunting.«

»What happened?«

»He belonged to another clan! And the matriarch had other plans for the male: She wanted to bond him to her own daughter.«

»But he did not love the matriarch's daughter?«

»Of course not, Charles. He desired T'Mir! She was beautiful.«

»So what did T'Mir do?«

»She tried to reason with the matriarch of the other clan. She offered her considerable amounts of valuables for the male. But the evil matriarch refused!«

Trip had a strange feeling about this story, but he pushed the thought aside.

»The bonding ceremony was scheduled for the next morning, Charles. So T'Mir had no other choice. She took her lirpa and stormed into the evil clan's fortress. She defied everyone who stood in her way, Charles! She battled through them and rescued the male only seconds before he was about to be bonded.«

»What's his name?«

»He does not have a name in the myth.«

»I don't know, T'Pol. What exactly do I do in that story?«

»You would be held prisoner in the fortress, of course. But I would rescue you.«

»Right, but what do I do?«

»You will look beautiful, Charles.«

»I would rather play something else, T'Pol.«

»What do you propose?«

»No, no. Keep standing over there. The marching-in of the bride is a special part of the ceremony.«

»I see.«

»I would be standing over here, before the altar. Probably with Jonathan.«

»But wouldn't the Captain marry us?«

»He could. But I also need a best man.«

»What for?«

»For the speech.«

»I see. Couldn't Captain Archer perform the ceremony and be your best man as well?«

»It's unusual … but the whole marriage is unusual, so I guess it's okay.«

»Good.«

»My family would be sitting on this side of the church. I don't know, there would be hundreds of them actually. Would that even fit?«

»Of my family only my mother and father would come, Charles.«

»Then we'll forget that part. People will be sitting all over the place.«

»What do I do?«

»You keep standing over there for the moment, because before you can walk in, everybody has to get up.«

»But they were sitting when you entered the church, Charles.«

»That's right. But I am not the bride, T'Pol.«

»So they will stand up, and then I walk in?«

»Yes. And everybody will be looking at you, T'Pol. My mother will cry when she sees you, so happy will she be that her son found such a beautiful bride.«

»Do you know what my parents will do?«

»No, what will they do?«

»My mother will say: These Human ceremonies are exceptionally tedious, S'Ter.«

»Very funny, T'Pol.«

»And my father would answer: Let us just hope that they know how to prepare food, T'Pon.«

»You are joking now, T'Pol, but when you walk into the church in that moment, you will be emotional. Trust me.«

»We will see, Charles. So I walk to the altar now?«

»Yes … but not like that, T'Pol. No, start over. You have to pause between every step. You have to walk slowly. People want to see you.«

»Why?«

»Because of the dress you'll be wearing.«

»What would I wear?«

»First of all, that white, lacy underwear you have.«

»I see.«

»And over it, you would wear something very form-fitting and sensual, T'Pol. A white cat-suit, probably. But it would be special. It would be low cut in the front, show most of your back …«

»Wouldn't that be inappropriate?«

»You are probably right. Well, in that case you could wear a white, long dress with a trail. But it should be form-fitting, T'Pol. Nobody would mind.«

»A trail?«

»Yes. And you'll also wear a white veil. So that nobody sees your face but me.«

»I see.«

»Yes … that's much better. Now we both turn to Jonathan so that he can address the crowd.«

»What would he say?«

»He would say: I hate it that T'Pol marries Trip instead of me, but — let's be honest — the guy just looks too damn good.«

»I doubt he would say that, Charles. He is very attractive.«

»Would you like to be married or not?«

»Fine. That is what he would say.«

»Then there would probably be music and lot's of tedious things, but in the end, we'll both be standing here so that we can make our vows.«

»I am ready.«

Trip read the words out loud from a PADD with pathos.

