False Starts- Ch. 2

False Starts and New Beginnings

By Plumtuckered

Rating: R, Romance, Drama

Chapter Two

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Two days later, Trip sat quietly at his workstation in engineering. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes. A hand on his shoulder startled him and he looked up into the smiling face of Ensign Hoshi Sato. She carefully pushed aside the plasma injector on which he'd been working and set down a cup of coffee.

"I took a wild guess you hadn't had any yet," she said. She sat down on the edge of the workstation, her hands folded in her lap.

"Thanks, Hoshi," sighed Trip as he grabbed the cup. He blew on the hot liquid then took a tentative sip. "Hmmm, just what I needed."

"So Commander, how's it going?" Hoshi asked. Trip knew she wasn't just asking about his work and he felt somewhat irritated by the question. Ever since his return to duty, everyone seemed overly concerned with how he was doing. He had to constantly remind himself that the questions meant his friends were worried about him. They weren't meant to annoy the hell out of him.

"Okay," Trip responded simply. He pulled the plasma injector back in front of him and looked at it intently. Hoshi got the message just as he'd hoped. She stood and turned to leave. "Um, thanks again, Hoshi. I mean it," Trip added. When she looked at him, he grinned at her.

"See you later, Commander," she said and smiled. Hoshi nodded her head as she passed the captain on her way out of engineering. "Good morning, sir."

Trip sighed in frustration as he watched his commanding officer approach. He stood from his chair and walked over to climb the few steps to the console at the warp reactor. He was tired and his head ached from lack of sleep and probably, he surmised, lack of food. He had thrown himself into his work even though the doctor had warned against it. But Trip didn't want the time to think about anything else except his work and he definitely wanted to avoid the captain at all costs. He heard the sound of footsteps on the ladder and he briefly closed his eyes. He felt his body tense.

"Trip," the captain began.

Trip turned around so quickly that the captain started. "What do you need, sir?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. The man was still his commanding officer and he was due respect for his position but that was all, as far as Trip was concerned.

Archer averted his eyes but quickly returned them to look straight at Trip. There was no sign of any anger in them.

"We need to talk."

Trip sighed. "You've already told me where you stand, sir. I don't think there's anything left to say. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get back to work." Trip started to move passed him but Archer grabbed his arm and turned him so they stood face to face.

"I'm sorry, Trip!" he blurted out, still holding Trip's arm. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, sir?" Trip asked.

"Sorry for what?" the captain repeated incredulously. He released Trip's arm and just stared at him.

"Yes, sir. What exactly are you apologizing for?" Trip had him and they both knew it. There were so many occasions when the captain was able to make Trip squirm, that the engineer was reveling in the fact that for once, the tables were turned. He crossed his arms and waited patiently for the response.

The captain shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He turned and grabbed the railing in front of him then leaned forward on it, dropping his head between his shoulders.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" he said, his voice slightly muffled against his chest.

"Yep."

Archer sighed heavily then straightened. He turned and looked at Trip. "I was jealous," he began quietly.

"Did you say jealous, sir?" Trip leaned forward, putting a hand up to cup his ear.

The captain began to laugh now. "Yes, Trip. I was jealous. I'm sorry." They both laughed then became silent for several moments.

"Cap'n, if I'd known you.," Trip began.

"I know, Trip," interrupted the captain softly. "It wouldn't have made a difference, though. She cares about you, not me."

"So what happens now?"

"Well I guess that depends on you and T'Pol." Archer put his elbows on the railing and leaned forward on them. "She isn't a member of Starfleet so I guess technically Starfleet's rules don't apply to her. And I guess we could argue that you're not really her subordinate if the need ever arose. But Trip, you two have to be careful and discreet. If the Vulcan High Command ever found out, they'd take T'Pol off Enterprise in a heartbeat."

Trip turned to the console. "T'Pol and I talked about that. Don't worry; we plan on being very discreet. We're going to take it real slow, you know, get to know each other. We don't even know if this'll work. But we both want to try, Cap'n."

"I am sorry, Trip," the captain said again then he paused. "You know this isn't going to be easy for me."

Trip turned around and smiled at his friend. "I know."

Archer let out a long breath. "So how do you feel about a little exploring tomorrow? You feel up to it?"

"Sure, Cap'n."

"On second thought, you haven't had the best of luck on away missions lately. Maybe you should stay here."

"I'll be with you this time, Cap'n. You never get into trouble," Trip replied with a grin.

