Tucker Me Slowly- Ch 2

Tucker Me Slowly

By Rocky Lane

Disclaimer: The Usual. I own nothing.
Credits: Numerous writers on these boards who are too many to mention. I have pirated different ideas and approaches from all of you. This is all for my amusement and hopefully yours as well. Merry Christmas!
Summary: This is Pre-Harbinger. Minor spoilers for Similitude and very minor spoilers for a host of other Enterprise episodes over the last 2 ½ years. Anyways, my purpose in writing these short POV pieces is not to try and spoil the upcoming “Harbinger” episode in February. We all know the rumors that in that episode, Trip and T’Pol are to get together and that Trip is to become “involved” with a MACO named Amanda Cole. The Trip/T’Pol/Cole storyline for Harbinger is a “C” storyline. Thus, I fear that it may not get much air time. Consequently, I am trying to “fill in the blanks” ahead of time. Below is Trip’s POV and his first meeting with Amanda. I know that some of you want me to write a Trip/T’Pol scene of their next neuro-pressure session together…..but I think it would be better to wait until February and let Manny Coto (writer of “Harbinger”) play with that. Of course, if I get big enough demands for it (or really bored), I might change my mind.

Chapter 2

Trip’s Dilemma

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I can’t sleep.

And it’s not because the Neuro-pressure doesn’t work. Cause it does. But every bloody time I close my eyes all I see are gorgeous brown eyes surrounded by flawless skin held together by pointed ears.

God she’s beautiful.

Can’t believe it took me 3 years to notice. Guess I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

I should just tell her. Be honest with her.

Yeah, right. Good one Trip ‘ole boy, and then she can inform you of the ‘inappropriateness’ of intimate relations between ship personnel in the midst of the most significant mission in Earth’s history.

Course she might just tell me I stink. Politely of course. Something to the effect of “negative impact on olfactory senses…” probably.

On the other hand, she did tell me awhile back that she has grown accustomed to human scent. Even stopped using her nasal inhibitors.

It’s a start I suppose.

Prior to this Xindi mess, I thought she was one of the most difficult people to talk to. She’d spend more time replyin’ to my questions by raising her eyebrows, than actually givin’ me a straight answer. Drove me crazy. Which only made me want to return the favor.

She only spoke when spoken to an’ only started a conversation if there specific reason to do so. She told me more than once

‘Small talk’, as you call it Commander is a pointless endeavor. A waste of both time and effort. An illogical and frivolous pursuit adding nothing of substance to effective communication.

In hindsight, it’s ironic. For someone who was so critical of “small talk”, she’s become quite adept at practicing it. At least where I’m concerned.

I swear, while she would never admit it, I know she relished some of those times when we were at each other’s throat arguing over lord knows what. Sometimes, she would move her face within just inches of mine and glare at me with those baby browns…stoically challenging me to respond. Which I did, in my usual sarcastic manner.

And with my baby blues glaring right back at her.

I could always tell when she was most frustrated with me by her nostrils. Very small yet so revealing. Each nostril would take turns flaring, in unison with each and every syllable that spilled from her mouth. I doubt anyone else noticed. But I did. Even went so far as to tell her one time.

“Careful Sub-Commander, all that pressure on your nose might disrupt your nasal inhibitors. I’d hate for ya to lose yet another argument and smell me all at the same time.”

It made my day when I won an argument with her. I could always tell when I won ‘cause instead of a verbal reply, she would provide to me her signature right eyebrow raise coupled with a slight tilt of her head to her right.

And for those arguments she won she would reclasp her hands behind her back, raise her head triumphantly, turn her back to me and almost always leave the room stating simply

“Commander.”

I‘d be lyin’ if I said it didn’t sometimes turn me on. Hell, Vulcan or not, she’s a helluva woman. But she always had this underlyin base of condescension in her tone whenever she argued with me. Or at least, that’s how I saw it.

Even now, despite all that has happened and how we both have changed, I still feel a need to impress her. To get some kind of reaction out of her.

But a reaction of a decidedly different kind than I’ve sought in the past.

Like the peaches. I got her peaches awhile back to thank her for helping me with Neuro-pressure sessions. And I swear that after the one bite she had….she was that close to uttering a verbal indication of ‘pleasure’. I saw it in her eyes. Ultimately I had to settle for both her eyebrows being raised. But it was something anyway.

I wonder what she would think of me if she knew how much effort I have made lately trying to invoke small emotional responses from her. I know that she experiences emotion. I can sense it. Sometimes I actually imagine I see a smile or a grin beneath that flawless mask of hers.

Why is it so important to me to see her get emotional? I don’t want to harm her. I know that uncontrolled emotional expression for a Vulcan can be dangerous. I just want to see a little bit leak out now and then. I guess I want to know that I can have that effect on her.

Me. Nobody else. The thought of penetrating that gorgeous Vulcan resolve is so… intoxicatin’. Easy Trip.

‘Tucker down’.

I am attracted to her. I do want more, but I’m not sure what ‘more’ means where T’Pol and I are concerned.