»We are gathered here to unite this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. If anyone present can show just and legal cause why they may not be joined, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.«

»Would anyone say anything?«

»No, T'Pol.«

»Good. What comes next?«

»We don't have any rings, do we?«

»No.«

»Forget them. You know what we will do? We will press our palms together, T'Pol. Instead of exchanging rings.«

»Wearing a ring is illogical anyway, Charles.«

»Good. Now the vows. The woman begins, T'Pol.«

»Charles, will you have me as your lawful wedded wife, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love me, honor me, comfort me, and keep me in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to me as long as we both shall live?«

»I will.«

»Good.«

»Now you! T'Pol, will you have me as your lawful wedded husband, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love me, honor me, comfort me, and keep me in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to me as long as we both shall live?«

»What would happen if I said no?«

»Don't even think about it.«

»I will.«

»Good. Now we will join our hands and then I may kiss the bride.«

When their palms touched, their fingers interlocked with force.

They had been together for three weeks by now, but still Trip could not get used to impact of the moment T'Pol touched him. As simple as the gesture was, every time she touched him his world changed. The first emotion was bliss. Pure, essential bliss. And it subsided into fear that she might let go, then came the realization that they touched, and then there was profound happiness.

T'Pol was instant happiness, and he had become addicted to her.

T'Pol was amused by his thoughts. The emotion of happiness seemed such a small gift compared to what he made her feel. When Charles touched her, she was alive. She could only allow herself to feel any emotion, because he shared them with her. When she was with him, she could give up her control because he cared for her then.

She could use her imagination, she could live fantasies, she could feel joy and laughter and longing … She realized that she could hardly remember what it had been like before they were together. She had 66 years worth of memories, but the only happy memories were moments she had shared with him — because she could not be happy without him.

Whatever her life had been like before, T'Pol knew she did not want to go back to it. She could not.

And she would never have to.

Trip had no idea what difficulties still lay ahead them. In a sad way, he was certain it would be difficult. But he knew that he would never allow anyone or anything to stand between them. He couldn't care less what the Vulcan High-Command, Starfleet, or the rest of the universe thought or wanted. They belonged together.

T'Pol shivered because of the emotions she felt when he thought these thoughts.

For a long moment he simply looked at her. Every time he looked into her face his gaze was invariably drawn into her dark eyes. He would try to see her cheekbones, her lips, even her ear-tips, but suddenly he was looking into her eyes, and then the world faded around him. He had never seen anyone look at him with as much intensity as she did. Never before had he shared as much intimacy with anyone as he shared with T'Pol.

He realized, he was incomplete without her.

»I also feel incomplete without you, Charles. But there is a way how we both can feel complete forever.«

»There is?«

»Yes. We could perform the Vulcan bonding ritual, Charles. We could become bond-mates. It is a union of minds, the telepathic connection would become permanent. Our minds would touch for the remainder of our lives.«

»It would always be like this?«

»Yes. We would share every thought, every memory, and every sensation.«

»Why haven't we done that long ago, T'Pol?«

»Because, Charles, it is a life-long commitment. A commitment far greater than anything Humans have known. The bond is very strong; it would be impossible for us to separate.«

»What do you mean by impossible? Let's pretend we would not get along and you would decide to leave me — what would happen?«

»We would both die.«

»Oh.«

»During the bonding, our minds become one mind, Charles. Then one can no longer survive without the other.«

»What would happen if I died of old age?«

»I would die as well.«

»But your lifespan is much longer than mine, T'Pol. If we bonded, that would mean you'd throw away decades of your life.«

»If we bonded, there would be no more your or my life, Charles. We could only live together.«

»I see … Wow.«

It sure sounded like a huge commitment … but was it really? He could not live without her anyway. The idea of breaking up and going separate ways was outrageous. It was impossible. He had committed to her the moment he had placed the stencil on his palm and had reached out for her to apply the le-matya gisam. Their minds had touched for the first time that night. He knew that he could no longer exist without that touch, without her.

»I am certain, T'Pol.«

She knew he was. She felt the same way he did. She remembered the night when she had been sitting in her quarters and had worked on the stencils. She remembered how she had glowed with anticipation at how he would react. How she had been worried whether he would agree. And how she had daydreamed about the moment they would choose to bond. And there it was.