The captain shook his head and chuckled lightly. He stood straight and turned to leave. "You know, there is one good thing about all of this. I now have T'Pol to help me keep an eye on you."

Before Trip could respond, Archer was down the steps and headed toward the door.

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T'Pol leaned over and blew out her candle. She felt more relaxed and centered than she had all day. After her conversation with the commander in engineering two days prior, her thoughts had been increasingly unfocused. Now as she sat in the dark of her quarters, she could think rationally about all of the prior events. She was uncertain of the reasons behind the captain's threat to remove Mr. Tucker from Enterprise but she knew him to be a fair man. She trusted him so logic dictated that she trust him now. T'Pol felt an unfamiliar heaviness in her chest. She had been anticipating the chance at developing a relationship with the commander and now that was gone. Perhaps it was for the best. She rose to her feet then turned to the door as the chime sounded.

"Come in," she called. The door slid open to reveal Commander Tucker. He was smiling and T'Pol felt her breath catch. A most illogical response, she thought, but her eyes did not move from his face.

"Evening, T'Pol," he greeted. "Mind if I come in?"

She nodded and he entered her quarters. She noticed he was carrying a mug. He walked over and handed it to her. The cup was warm from the hot liquid within it. She smelled mint and realized it was tea.

"Thank you," she said. She watched him turn her desk chair around. He sat down then looked up at her. The light that filtered in through her view port softly illuminated his face and again, she felt her breath catch. T'Pol moved to her bunk and sat down facing him.

"I missed you, T'Pol," he said softly. "I've hardly seen you."

"You should not have come here, Mr. Tucker."

"The cap'n and I talked, T'Pol. He apologized." The commander leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

T'Pol looked down at the mug she held. "He will not---remove you from Enterprise?"

"No. And he won't stand in our way but he wants us to keep it quiet."

"That is logical," she replied, looking up at him once more. The commander smiled at her.

"So, how about tomorrow night? Dinner at say, 1900 hours?"

"That is an acceptable time, Mr. Tucker."

"Well I better go. The cap'n and I are going down to the planet in the morning. You want to come?"

"I find cold climates unpleasant. I will stay on Enterprise," she said then she paused. "Please refrain from getting into trouble tomorrow, Mr. Tucker. You do not do well on away missions."

He dropped his head and laughed. "I'll do my best."

T'Pol realized what a pleasant sound his laughter was. Another illogical response, she thought. She knew she would need to do further meditation to refocus herself. She rose to her feet as he stood and met him at the door.

"Thank you for the tea."

"You're welcome," he said then paused, looking down at her. "Good night, T'Pol." He took her free hand and gently pressed his lips against the back of it. "I look forward to tomorrow night."

"As do I, Mr. Tucker."

T'Pol watched him leave and as the door slid shut, she turned and crossed the room to her meditation candles.

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"Damn, it's cold, Cap'n," Trip gasped from behind him. Jon turned around to see his engineer burying his hands in the pockets of his parka.

"Too much for you, Commander? Maybe you should have stayed with Malcolm, Travis and the others. T'Pol said the temperatures were slightly warmer in the south."

"Yeah, a whole two degrees warmer," Trip groused good-naturedly.

They had left the shuttle pod in a snow-covered field about thirty minutes ago and had started their ascent up the side of a steep hill, their snow shoes strapped firmly over their boots. The other team, led by Lieutenant Reed, had proceeded several kilometers to the south in a second shuttle pod. Jon sighed, his breath visible in the cold air.

"Enjoy the fact that we're not making first contact with a new species that wants to make you an assassin, Trip. Or for that matter, that you're not getting the crap beat out of you by an angry alien."

"Or that you're not mediating a Vulcan dispute in the middle of a war zone," Trip added.

They continued up the tree-covered hill for another two hours, talking about their other misadventures both recent and past. Jon hadn't laughed so much in a long, long time. Leave it to Trip, he thought with a smile. They both gasped audibly as they finally came to the top. Before them, lay a valley completely blanketed in snow. Jon pulled his goggles away from his eyes so that he could see more clearly. He turned to his friend and grinned. Trip's mouth had dropped open in awe.

"Wow!" he managed. Trip pulled his hands out of his pockets and Jon chuckled when he saw the engineer's camera. Trip just shrugged then proceeded to take several pictures. Together they walked along the crest of the hill for what Jon thought was about a kilometer. Then they sat on a downed tree and ate some protein bars while they both continued to stare out over the breathtaking valley.

"So how you feeling, Cap'n?" Trip asked quietly.

