One Moment in Time

One Moment in Time

By THECURSOR

Rating: PG
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Paramount
Summary: T’Pol visits Trip in Sickbay after Phlox operates/
Episode addition for “Similtude.”

(Spoilers for Similtude, even though I haven’t seen the episode yet)

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“I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait and see if the procedure works.” Phlox said as he shook his head sadly, hoping against hope that some how the answer to Commander Tucker’s condition would come to him with in the next few hours. “Wait and see.” He repeated quietly to himself and then he was gone, leaving T’Pol alone in the room with the prone form of Commander Charles Tucker laying on the bio-bed in front of her.

She waited a few moments in order to be certain that the Doctor would not be returning anytime soon, and then looked towards the door with intent. “Privacy lock, on Door 11762 Sickbay. Commander Protocol: T’Pol 672.” She said sternly to the thin air around her, waiting to for her advanced ears to pick up the door’s locking mechanism shifting into place.

There was an audible click and she knew she was finally alone with him.

Her shoulders slumped.

“You are VERY foolish.” She said sharply, a certain frustrated anger sitting at the very edge of her voice. Taking a brief moment to calm her and focus her energy on controlling the many emotions shifting beneath her inner psyche, she spoke again much calmer. “There was no reason to endanger your self in that way. You could very easily have delegated the duties to someone who is less important to the inner workings of the ship’s systems.”

“You are an officer; you should have conducted yourself in a far more appropriate manner. Why did you do this?” Silence was only response she received. “I demand you awaken and answer me.”

Still nothing and for the first time in a very long time, T’Pol admitted that she was feeling fear. That beneath her calm and controlled exterior, she was capable of feeling something other then the logical face she presented to the world around her. Soon, the admission led to pain and the pain led to memory. Memories of him.

She remembered first seeing him. Handed extended with a slightly fake smile on his face, seeming somehow the antithesis of all that she was and all that she was aspiring to be. He was dangerous this one she had thought and refused to shake that extended hand.

There was a memory of being in Decon for the first time, his fingers lightly spreading the cool gel to the tips of her ears. She felt a shiver as she remembered how good that had felt. He is more dangerous than I first perceived she had thought after the once extended hand had been rubbing all over her body.

She could see in her mind’s eye, the little moments. The gazes, the flirtations, and the sexual tension that to this day remained unresolved. He kept asking her true age and for some illogical reason, she never told him. Maybe she wanted an excuse to talk to him, some information he wanted to know about her that she never would speak of.

There were ugly moments floating to the top of her memory too, brief flashes of gripping her phase pistol just that much tighter when she saw Kaitaama in the swamp with him or the overwhelming horror when she found out about what he did to the Cogenitor, but she pushed them aside. Now was not the time to see the faults in him.

“Commander Tucker, I demand that you WAKE UP!” His face twitched a little but it was nothing more then a slight muscle spasm, an agitated nerve absently flexing a random muscle.

She waited a little longer, simply listening to the sound of his breathing and the life support monitors humming and beeping rhythmically in the background. Maybe he was simply slow to react. Maybe he was just pretending to fool her into worrying. Maybe he would wake up in time to ask her to Movie Night again. Or prod her about how much older she was than anyone else on the ship.

She waited expectantly for him to awaken and pester her.

Still nothing.

“Charles. Please wake up.” She whispered desperately.

In that instant, T’Pol knew that it was very possible he would not live through this experience and that this may very well be the last time she ever saw Charles Tucker. Deep inside something with in the core of her being broke apart at that idea and although she did not cry, her heart broke. For one moment in time she wished she was not Vulcan, she wished she was human and her hair was blonde like his and she spoke with a southern accent that would charm in a way only he would desire. But then the moment was passed and she was left with logic and reality. He was human and she was Vulcan. She was faithful to Surak, he would never be. They were simply too different to be together, and it was still too unlikely that he would survive.

Perhaps, though, there was something small she could do for him. Maybe there was some tiny gesture that would mean little to a Vulcan and less to a Human, something that only they could share.

Carefully, she leaned do to his ear, unsure of if he could even hear her or not.

“Commander, I am…68 years old. Please do not tell anyone.”

The End

(Not bad for a guy who probably won’t see the epi until after Thanksgiving, huh?)

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Seven people have made comments

For not seeing the ep, you've hit the T'Pol tension on the head, Cursor! This scene would fit perfectly in the periof between the accident and the "development" of Sim that so rattled T'Pol... Great prose, as always... I love your writing style and turn of phrase. :)

Really? And here I was thinking how perfect it would fit between the time Sim is killed and his funeral -- after Phlox has done the operation, and they're waiting to see if it works. I guess it could go either place.

Very, very good!

P.S. Please don´t forget the "Chivalry".

Very well done. I hope you continue with it:):)

Wow. Its hard not to love your T'pol characterisation here, particularly the 'anyone but you' part in the first few paragraphs and her increasing demands that he wake UP dammit! It perfectly conveys her fear and need. I also really liked the protrayal of her first impressions of him back in the very early days of the mission, contrasting with her perception of him now. As ever a very enjoyable read.

I haven't seen any third season episodes but loved this to bits. But oh so sad, I kept wishing and hoping that our favourite engineer would open a sleepy eye and give her a pie eating grin! I do hope you write a sequel. Thank you so much for adding more sugar than the pecan pie, it was delicious... Ali D :~)

Oh not bad at all! Oh very very fitting. The T'Pol we are seeing this season could very well do this and yes oh yes the little tidbit she shared is exactly what he'd like. I did too!