»I am also certain, Charles.«

For a minute they stood and looked at another. They knew they had made their choice, but they savored the moment. Their hands clasped to each other with unnecessary strength, and they reveled in the intimacy of the touch, in the warmth of the attention of the other. In this moment, they were oblivious to the starship around them; they were beyond the passage of time, detached from the real world, in a place of their own.

The ancient rites just shot into their minds: Our minds, one and together … Touching, yet not touching; apart, yet never apart.

T'Pol whispered the words in a dreamy voice: »Touching, yet not touching; apart, yet never apart …« Then she closed her eyes.

Trip looked at her for a moment longer before he heard the sound of his own voice as if from a great distance: »Touching, yet not touching; apart, yet never apart …« Then he closed his eyes.

They lost track of time and space completely. The air seemed to whirl around them with increasing speed, it formed a spiral with them in the center. Colors, objects, memories, images, and emotions whirled around them and were sucked into the eye of the hurricane, where they crashed into them and vanished. They intertwined, their minds mixed and merged — and suddenly everything collapsed and it was quiet.

At the same instant they opened their eyes, and when their gazes met, they both spoke the words in perfect unison.

»We are one.«

T'Pol looked at her mate with wide eyes. She repeated the word in her mind several times, just because of the sparks of pleasure it set off when she thought them. My mate. She had bonded with Charles! And it had stirred something ancient inside of her. She felt strangely powerful. The knowledge that he had chosen her as his mate caused the blood to rush in her ears. She felt like she could do anything, anything at all. She was alive like she had never been before. Out of the thousands of females he had met, he had chosen her. And now she was his.

She could not tear her focus away from her mate. She could literally not think about anything but him. It was impossible. His presence overwhelmed her discipline, he simply commanded her attention, she knew no other purpose to her existence but to focus on his invigorating presence.

Her gaze had wandered aimlessly, but now it returned to his face — and electricity jolted through her spine as she looked deep into his soul through his blue eyes. She saw herself in him. She saw his longing for her. She saw that she was a part of him now. She saw that he was hers now!

A memory came to her in this moment: she recalled the story of the warrior princess T'Mir. She had daydreamed about the myth from ancient times when she was a child. She had dreamed that she was T'Mir. T'Pol closed her eyes while powerful images rippled through her.

She felt the blood race through her veins while she ran through the desert as fast as she could. Her body produced vast amounts of excess heat in the sun, but she did not care, because the chased her prey. A le-matya was a dangerous predator, but this particular le-matya ran away in panic from her. It knew instinctively that this Vulcan hunted to kill.

Her heart pounded in her chest while she dashed after the animal with the long spear held up high above her head. The le-matya turned sharply left and right in an attempt to lose her, but it was hopeless. While racing after her prey, she reached back with the arm carrying the spear; then fell into two, three long jumps; stretched her arm backwards as far as she could; and contracted her chest muscles powerfully while smashing her shoulder forward and hurling the spear after the animal in an explosive movement. But at the last possible moment she caught the sight of someone else out of the corner of her eye. Someone had just appeared from behind a larger stone at her right side, several dozen meters afar. And it had distracted her.

She brought herself to a sudden halt as she watched the spear miss its target by almost a meter. She yelled out in anger and disappointment, then she turned and was ready to kill whoever it was that had disturbed her focus.

T'Pol opened her eyes and looked at Charles.

Trip had never felt like this before. Powerful sensations flooded into his mind and washed away his consciousness. He could do nothing but shake with longing for his mate; he could simply not get enough of her emotions, of her thoughts, of her sensations. The turmoil she felt set his own emotions loose, and he lost himself completely in the overwhelming intimacy of their bond.

Abruptly, he was ripped out of his dreams and back into the real world. He opened his eyes the same moment she did. T'Pol stood only centimeters away, and her face glistened with heat and perspiration. Her dark eyes were wide, receptive — and they were locked on him. Each and every of her molecules had turned into his direction, she stood before him and drew him to her like a giant magnet. And at the same time she radiated energy, she almost stood in flames with powerful emotions. He was terrified by her beauty!