The captain smiled. "I'm fine, Trip. Thanks for asking," he replied. "I still feel a little awkward when I'm around T'Pol, though. Kind of embarrassing, you know?"

"She doesn't know."

"You didn't tell her the real reason I threatened to send you back to Earth?"

"Of course not, Cap'n. And I know she does care for you and she trusts you implicitly."

Jon nodded. That was going to have to be enough, he thought. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes then Jon stood. "You ready to get going?"

"Sure," Trip replied, standing. As they turned to go back, Jon noticed a line of dark clouds forming on the horizon. He pulled out his communicator.

"Archer to Enterprise."

"Enterprise, go ahead Captain," came T'Pol's voice.

"There seems to be a storm brewing, T'Pol. Do you see anything on sensors?"

"Yes, Captain. By my calculations, it is still several kilometers away. We've been monitoring your position. You and the commander should continue your exploration for only another thirty minutes. At that time, I recommend you return to the shuttle pod and depart."

"We'll start heading back now, T'Pol. See you in a few hours. Archer out." Jon tucked his communicator back into his sleeve pocket then turned to his friend. "Time to go home, Trip."

They retraced their tracks along the top of the steep hill to the point of their ascent then carefully started down with Trip taking the lead. The snow was covered with a hard crust so it held firmly as they trudged down. After only about fifteen minutes, a loud growl cut through the silence. Jon looked around, trying to see into the thick line of trees that ran parallel to their current path on both sides.

"That can't be good," he heard Trip whisper in front of him. They had seen evidence of animal life on their way up but had never actually seen anything. Jon saw Trip pull out his phase pistol at the same moment Jon pulled his own. They proceeded down, both of them looking around constantly. Jon wasn't prepared when the creature slammed into his back, sending him flying into Trip. He couldn't stop himself as he tumbled helplessly down the hill. He felt the bone in his right leg snap as his snowshoe caught in the snow. He tried reaching out for anything to stop his fall but nothing held him. When his head hit something solid, his vision blurred then went dark.

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Trip blinked then forced his eyes to stay open. He was still lying against the tree he'd slammed into on his journey down the hill. He could see the first flakes of snow falling and remembered that the storm was approaching. He sat up, gasping in pain. He tried to bring his hand up to touch his ribs but a sharp pain made him stop. He glanced down at his left wrist and knew instantly that it was broken. He was pretty sure that aside from his ribs and his wrist, he was in one piece. Using his right hand, he braced himself against the tree and stood up. He could see the captain several meters below him partially buried in the snow. Fighting to control his fear, Trip made his way slowly down toward the captain. He was mildly surprised to find he still had both snowshoes then said a silent prayer of thanks for that bit of luck. When he reached Archer, he immediately checked for a pulse. He exhaled the breath he was holding when he felt it under his cold fingertips. It was strong. Trip painfully lowered himself to his knees and used his right hand to check his friend's condition. Archer had a deep gash on his forehead and a broken leg but that's all he could determine with such a superficial exam. He looked up at the darkened sky, feeling the snowflakes hit his face. He then looked around, searching for any sign of the creature that had attacked Archer. He saw no movement. Good thing, he thought, realizing suddenly that he'd lost his phase pistol. Trip awkwardly fumbled at the zipper of his arm pocket, finally pulling out his communicator.

"Tucker to Enterprise."

His only reply was static. Trip closed his eyes and chuckled bitterly. Yep, his bad luck streak was still intact.

"Tucker to Enterprise," he tried again. He cursed then tried to hail the ship a third time, again with no response. He angrily shoved his communicator in his right hip pocket of his parka then looked up at the sky again. It was getting darker and the snow was falling harder. He looked down the hill and cursed again when he saw how far they still had to go. He could barely see the shuttle pod in the distance. Trip leaned forward and gently patted Archer's cheek with the back of his hand.

"Cap'n. Come on, Cap'n. You need to wake up now," he urged. Archer moaned but showed no other sign of consciousness. Trip knew he needed to get his friend to the shelter and warmth of the shuttle as quickly as possible so he quickly removed the captain's remaining snowshoe. Then he got to his feet and moved to a position over Archer's head. After several tries, he managed to get a firm hold on the captain's collar behind his head with his right hand. He pulled using all of his weight and, stumbling backwards, he dragged his friend down the steep slope. He had to bend over to keep the captain fairly level so his side ached constantly. Otherwise, except for a couple painful falls, the going was fairly easy. When the ground leveled out, it became much more difficult as Archer's body would sink into the fresh snow.

