Alternatives 5

Alternatives

By Samantha Quinn

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: As it turns out, I lied. I am finishing this fic after all. But I warn you all, I don’t live in the Noodleverse. Thus, pay attention to the genre.

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Chapter 5: Very Late For a Very Important Date

It was impossible, of course. Regardless of what Chancellor Lorne believed his technology to be capable of, there was no way that T’Pol was standing right here in front of him. It was an enjoyable delusion to be sure, but a delusion all the same.

Apparently, Trip wasn’t the only person having trouble believing his eyes. T’Pol blinked hers twice, the only demonstration of surprise that a Vulcan would allow herself. If Trip hadn’t known her better than anyone - including her husband, he thought bitterly - he might never have noticed. For as soon as the surprised expression came, it went. It was odd, Trip supposed, that he should derive so much reassurance from T’Pol’s “calm” expression. It had always reassured him that all was okay, or was going to be. That reassurance had only grown in The Expanse. The thought had occurred more than once to Trip since the wedding that he’d never see that expression ever again, and conversely, he’d never be that contented ever again. Strange that it would bring him such comfort even now, in the midst of a delusion. Irregardless, it did, so Trip enjoyed it while waiting for Not Really Here T’Pol to speak.

“You’re awake,” she stated, in the same fashion that someone might have said warp seven was slow.

Awake? “Well, I don’t know about that,” he answered honestly. Dreams were better than delusions, but why hadn’t he noticed before now that he was lying in a bed? He could have sworn he’d been standing only a minute ago.

“The doctors were beginning to lose hope.”

Doctors? For the first time, Trip took a good look at his surroundings. It was something he should have done earlier, and he cursed himself silently for not having done so. On the other hand, it proved he had been correct in his decision to leave Enterprise. If a delusion of T’Pol could distract him from doing his job so well, Trip shuddered to think what the real deal could do.

And he shuddered in a . . . hospital bed? Well, that explained why he was lying down, and what had happened to his uniform at least. What kind of delusion was this?

“I didn’t want to believe them, but it was growing increasingly difficult to maintain optimism when you had been in a coma for so long.”

“Coma? How’d I end up in a coma?”

T’Pol tilted her head and laced her hands behind her back. “Phlox believed there might be mild amnesia and some disorientation when you awoke.”
“Oh, I’m a bit disoriented all right. But my memory is just fine.”

“What is the last thing you recall?”

Trip swung his legs over the side of the bed and was rewarded for his efforts with a sharp pain that ran from temple to temple.

“Ow.” Automatically, Trip’s hand went to his head, and before the pain had even stopped, T’Pol was sitting on the bed beside him. Her Vulcan grip held his shoulders tightly giving him strength he didn’t posses himself.

There was no way he was hallucinating that. The pain was too sharp for it to be a figment of his imagination. Theoretically, if he wasn’t imagining his pain, then maybe he wasn’t imagining the woman sitting beside him.

“T’Pol, what’s going on her? The last thing I remember I was standing in the Science Center with Chancellor Lorne.”

She didn’t remove her hands from his shoulders as she spoke. “Three weeks ago, you were on a diplomatic mission to Valis Two when-“

“A diplomatic mission? No, it was just a regular exploration mission.”

“It was a diplomatic mission,” she said firmly, “And you along with Chancellor Lorne were ambushed by the Klingons.”

“There weren’t any Klingons on Valis Two. And the Chancellor pushed some type of button . .”

“His attempts to activate the shield generator were unsuccessful. He didn’t survive, and if it had not been for Commander Reed’s efforts, you might not have either.”

Her voice was as thick here as it had been when she had told him of her intentions to marry Koss. It was almost enough to distract him. “Malcolm didn’t receive a promotion. Lord knows he deserved one, but what was Enterprise doing near Valis Two? When I left for Sputnik, she was still in space dock. And if I’ve been in a coma for three weeks, what are you still doing here? The Captain would need you back on the Bridge by now.”

T’Pol’s hands dropped from his shoulders. There was a pause, in which T’Pol stood. The long robes she wore, a shade darker than her ceremonial wedding garb, swished across the floor as T’Pol crossed the room and stared out the window. That didn’t make any sense either. If what she was saying was true, if he had passed out in the Science Center, then why wasn’t she in uniform? Absently, Trip thought that he had never seen T’Pol wear such loose fitting clothes before. He shrugged it away as insignificant. “T’Pol?”

T’Pol remained staring out the window for a minute. All Trip could see was her back, but it was easy to tell that she was repressing some heavy duty emotions. Although Trip was very confused, and not entirely convinced this T’Pol was real, he still felt bad for causing her such discomfort.

“T’Pol, look-“

“What year do you believe it to be?”

“Year? It’s 2154.”

T’Pol’s hands reached forward and grabbed the bottom of the windowsill. It was enough of a reaction to let Trip know that was the wrong answer. It frustrated him, to say the least.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here. At first, I thought you were some kind of delusion. Now. . . now I don’t know. Delusions aren’t usually this detailed and they don’t usually come with smells-“

T’Pol turned back around to glare at him. Or at least, her Vulcan version of the same. “Are you implying I have an unpleasant body odor?”

“No! No. . . you smell nice, T’Pol. You always do. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on here.”

“I have already told you. You were captured by the Klingons and tortured. By the time we found you, you had slipped into a coma. I have been waiting the past three weeks for you to wake up.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. I was just standing next to the Chancellor.”