She could not believe how beautiful he was! His alien body was closer to his archaic past; he was lean, muscular, and tall. She could feel his raw strength, the powerful determination of a will fueled by primal desires. He was a predator. He took the things he desired.

The thought sent shivers down her spine and she gasped at the sudden sensation.

She stood there before him and realized she was helpless. She could not resist. She desired him more than anything.

It was her smell. Trip had never really smelled T'Pol, but suddenly he did. He had only one word for it: alien. A decidedly feminine scent emanated from her, and when he noticed it, and inhaled it, he saw fireworks for a moment. Her emotions flooded through his mind all the while a part of his brain reacted violently to her pheromones. And some baser instinct in him took over. He just looked at the woman he had known for so long now, the woman he had loved for so long now — but now she was his.

And he pulled her to him and kissed her demandingly.

The desire raged in them while they kissed. It was unsettling. She threw her emotions at her mate, helpless to deal with them of her own, but he flooded her with his own emotions in return, and it was desire too! And it resonated in both of them and became powerful, hot, burning, and finally scorching desire which threatened to consume them altogether.

They broke the kiss and gasped and looked at each other with painful longing, but the heat overwhelmed them. Their palms began to throb with pain, the poison that had left them with their markings seemed to have reappeared with a vengeance. It was unbearable!

Their hands shook because of their fight to hold on, but the heat inside of them grew and increased even further, until they felt like they were touching fire! Then they let go.

»WHERE IS HE?«

»WHERE IS SHE?«

T'Pol's existence had ended the instant they had separated. The powerful loss of his touch had wiped out any sensations of her own, every fiber of her mind was focused on her mate. She hungered for his emotions, for his thoughts, for his presence — she could not tear her focus away from him, because he was the air she need to live. What little she could feel of him was all she had to keep her alive.

And he felt horrible! His body burned with desire, she could feel the itching of his skin as if it were her own. It was her own in this moment, and she let out a low groan as she stretched her body in a pointless attempt to alleviate the constricting tension he felt around his chest.

She had no more rational thought, by instinct she knew that she had to satisfy his desire, or it would kill her even before it killed him.

She locked her eyes onto his face.

The shock of the separation had made Trip's mind numb. It took several moments before he even realized where he was, but when he did, everything was WRONG. The feeling of loss was impossible to bear, so he gave up his own existence completely and clutched to what little he could feel of T'Pol like an anchor. He felt only what she felt now, and she felt horrible!

He had felt burning desire before, but that had been nothing compared to what T'Pol felt. Something in her had awakened from a 66 year-long sleep, and it was beyond her control. She longed for him so powerfully that the intensity had literally wiped him out completely, he had no more conscious thought. All he knew was that he had to satisfy her desire, or it would kill him even before it killed her.

He looked at her.

When their eyes met, time stood still. In this moment, the 20 centimeters between them were a monstrous distance. It was WRONG. They were separated. They felt nothing but each other's longing to unite, they understood with menace what it meant to be physically unable to survive separation.

In this moment, they were completely naked to each other. They depended on each other to live.

Slowly, ever so slowly leaned Trip towards her face. He could feel her lips separate, he felt her tongue lick over them when she opened her mouth. He tasted the moist, musky taste in her mouth, he felt her tongue reach for him, and when her tongue found his, all the longing was replaced by bliss for a split second. He could feel the sparks of soothing pleasure the tip of his tongue set off when it stroked hers, and it was wonderful. He gasped into her mouth, then inhaled her breath deeply, desperate not to miss any bit of her taste and smell.

But the longing returned even more fiercely than before, and soon their touch became unbearable again, until they broke the kiss and jerked away from each other.

T'Pol stood in flames with his desire, so she simply tore his tunic open, she pressed her hands against his chest and found relief for a split second in the way her hands felt soothing on his skin, she found his bliss while they traveled over his chest muscles, and moved down to explore his stomach. He felt sparks of pleasure while her fingers stroked his abdomen, slowly finding their way downwards to his trousers.

But his desire returned even more fiercely than before, it arose from his groin with anger and overwhelmed any other sensation. Her touch burned him and her at once, and finally she jerked her hands away from the scorching pain.

