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Mom and Dad and Self Sealing Stem Bolts - Ch 4

Author - TheCursor
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Mom and Dad and Self Sealing Stem Bolts

By THECURSOR

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A.N.: People have actually asked me why T’Pol isn’t working too. I guess it’s a good thing I already wrote a background for this.

Chapter Four


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Excluding bathroom breaks and late night meals, Elizabeth Tucker had pretty much spent the better part of two days locked in her room. While this period of inactivity had gone a long in convincing T’Pol of her iron will but was seriously cutting into her social life. Her wall comm, the only connection to the outside world she had, was only barely managing to keep her connected to the various friends, acquaintances, and potential boyfriends of the week that fill the waking mind of a fourteen year old girl.

It wasn’t enough though, she needed fresh air. Maybe it was Lizzie’s own denial or a flaw of her own unformed teenage mind, but for some reason she couldn’t see just how many unusual personality traits she shared with her mother. She was stubborn, independent to a fault, and also…an explorer. She couldn’t be cooped up inside a house all day; she had to be outside to witness the wonders of the universe around her.

Even if she was proving a point, Elizabeth HAD to get out of this room.

After several hours of turning this fact over in her mind, a plan began to form.


************************************************************************

Trip looked at his son through the sound proof barrier separating them. He just stood there for a moment, observing the boy who shared his name. Tucker smiled at this thought, everyone kept calling Charley ‘ kid’ or ‘boy’ but as he watched him silently without his knowledge Trip was once again reminded that his son was not a child. He was a full grown man, maybe a little on the skinny on the side, but an adult none the less. As mad as he was, he couldn’t beat back the smile of pride that tugged at the edge of his lips like a playful cat on a piece of string. Even rotting in the brig, Charles was keeping his head held high and his shoulders square. It was good to know at least that much had rubbed off.

Finally, Tucker decided that the moment was over and leaned in with one hand to tap lightly on the plastiglass until he finally managed to acquire his son’s attention. If it were possible, Charles seemed to straighten even further. He mouthed the words ‘Dad’ but it took a minute for him to realize that Tucker couldn’t hear him so Trip strolled slowly over to the wall comm and pressed the button with the same hand he tapped on the glass.

“Charles.”

His son’s voice sounded kind of tinny over the speaker but he did sound glad to see him. Any familiar face in a situation like this one was probably appreciated. “Dad, I-well, I mean to say-“

“Hello to you too.”

“Yeah, I was getting to that.”

“Takin’ ya a while.”

It had always been a lot harder for Trip to talk to his son then his other children because there was very little common ground to work with. Trip was an engineer, a man concerned with the concrete facts of taking something apart and putting it back together. But before his arrest, Charley was training to be a helmsman and a pilot had nothing in common with an engineer. It wasn’t about the facts with pilots; it wasn’t even about the laws of physics. To a helmsman the most important thing in the universe was the feel of a spacecraft. How it moved and reacted under the careful guided hand of a trained professional and the only fact you could truly rely on was the control stick or guidance terminal in your hands. In a way, it was this basic rift in thought processes that sometimes created these long awkward silences between the father and son.

Trip watched as Charley rubbed the back of his neck, sighing and looking up at the ceiling for a little strength. “So,” There was a pause as he swallowed and he tried to form the words to speak to his father, “Thanks for coming.”

“Your welcome.”

“Is mom…?”

Trip was reluctant to break this news; Charley had always been a little terrified of his mother. “She’s pissed. I mean, she’s not sayin’ she’s pissed but you know your mother…”

“Yeah.”

Another awkward silence. It was Trip’s turn to sigh this time. “Y’know I’m gonna go ta bat for you no matter what right?” Charley just nodded quietly and Trip decided that meant it was okay to keep going. He still had to ask the big questions after all.

“But if I am, I gotta know my son didn’t do anything wrong.”

Another nod. “Did you do something wrong with this woman?”

“No.” The answer was almost instantaneous and firm. There was no hesitation. “Then I guess, that’s all I need to know.”


************************************************************************

T’Mir was a very perceptive little girl. She was well aware that something was wrong and that her mother was very upset about something but there was only one way to find out what was going on. “Mother?”

T’Pol did not bother to take her eyes off the pot containing the night’s upcoming meal since she was already fairly certain what T’Mir was going to ask. “Not until after dinner-“

“That was not the question I was going to pose to you mother.”

