Can't Fight Destiny

THE MOVIE NIGHT SERIES

Can't Fight Destiny

By stub&Joe

DATE: 10-22-03

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Again? *sigh* All right, they're not ours. We're not making money from this. We're just having fun. Yada yada yada.

SUMMARY: The next entry in the Movie Night Series

AUTHORS' NOTES: Sorry it's taken so long. We may be a little rusty at this yet. Joe and stub have determined our Muses pulled a Thelma and Louise on us and were out carousing in the desert in an old beat up convertible. Obviously they haven't thrown themselves over a cliff yet, but we were wondering….

***

"Really?" He turned to his companion.

"Really," she responded.

"Hmm," he scratched his head. "For some reason I thought you'd appreciate that one," said Commander Tucker as he made his way down the corridor with Sub-Commander T'Pol. Movie night had recently been reinstated and due to the circumstances Enterprise found herself in, Tucker had determined a comedy was in order to lighten the morale a bit.

"A parody of 'Frankenstein'?" queried the Vulcan. "I see no humor in persecution." She frowned.

Tucker sighed. "It's not the subject matter that was bein' poked fun at. It was the movie itself. It was also a tribute to all those old monster movies."

They approached her quarters and she keyed the lock. The doors swept open and she strode inside. The commander followed.

"How is making fun of a movie considered a tribute?" asked T'Pol.

"It's the way the director made 'em," Trip explained. “Mel Brooks made a whole career out of pokin’ fun at other types of film. Maybe sometime I’ll show ‘Blazing Saddles’ which makes fun of westerns or, better yet, ‘Spaceballs’ which kinda’ makes fun of space movies.”

"I see," replied T'Pol. "And even though the director is 'poking fun' at the source material, you still consider it a tribute?"

"Sure! Because the writer made a story of it instead of just makin' an old tale funny," Trip tried to explain as he perched on the edge of her desk. "Frederick was destined to create that monster his grandfather tried to make years before. If you take out the comedy, it had a solid foundation as a real story. Sometimes you can't fight destiny."

"Frederick fulfilling his destiny," T'Pol repeated thoughtfully. She sat on her bed.

"Vulcans don't believe in destiny, do they?"

Her eyes flicked up to his. "Do all humans believe in it?"

Trip thought for a moment. "No, I suppose not." He pointed to himself. "But this human does. I guess I've always had some romantic notion that I'm here for a reason. Even as a kid, I'd run around and pretend I was savin' the world." He paused and looked down. "Kinda ironic that it could be quite literal now." His voice trailed off and he stared out the window.

T'Pol could sense his mood darkening. She felt no need to go down that road tonight. She needed to bring this conversation back to what he loved to discuss: the movie at hand.

"I did not understand most of the humor," admitted T'Pol. It seemed to startle the commander out of his thoughts.

He waved a hand. "It was mostly juvenile stuff," he said quietly, his gaze drifting from the window to her.

"Why do adults find that brand of humor funny then?"

Trip tossed a shoulder up in a half shrug. "Dunno. I guess sometimes potty humor is needed. It can be funny if it's not done to death."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "Potty humor?"

"Yeah, a few dick jokes here, a couple boob jokes there," he replied. "Before you get any ideas to the contrary, just because grown, mature adults laugh at that stuff doesn't mean we'd ever stoop to use it in real life. It's all about entertainment."

"I would never think anything of the sort, Commander," said T'Pol. His mood seemed to be lifting.

Trip looked at her and smiled. "Well good. And for the record, I'd never say you had nice knockers, even if you did."

He received another eyebrow. Trip laughed. "It's a boob joke. Like in the movie."

At her blank expression, he forged on. "Your breasts are far too perfect for such a derogatory term."

A moment passed before Trip realized what he'd just said. "Oh…uh, I mean…not that I'd know…I mean, I do know, from the neuropressure sessions and…uh, not that I was lookin' but I couldn't help it…ah hell-"

Trip ran a nervous hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm sorry," he said simply. "I'm not tryin' to offend you, I swear." His face began to turn a deep crimson.

T'Pol cocked her head and gazed at him. "I'm a Vulcan. I do not get offended easily."

Trip nodded. "Right." He was unable to meet her eyes. "Exactly."

"You were complimenting me, were you not?"

This time Trip did look at her. "Well…yeah. But I didn't mean to make it sound so crass and…sexual." Some color began to drain from his cheeks.

"I was not offended." T'Pol sat on her bed, her gaze never wavering.

"I'm glad, T'Pol, but I'm still kinda embarrassed about sayin' it to begin with." Would he have admitted that three months ago? Somehow Trip didn't think so.

"Why?"

What was with her tonight?

"Comments like that are reserved for good friends," Trip explained. "Or lovers," he added quietly.

T'Pol rose from her seat on her bed and crossed the room to his side. "Are we not friends?"

"Well, yeah…"

"And did you not kiss me once?"

Trip's face flushed again at the memory of this. "That was…forever ago, T'Pol. Things are different now." He stared at his hands clenched in his lap.

"Yes, they are different," replied T'Pol quietly. She reached out and lifted his chin with her forefinger. "You and I have grown much closer."

Trip gazed into her brown eyes. "Because of what happened or in spite of it?"

"Does it matter? We're helping each other," she said. A finger stroked his jaw.

"Maybe we were s'posed to," Trip said softly. He studied her face.

"Destiny, Commander?"

He smiled. "Something like that."

END

One More Thing: The movie is “Young Frankenstein.” And we're glad Trip decided to reinstate Movie Night because now this series doesn't have to cross too horribly into the AU realm of Enterprise. We've still taken some liberties, but nothing too far out. We hope.

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