They stood before each other and panted, but it was impossible. Immediately they fell into each other arms again. Trip lifted T'Pol off her feet, took one step, and just threw himself on the bed together with her. He turned with her still in his arms so that he lay on top of her, and kissed her once more. Then he began to stroke her breasts through the sheer material of her top, and her emotions yelled MORE at him. So he tore her top away and kissed her breasts. For an instant he found bliss when his tongue traveled around and over her right nipple, a shiver of pleasure ran through her body, and it was so wonderful that he groaned in unison with her.

While lying under him, T'Pol wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to the side, rolling on top of him in the same movement. She pushed herself up and sat back on her knees, coming to sit over his legs. Her long fingers opened his belt in a swift motion, as if she had practiced it a thousand times. Within seconds she had opened his trousers and rose to pull them off his legs, then threw them into the room carelessly.

She pulled down her own panties, stepped out of them with one leg, and kicked them somewhere into the room without looking.

Then she knelt down before him and reached for him with her left hand, palm towards him. She waited until he had risen to his knees as well, but when he reached for her hand with his, she leaned herself over backwards and lowered her shoulders to the floor, arching her back before him, all the while keeping her hand slightly out of his reach.

His palm touched hers the same moment he entered her, and the sensation shook her to the core. She clasped his hand with hers despite the scorching heat of his touch, she knew she would not let go again. They were finally one!

T'Pol's presence was wonderful and torturous at the same time. She was warm and feminine, she engulfed him and nurtured him with bliss, she emanated life and pleasure through him, but no matter how wonderful she was, there was never enough of her! Desperately he threw herself into her, his mind and his body thrust into her simultaneously, trying to find to her in the lust and desire that clouded their minds.

Her touch grew hotter and hotter while he struggled with her, the closer he came to her core, the more the heat threatened to turn him to ashes. The desire, the burning reached a point he hadn't thought possible. Through a fog of fire he heard her voice yell his name, and one last time he raced for her, threw himself into her, and finally found her in the midst of the fire. Disregarding the burning he reached for her in his mind, through all the scorching heat they reached for another, and when their palms touched in their minds as well, their minds and bodies interlocked and everything exploded into light around them.

Unfathomable bliss flooded through their bodies and engulfed their minds. While holding on to each other, they experienced joy, laughter, pain, tears, and longing all at once, they lived a life-time of happiness in each other arms while their bodies shook in their embrace.

Utterly exhausted, they collapsed onto another and just lay there in each other's arms.

While he slept in her embrace, T'Pol's mind wandered through the fantasy she had had as a little girl. The myth of T'Mir. She imagined herself lying in the sand of ancient Vulcan, a princess of a clan of warriors. She felt the warmth of the sun on her skin, the rough caress of the sand on her back. She bathed in the raw and essential affection that overwhelmed her when she touched his sleeping face. She was one with the world in profound way, she felt wonderful simply because she was with him.

For an instant she wondered what she would do would someone try to take him away from her. That was what had fascinated her as a child. What must it feel like to be willing to battle for a male? Now she knew.

She had found what T'Mir had found. In a way, she had become like T'Mir. Though she didn't know why, this meant something to her.

Her eyes returned to his face when he stirred in her arms. She knew he was awake now, and she welcomed him with a slow, affectionate kiss.

Trip was one with the world. He hadn't even opened his eyes before she had been there, and his mind jubilated with joy at the realization. For the longest time he kept his eyes shut and simply kissed her. There was no more pleasurable way to wake up than to her presence. He could feel her inside of him. She was everywhere in his mind, she showered him with attention, her spirit was eternally interwoven with his own. And he was one with the world because of it.

Finally he opened his eyes to find himself lying in the Vulcan desert with T'Pol. Nothing but a few rocks were in the vicinity. They were alone. Despite the intense heat from the sun, despite the inhabitable surroundings, this was the most peaceful place he had been at for long, simply because he was here with her.

He didn't need to ask her where they were. It was his fantasy as well as it was hers. They were one.