After two hours, Trip took a brief rest and turned to where he remembered the shuttle pod to be. He could no longer see the light colored pod since the light snowfall had rapidly turned into a blizzard, but he could still make out the tree line. He reached down and grasped Archer's collar again and pulled, making sure he stayed parallel to the trees as he stumbled along. Trip struggled to keep control of his fear. A loud moan made him stop. He looked down to see the captain staring up at him.

"Trip?"

"You're gonna be okay, Cap'n. I'll get you back to the shuttle pod."

"Can't even see," Archer managed.

"I know where it is," Trip said hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt. "Who was it who reminded me a few months back about taking a good look at your surroundings? Oh, yeah. It was you." He suddenly gasped in pain as his ribs protested his movement.

"You're hurt."

"Nah, I'm fine, Cap'n."

They chatted off and on as Trip continued to haul Archer through the deepening snow, hoping with everything in him that he was headed toward the pod.

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"Enterprise to Captain Archer. Commander Tucker, do you read me?" Hoshi tried again. She turned to Sub-Commander T'Pol and shook her head. "No response."

"Keep trying, Ensign," the Vulcan responded evenly.

"The storm is creating the interference and it seems to be getting worse, Sub-Commander," said Lieutenant Reed from his station. "I can't read their bio-signs anymore." He was still dressed in his cold weather gear, as was Travis. Hoshi remembered her relief when the second pod had returned safely to Enterprise's launch bay only an hour ago. Now all she needed to know was that the captain and the commander were also safe. She continued in her attempts to hail them. Occasionally she would glance over at the science officer who sat straight and tall in the captain's chair. The Vulcan's face remained impassive but Hoshi could sense her concern for the missing officers.

"Should I take Shuttlepod Two back down, Sub-Commander?" asked Travis. "We do know where the other pod landed."

"Without sensors, Ensign, you'd have to rely on visual only. I doubt you could see much through the blizzard."

"I'd be willing to..," Travis began.

"Tucker to Enterprise," came the voice through the comm.

The sub-commander stood immediately and nodded at Hoshi to open the line. Hoshi hit the button and sighed in relief.

"Enterprise. Commander, are you and the captain all right?"

"Cap'n's a bit worse for wear, but I think he'll live. Probably should have Dr. Phlox waiting in the launch bay, though."

"They've just cleared the atmosphere, Sub-Commander," reported Reed. Hoshi saw the relief written clearly across the armory officer's face.

The Vulcan nodded. "Are you all right, Commander?" she asked. Hoshi detected a slight softening of her voice and she turned to cast a glance at the other woman. The sub-commander met her eyes only for a second then returned them to the front view screen.

"I'm okay, Sub-Commander," came the reply. Hoshi detected the same softer tone in the commander's voice as well. She looked down at her console and smiled.

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T'Pol and Lieutenant Reed entered the launch bay just behind the medical team. As they approached the shuttle, T'Pol saw the hatch open. She inhaled her breath then released it as she saw Commander Tucker step out. He moved awkwardly, his left hand held against his abdomen. He seemed to search her out and when his eyes settled on her face, he smiled.

As Dr. Phlox and the medics entered the pod, T'Pol and Reed moved to either side of the engineer.

"I think I'll just stay on the ship for the rest of our mission," muttered the commander. He grimaced when Reed grabbed his right arm.

"A most logical decision, Commander," replied T'Pol. She received what she interpreted to be a dirty look from the engineer, but she saw no anger behind it. She looked carefully at his face. He appeared strained and tired, but otherwise well.

"I'm okay, T'Pol," he said quietly looking back at her.

Dr. Phlox came out of the shuttle pod and moved to Commander Tucker. "I should set up a permanent bed for you in sickbay, Mr. Tucker," he said with a smile as he ran his scans.

"Very funny, Doc. How's the cap'n?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. A broken leg and a concussion and some other bumps and bruises but he'll recover."

"How is the commander, Doctor?" asked Reed.

"Broken wrist, two cracked ribs," the Denobulan began, his eyes studying his scanner. "I'm happy to report that he'll live, Lieutenant."

They all turned their attention to the stretcher that was being carefully taken off the shuttle. T'Pol looked down at her captain and noted the look of extreme agitation on his face. She knew he was a proud man and assumed that being carried off on a stretcher was the cause of his mood.

"Lieutenant Reed and I will help you to sickbay, Commander," she said, turning her attention back to the engineer.

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