Slowly, T’Pol turned to face her daughter’s inquiry. “Then what did you wish to ask?” A human child would have hesitated and a Vulcan one would have at least found a better way to phrase it but since T’Mir was a little of both…

“Are you leaving the path of Surak?” In spite of the fact that her hearing was near perfect, T’Pol suddenly found herself doubting if she had heard her daughter correctly. Her eyebrow rose slowly from her face in shock and then lowered slowly as suspicion began to set in. “May I ask what has lead to this line of questioning?”

“You have steadily become more emotional in the past few weeks and you’re temperament has been decidedly negative.” The little girl kept her voice even and Vulcan like but T’Pol thought for a moment that her daughter sounded…worried. “I was under the impression that perhaps you were preparing to break from Vulcan tradition.”

“Merely giving birth to you was a break from tradition T’Mir.”

“Yes, but are you going to?”

“T’Mir…”

“But you have been arguing with father quite often recently with increasing emotional expression.” T’Pol resisted a sigh, knowing that would only make things worse. Silently she cursed the strange combination of genetic material that had spawned a child that possessed both Vulcan intelligence and human curiosity. “I have been arguing with you father because he is illogical.”

“Perhaps so but that is no reason to leave the path.”

“I have not-T’MIR!”

“You are getting emotional, mother.”

T’Pol knew that she could not win at this line of questioning. Her daughter was far too persistent and well organized in her pursuit of the truth to be deterred with simple dismissals. She would need to actually explain what was going on, why she had been so upset recently. She recalibrated the stove to auto cook and readjusted the pot to stir itself before finally turning to face the inquisitive child with a question of her own. “T’Mir,” she began as she settled down in the seat immediately next to the little girl, “Why would my chosen path of enlightenment be such a concern to you?”

“Because it is important.”

“So you have never had a desire for me to act as human mothers do? To display affection openly?”
“Well…sometimes.”

“Then why would this concern you?”

There was a look of confusion on the young face, ignorance stemming from innocence. She simply lacked the adult way to voice her exact concerns. T’Mir pondered about this for several more minutes until finally she decided she knew just what to say. “Because you are my mother, you would not be the same if you changed.”

T’Pol found herself amazed, marveling at the sheer brilliant simplicity that was T’Mir Elaine Tucker. “Part of me,” She said almost wistfully, “Wishes your siblings could hold the same opinion.”

“They want you to leave the path?”

“They have not expressed it verbally,” She did sigh this time as memories of two childhoods past flooded back to her, “But I have sensed it in them at times. As an example, your brother always cried when I did not embrace him as a baby.” The little girl seemed to scoff at this, a slightly humorous sight in one so young since children are not known to scoff.

“They being illogical, mother.” She said as she returned to drawing in her notebook, “I am certain that if you ever did change they would feel as I do now.”

“Oh? Can you say so of your sister?”

“Yes, her rebellious nature is simply an expression of her own inner turmoil. It has nothing to do with her relationship with you.”

There was a beep as the pot came to boil and T’Pol rose to check the contents personally. She did not turn around again, but finished the conversation with a simple response. “To answer your question T’Mir, I am not leaving the path of Surak. I am simply under a great deal of personal strain.”

“Good.” Was T’Mir’s only response.

************************************************************************

It took an hour of waiting in the station conference room before Trip and Travis finally got a chance to meet the girl’s father.

Trip disliked War King Vetar instantly. There was just something about the way he carried himself that seemed holier than though. The wily engineer pictured himself through this man’s eyes and saw a worm looking up and some kind of majestic eagle or something equally egotistical. The image was just so infuriating that Trip eventually just decided to stop looking at the other guy altogether to keep him from getting the satisfaction of such visualizations.

There was a brief moment of recognition though during the time he did look at Vetar, and for a few moments Trip swore he had seen this man’s silken clothing and tanned complexion before. It just seemed…very familiar.

“YOU!” The alien monarch shouted pointing at Trip with an accusing finger, “You are that rapist’s father!” Trip felt himself forcing his arm not to swing into this other man’s chin.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Do not bother begging human, it will not sway me from having your pervert son prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!” Trip had to physically restrain himself from hitting this guy. How dare he? How dare he stand in this room and look down his nose at Charles all of the other people that Trip cared about?