“After all that you have experienced in your travels, why do you find this so difficult to believe?”

Admittedly, his temper caught up with him. “You want to know why, I’ll tell you: there weren’t any Klingons on Valis Two; Malcolm isn’t a Commander; if I had been in a coma, you certainly wouldn’t have held a vigil because you would still be on your honeymoon; and most importantly, because Chancellor Lorne told me he was sending me somewhere.”

“You were transported to -“

“No. There has to be some sort of explanation. Preferably a reasonable one.”

But there wasn’t a “reasonable” one readily forthcoming. Chancellor Lorne had spoken as though . . .

Actually, Trip couldn’t remember exactly what the Chancellor had said. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that the other man had said something that made this whole situation not make any sense. Something about another planet . . .

“Ah’len!” he said with more than a degree of smugness.

That was an honest to goodness glare. “Ah’len?”

“Yes. When I was on her ship, the Xyrillians had some sort of holographic program. The Valisians could have had one, too. That’s what Chancellor Lorne could have been talking about.”

T’Pol almost looked amused. “First you believe me to be a delusion, now you believe me to be a hologram?’

“Well. . . yeah.”

“In either scenario, I am not real. If you truly believe that to be the case, then why are you still talking to me?”

Because I missed you. “I don’t know. I guess because I was lonely. Or because I missed arguing with you. The real you, that is.”

Her expression softened. “Trip-“

Trip cleared his throat and purposely averted his gaze back to stare out of the window. The view looked suspiciously like the one in San Francisco. Which, of course, also didn’t make any sense. Valis Two was light years away from Earth. Even if what T’Pol was saying was true, they wouldn’t have brought him all the way back to Earth.

“Besides, if I’ve been in a coma, where the hell are all the doctors? Shouldn’t they have come immediately if I’ve been out of it for three weeks?”

“Right here, actually,” chimed the familiar voice of Dr. Phlox. “I’ve been waiting for you two lovebirds to finish your little chat before I interrupt?”

“Lovebirds?” Trip questioned.

“I believe we’re through for now, Doctor. My . . . condition requires immediate meditation.” Trip watched her go and then turned his attention to Phlox.

“It’s certainly good to have you back, Captain,” the physician said cheerfully as he began running a medical scanner over Trip’s head.

“Well, I’d like to return the sentiment, Doc, but I honestly can’t.”

“Ah, yes. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I did here snippets of your conversation with T’Pol. It appears that your side effects are a bit more severe than I imagined.”

Trip shook his head and tried to concentrate on what exactly Chancellor Lorne had said. It was important, he was sure. He was again rewarded with another of blinding headache. “Dammit. Those headaches are almost enough to make me believe I had been in a coma.”

The slight buzz of Phlox’s scanner near his ear only served to aggravate his already pounding head. If none of this was real, it was certainly a very impressive hologram. Or delusion. If it was the former, Trip was definitely going to have to congratulate Chancellor Lorne.

“Hmm. I don’t see anything that should be causing either the severe memory loss or the headaches. I’ll need you to lie down while I run some tests.”

A nagging part of Trip’s brain told him that he shouldn’t. After all, he was a captain now. He needed to get out of this room and find his way back to Valis Two. Something wasn’t right. Trip tried to remember the exact last words the Chancellor had said to him, but the other man’s words were not only vague, they kept scrambling together to say something different each time Trip tried to remember them. The more Trip concentrated, the more his head hurt. Hopefully delusional holographic Phlox would be able to treat him as well as the real deal. Otherwise, he’d never get back home. Thus, despite his misgivings, he leaned back on the bed and watched Phlox disappear into an office that Trip hadn’t noticed until just a minute ago.

Chapter 6

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Intriguing. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

Glad you're finishing this although the warning gives me pause. So far, it's very nice...

Hmmmmmm, very interesting! I'm definitely hooked.

Yay, yay, yay!! You're finishing it! ...Though, that warning somewhat frightens me. Oh, well. I'm just overly thrilled that you're going to finish it. :D

Great writing, as always!

I am very excited that you're finishing this. Though, I too am concerned about your warning.

Is this a "glimpse" I wonder, a la "The Family Man"... If so, very intriguing indeed!

YAY!!! Double Yay!!! TRIPLE YAY!!! I can't tell you how happy I am to see this story back! I was so disappointed when you said you weren't going to continue it. I was getting really involved. But now, all I can say is YAY!!!. Also, I don't mind your warning ;-), I'm just happy you're writing. Thank you Sam. Very intriguing chapter. Can't wait for the next.

okay that just took a turn I didn't expect but let's see where it goes shall we...

the first time i read the bit with Pholx saying goodby to trip i sobbed... this time too.... lovely bit.

continue promptly please.

Quite intriguing, I'm curious as to where you want to go with that...

Hmmm... T'Pol in loosefitting clothes.... "Lovebirds"? Exactly how many years has it been? Could our favorite Vulcan be PREGNANT? If so... in view of your warning... who is the father? This is just getting curiouser and curiouser. I know you're not in the noodleverse here, but this IS a TnT site... so maybe you could have a little mercy? Please?

WHOA! That was a sharp left turn ... Hmmm .... can't wait to see where you take this!

"Condition", eh? (Wink wink, hint hint, nudge nudge) This looks promising, and quite the different direction than we're first led to believe. Can't wait for more! :)

I can't tell you how happy I am to see your writing again, Samantha! Very interesting and, as always, spectacularly written!