»You have disturbed my aim.«

»No, fair lady. I didn't do anything, I just looked who was running through the desert.«

»And you disturbed my aim in the process. I have missed my prey because of your interference.«

»Is that right?«

»Yes.«

»Then I apologize.«

»That will not be enough. As it is custom, I will take you as my possession instead of the prey that you cost me.«

»I have never heard of that custom.«

»It is a rare custom.«

»I see. So I am your possession now?

»You are mine.«

»That is gonna be a problem. I am supposed to marry the daughter of my clan's matriarch tomorr—«

»No!«

She sat up on her knees before him and looked at him with intensity.

»She cannot have you.«

»The matriarch is very stubborn.«

She took his right hand with her left, and suddenly they were back in her quarters on the ENTERPRISE. They lay in her bed together, holding each other. Her face was only inches away from his and her eyes looked straight into his, without hesitation, without concealing her true feelings in this moment.

With conviction she repeated her words: »She cannot have you. You belong to me!«

A shiver went through him when he felt her determination. He knew it was the truth. She would fight all of Vulcan with a lirpa for him. And he knew he would do the same for her. Because she was his!

»I want to show you something, T'Pol. A memory of mine.«

»Just think of it. We will share it.«

She felt the surroundings change around her, but his brain worked differently than hers. He could not recall his memories in the precise detail she could, but he could remember feelings along with the moment, he could share his emotions with her in his memories.

She was standing in a boat with him, they were in the midst of a large lake. For an instant she felt panic because of the water around her and sat down. Suddenly the memory felt so real that she even noticed how the boat shook because of her hectic movement, and despite of her best efforts it frightened her.

»Why are you afraid?«

»I cannot swim, Charles. My body is denser than yours, I would sink in the water.«

To her surprise he laughed in response.

»In my fantasy, T'Pol, you can do whatever you like.«

And just to prove his point, he jumped into the water and disappeared under the surface for a long moment.

T'Pol looked after him dumbfounded. He was right! She watched his head reappear a few meters afar from the boat.

»What are you waiting for?«

So she did what she had done more frequently than not when she was around him lately: She followed an impulse and just jumped into the water. She defied everything she knew what had to happen and swam.

»This is incredible, Charles!«

T'Pol was mesmerized by the sensation of floating in the water. She knew it was impossible for her to do, but here she was experiencing it as if it were real! She followed another impulse and laughed out with wonder, before she broke into a frantic attempt to do the crawl. She was certain she knew how to do it, but somehow it was more difficult than he remembered it. She searched his mind for more memories of the movement, she recalled the times when he had been swimming, and slowly but constantly she made progress, until she was indeed swimming gracefully through the water with a speed only possible in fantasies.

It was amazing!

»You wanted to show me the lake?«

They had returned to the boat after a while and had wrapped themselves in large towels together. T'Pol rested with her back against his chest and stretched her neck over backwards before she asked him, so that she could see his face. He kissed her on the brow before he answered.

»No, I wanted to show you something in the opposite direction actually. When I was six years old, a few days before I had to go to school for the first time, I sneaked out of the house late in the evening and went here by bike.«

»This place is close to where you grew up?«

»Yes, perhaps 10 kilometers from where my parents used to live back then. It was summer, a wonderful night, and I rowed out here on the lake alone.«

»What did you do?«

»School was about to begin, and I was very nervous about it. Learning, working, getting grades, all this sounded very intimidating to me back then. So I rowed out on the lake and pretended I was somewhere else. I imagined I wouldn't have to go to school, that I could do whatever I wanted.«

»What did you want to do?«

»It's pretty obvious, just look …«

Carefully he moved himself a bit in the boat and sank backwards along with her in his arms until they both lay flat on their backs. Until they looked at the stars.

The emotions in his memory became more intense, T'Pol could feel what he had felt when he had been here years ago. She could share his dream with him, she could truly be here with him in this moment. She looked at the stars and longed to see strange new worlds, to learn about alien forms of life. Just like he had as a child.

He had whispered the words to himself next to her, but she could hear him no matter how softly he spoke.