While Travis wasn’t exactly known for his powers of observation, he was beginning to notice a certain tension between these men and it was starting to make him just a little uncomfortable. He watched as Trip opened his mouth to fire a volley of harsh words at the foreign monarch but Maywheather was faster. “Uh…may we get started?” His words had all the calming effect of a gunshot and Travis got the distinct feeling that these two men were going to be at each other’s throat from this point forward.

“Yeah.” Trip said as he glared at Vetar as he pulled up a chair on the far side of the table, “Let’s get started.”

**************************************************************************************

Elizabeth Tucker pushed the door open, being careful not to let the old hinges creak when it hit half way.

It was at least eleven thirty at night and while her sister T’Mir was very likely asleep, Lizzie knew that her mother was known to linger in her meditation until well past midnight. While some mothers claimed to have eyes in the back of their head, T’Pol didn’t need eyes to catch her children when they did something wrong. Those sharp Vulcan ears could hear pins dropping down the street and easily find rebellious teenagers in violation of their much-deserved grounding. So she had to be very quiet. Any noise could give her away.

She held her breath and slid her first foot into the hallway. There was no creak from the aging floorboards so she decided that it was safe to continue, the other foot crept in behind the first.

From years of experience at sneaking out of the house so Elizabeth was well aware of where to step in the perilous wooden hallway. If she stuck close to the wall and away from the softest parts of the floor, she stood a very good chance of getting to the back stairs without making too much noise. From there it was relatively smooth sailing which she could thank her father for. Trip had been so annoyed by the old creaks in the stairs that he had every board in the faulty floor replaced. He still hadn’t gotten around to the rest of hallway but only because T’Pol wouldn’t him.

She must have really enjoyed her early warning system.

But T’Pol must have been asleep because Lizzie was already half way down the stairwell and still nothing. It would only be a few more feet before she was out the door and-

“Computer, lights.” For a split second, Lizzie honestly wished that she was imagining the lights going on and her mother’s voice ringing in her ears. She turned slowly, sighing when it turned out that her mother’s face and voice were VERY real.

“Where do you think you are going, Elizabeth?”



Chapter 5

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Aw! I love T'Mir! And I'm pretty sure I KNOW an Elizabeth Tucker. HAhaha.

Good stuff, as always.

It's always the one you least expect. T'Mir has such a future ahead of her.
I find it interesting that the family unit seems...real. You're not writing them like the 7th Heaven Camdens. I like it. I don't coubt Charley was a bit terrified of his mother.
More soon, please?

I think you were describing me there when you talked about Elizabeth Tucker. I always was the sneaky one! Not that it's a good thing....

And I agree with Phaser Lady... I like how real the family is. A lot of it I could even relate to... well except for the space thing and starfleet... and all that but you get the idea! :)

This is very good, I really have a bad feeling about the pompous alien monarch. Just hope Trip can keep his temper long enough for everyone to find out the truth and get Charley the hell out of that cell. Loved T'Mir, she is a wonderfully Vulcan mix of Human traits. Can't wait for the next part, Ali D :~)

As always, Cursor, love your stories! Keep going. I love the sharp humor and your wicked eye for describing the characters. You have a great handle on both Trip and T'Pol, and I can just see them with these children they weren't expecting, who are a great mix of both T and T.

I'm going to agree with Samantha. T'Mir is soooooooooo cute. She's like the little boy/girl that you see in tv shows, that's so young and cute that you is waaaayyyyy to smart for their age. :D Awesome work here. I'm loving this.

I Love this story. It continues to be a decidely different take on the characters in a playful, fun and domestic alternate future. Great stuff! MOre chapters please.

This is a great story. Please continue.

I am enjoying ths story! I'm no T/Ter, but I was sorely dissapointed when I couldn't find this story on ff.net anymore. I'm glad I found it here!

T'Mir is an interesting little girl. How old is she, anyway?

I'm recomending this to all my friends--including the A/Ters!

I am enjoying ths story! I'm no T/Ter, but I was sorely dissapointed when I couldn't find this story on ff.net anymore. I'm glad I found it here!

T'Mir is an interesting little girl. How old is she, anyway?

I'm recomending this to all my friends--including the A/Ters!