How do two people engage in an intimate relationship without expressing emotion? Hell, why would anyone want to?

Surely there’s got to be some level of emotional interaction. Rather than suppressing all emotion, what would be the harm in letting a little of it out once in a while…..just to see how it feels. Just to let me know that she feels the same things I do, if only for a moment …before whatever built in Vulcan defense mechanism she has covers it up and hides it away.

It’s not that T’Pol hasn’t tried before. Sort of. The truth is that she has not had good experiences opening herself up to people. She tried with Tolaris and he mind-raped her.

Bastard.

And to top it off, he left her a reminder of the trauma.

Pan'aar Syndrome.

The Doc says there’s no cure, but it’s treatable. In fact, he tells me that my neuro-pressure sessions with T’Pol should actually do her some good in alleviating some of her symptoms.

I hope so. I’ve done my best….. but I don’t really know if I’m helping. The most T’Pol’s ever told me is that my technique’s ‘adequate’ or ‘acceptable’ given my level of skill.

Great. I dream about her and resist the temptation to storm into her room every night and ravish her….

And she finds me ‘adequate’.

‘acceptable’.

What are the odds that ‘adequate’ is the equivalent of ‘orgasmic’ in Vulcan?

Slim or none I would imagine.

Slim.

Sim.

I haven’t thought about him in awhile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Captain told me the most about him. Sim’s sacrifice really affected him.

“He was so much like you Trip. Too much like you.”

He told me that he had all of my memories and recalled many of my childhood experiences with him. Apparently many feelings as well.

This concerned me at first. I was afraid that maybe Sim revealed too much.

Or told certain people inappropriate things.

Like T’Pol. Specifically how I felt about her. I find it really hard to believe that Sim would remember an old family pet but not my feelin’s for her. But apparently he didn’t.

During our first Neuro-pressure session after Sim’s funeral, I asked T’Pol about him, but she didn’t say much. She told me that he possessed many of my more admirable qualities exemplified by his shuttlepod theory which ended up savin’ the ship by towing it to safety.

“His sacrifice will not be forgotten.” she said.

I tried to get more information from her but apparently she did not interact much with Sim. She tells me he spent most of his last few days in Engineering where he was the most comfortable.

I should be relieved. But part of me regrets that Sim didn’t tell her something. Maybe its cowardly of me, but at least if Sim professed some affection for her, it would save me the time of having to find out myself.

And only embarrass myself.

Maybe even ruin our friendship.

I mean if she had no feelin’s for my exact copy….who just happened to die a hero and loved by the whole ship…. What’s the likelihood that she would have feelin’s for me?

I need to talk to her. Let T’Pol know that I see her as potentially more than friend. One way or another, I have to deal with this. If T’Pol confirms what I think she will…that extending the boundaries of our relationship is inappropriate….. I can move on.

I won’t like it. It will kill me inside. But I’ll move on.

I got over Ruby. I got over Natalie. I can get over T’Pol. Course it would take a thousand Ruby’s and couple hundred Nat’s to even compare to T’Pol…. but I’ll cope.

Cope.

Cole.

Amanda Cole. Sassy little Maco I’ll give her that.

Bumped right in to me in the cafeteria while I was getting my daily piece of Pecan pie.

On purpose to, I think.

“Excuse me Commander, but I believe that is MY piece of pie!” she says.

And proceeds to promptly take the piece right off my plate, turn her back to me, walk away, sit herself down and start eatin'.

My pie. The last piece of pecan pie!

Her arrogance astounded me. If not for the rounded shape of her ears, I woulda sworn another Vulcan was smuggled aboard without my knowledge.

Anyway, I wasn’t about to take that kind of behavior lyin’ down so I had to react.

“‘Scuse me Ma’am. I don’t know what they taught you back home, but on this ship, it’s not considered to neighborly to steal dessert from a starving man….especially the one who runs the engines.”

She turns around at looks at me as if she was expecting my response and just smiles at me. A beautiful smile. < I wonder what that smile would look like on T’Pol? >

So I get up close and with a steady glare say

“Tell ya what. Ya give me what’s left of my pie back and I won’t give you a piece of ma mind.”

She stands right up. Raises her eyes to my level and replies “Why Commander, I wouldn’t want to take the last piece.”

“Very funny,” I say, “now hand it over.”

In one steady and graceful motion, her right arm swings behind her, scoops up the plate of pecan pie, and then promptly travels back, finally coming to rest inches from my nose. All the while, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Where I come from Commander ‘ it’s not considered to neighborly’ to expect a ‘piece’ from a girl… without formal introduction.”

Between the beautiful smile, quick-wit and self-confidence, I hafta admit, she almost made me forget I was hungry.

“Commander Charles Tucker the Third, at your service. My friends call me ‘Trip’.”

“Corporal Amanda Cole. Feel free to call me Amanda.”

She invited me to sit with her and I did. I shared the pie with her. Was the least I could do. Ends up that she has an obsession for nuts. Peanuts, walnuts, peanut butter…. And, of course, pecan pie.