»And now the dream has become true ...«

With sudden joy she realized that she was the alien life he had dreamed about, that they were, in fact, in the midst of the stars, that they were living their dreams. Despite all the madness around them, they had found each other. They were together now. They were one. And she could do nothing but turn around and kiss him again.

Her kiss consumed him so entirely that the imagined surroundings just collapsed around them as his focus went out of the window. Suddenly they were on the ENTERPRISE again, they were two naked bodies lying on top of each other in their wedding bed, and they were everything but sated.

The desire in them arose with force once more, but it had changed. It was no longer painful, or threatening, it was the loving, playful passion that was wonderful because it knew it would be fulfilled. This time they truly loved each other in slow deliberate movements. They savored the feeling of the other one's skin on their own and the powerful intimacy of soft kisses. Their intoxicating nakedness drove them even further into each other's embrace, until there was no more distinction between them and they climaxed in each other's arms.

For the better part of the night they played with each other, loved each other, and dreamed together, oblivious to the starship around them. They were in world of their own. They were one.

They had no idea how much time had passed when they shared one last climax before they simply fell asleep on top of each other, completely sated, utterly content with the world. They both smiled in their sleep. Had someone seen them like this, it would have looked as if they knew that a child had been conceived in this night.

Postscriptum

Over the course of two months this story has grown way beyond anything I had imagined when I started writing it, and it feels weird to have it end, well, so »suddenly«. But I realize that 55,000 words are enough. Writing this continued story has really taught me new respect for the people who do this constantly in fan-fiction, and come up with twenty-part epics. I envy your talent and discipline, guys!

I would like to thank all the wonderful people at triptpolers.houseoftucker.com and fanfiction.net for the kind feedback and encouragement. I would have never written this story weren't it for my fellow 'shippers who kept reading what I write. Again, thank you everybody!

Especially to Clicks.

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Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

A whole mess of folks have made comments

Loved this, loved this, LOVED this! And no, it is us who should thank YOU. A good story is a timeless gift and this was so very beautifully written. Ah, be still my aching heart! Ali D :~)
Now I can sleep with a smile on my face

Great story, just loved it!

I hope you decide to write more in the future.

Marvelous story! So when are you going to make it so? The Earth wedding of Trip and T'Pol and especially with her parents there also. I have been waiting for it since Kun-ut Kali-fi.

Oh Peter! I love everything you write. It amazes me how you make a character's secret emotional life; their deepest thoughts, desires and fears; jump right off the page in such great detail. You just have the most wonderful gift. Thank you for such a beautiful story.

It's good to see another one of your storie Peter... you truly have a gift with words which I hope you keep exploring... who knows where it will take you.

I sleep with many grins on my face tonight! I hadn't read this story since the 2nd installment so I got to read it all the way through tonight and ..... WOW! I only wish to be as talented at stories.

What a most wonderful, beautiful and marvellous end - and story!!! Thanks to YOU!

Could you think about a little sequel or two? ;-)))

This is a wonderful conclusion, Peter...I especially love the ending of the lake scene, a wonderful sentiment that manages to keep from cloying. Congrats!

I hope your next project is as successful as this!

It's over ::sniff::.
Great story, I enjoyed every part of it. Some excellent imagery in this part. Loved six year old Trip looking up at the stars.
I don't suppose we'll get a continuation of this story line with your next story? Please? I'd love to see how you portray pregnant T'Pol and I'm-gonna-be-a-father Trip.
Wonderful job!

This is absolutely beautiful! Thank you very much for this story. I couldn't have enjoyed it more! I have chills!

Oh dear, I am so happy that you liked the conclusion. Getting those wonderful reactions made me smile continuously for the last two days! This whole series was really driven by the readers of this site, weren't it for your praise and encouragement, I would have never written anything this long.

Here is what I'll do: I'll write one last part. A grand finale, so to speak. It will be called »The Wedding«. And it will be mad, real mad. Expect nothing to work the way you'd expect it to. :-)

Loved this story! Romantic and extremely well written, well done!

Peter, I´ve just read that you´ll write a last part!! That´s sooo great! Can´t wait for it!!!