I feel so relaxed talking to Amanda. So easy going. And she really seems to like me. I was getting a vibe off her. You know, the kind a guy gets from a girl when he knows that she’s interested. It’s a nice feeling. It's been such a long time since I remember having such a feeling.

Ever since the Xindi attack on Earth, I’ve been so wound up that I’ve never really thought bout’a social life.

I mean, there’s T’Pol, but…

T’Pol’s … well…she’s T’Pol. Not that I don’t get vibes from her. Fact is, I get strong vibes from her. But with T’Pol I just don’t know if I can really trust my instincts. ‘Sides, if she was interested, she’d tell me. Wouldn’t she?

We end up talking for two hours. I actually have Lieutenant Hess cover for me in Engineering just so I can prolong our talk. I felt like a kid who found a new toy in his closet that he never knew was there. I couldn’t believe that this woman was on Enterprise for over 6 months and this was the first time I talked to her.

Course, I ‘vet been through a lot. Stayin’ busy, focused on the engines.

< and T’Pol >

Amanda is so wonderfully open-minded. Her excitement of being on Enterprise is evident. And her zeal in going after the Xindi is equal to mine. Two of her uncles along with 5 nieces and nephews were among the 7 million lives taken by the Xindi probe.

If anyone had a motivation to be on this mission, it’s her. Yet she doesn’t appear obsessive about it. Through it all she seems to have maintained a sense of perspective.

I realize that I envy that about Amanda and I tell her so.

I also tell her how I agonized and lost my perspective after Lizzie’s death. And how I would still be lost if not for T’Pol and the neuro-pressure sessions.

That seemed to intrigue her.

She asked me if I would consider showing her some neuro-pressure techniques. I told her that I wasn’t an expert and that it was probably a bad idea. But she pleaded. Said that Lieutenant Hayes was really pushing her unit hard and anything that could maximize her REM sleep was a good thing.

Course with the thought of seein' her in her skivvies in my head, she didn’t really have to do all that much pleadin’.

She kissed me.

The neuro-pressure session ended great. We talked. We laughed. And the session ended with a kiss.

I liked it.

< why couldn’t T’Pol end our sessions the same way? >

I think I could get to really like Amanda. It’s nice to have a girl express an open interest in me. Not always leave me wonderin’ what’s goin’ on in her head.

Oh boy.

Doc says I screwed up. Musta pushed on the wrong vertebrae or somethin’. Gave Amanda a headache. He told me that T’Pol ‘s agreed to have a session with her and undo the damage.

T’Pol and Amanda in the same room. Together, near naked…touching each other.

Easy Trip. ‘Tucker down.’

What if Amanda tells T’Pol about our kiss?

Aw, who am I kiddin'. She probably doesn’t care anyway. But what if she does? It’s not like I cheated on her.

Is it wrong for me to want her to find out? To be jealous? To envy more than just the ability to dream… but actually envy another woman in my company?

I can’t go on like this. It’s ridiculous. One way or another, I have to confront T’Pol. Let her know how I feel about her. And see where that takes us. I owe it to myself and I owe it to T’Pol to be honest with her. And of course Amanda. I already got a rep for always screwin’ up my social life……..no use addin’ fuel to the fire.

‘Tucker up’ Trip.

Well, that’s the end of Chapter 2. I think maybe I’ll try Amanda’s POV next. Please let me know what you all think. Reviews are welcome.

Continue to Chapter 3

Return to Chapter 1

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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

I like it. Could we hear about the T/T-"confrontation" after Amanda´s POV???

I liked it! I'd like to see the T'Pol/Amanda neuropressure scene...though not like how Trip wants to see it. LOL

I like! Amanda is such a bimbo!

I love this, it's really cool and this is at least more to the storyline considering... it's a great story! I love it! I like the idea of doing Amanda next... let's get her thinking. I'm worried that when Trip and T'Pol get together it might affect her and make things awkward... are you going to do an after affect like thing?

Good job. I'm looking forward to the Amanda POV.

I think this is great, true to the characters and with just the right touch of Trip angst. Excellent job.:)

I love this. Please continue. :)

I love! Can T'Pol send Amanda bye bye through the docking port....but no ship? :)

out the airlock! that's what I meant to say instead of docking port :)

I haven't gotten a chance to read this story until now and I'm loving it!!! I'd love more! This is a great story, so when's the next one???

I love this! You're doing a great job getting into the heads of these characters. I can't wait to see what you do with Amanda, and if you'll give us some kind of resolution in this story or just leave us with their problem. :D Great job!

Well written! Loved it!

Thanks for the kind reviews guys. I am on holidays right now and so I won't be able to post Amanda's POV until the first week of January.

Absolutely fantastic! I'm primarily reviewing T'Pol's POV, because that just blew me away. It works perfectly with the way I've always thought of her, and you've captured her so well! Makes me a tad jealous, to be completely honest. And Trip's POV was just as good. I can see how the poor guy is caught between two women. I can't wait for Amanda's POV, but I also would love to see a little scene between T and T.

i don't like this Amanda already! LOL! but good story!