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And Baby Makes 4 - Part 5

Author - TLR
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And Baby Makes 4

By: TLR

Rated: PG – mild language and content
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: This story picks up the morning after part 4 ended. Lizzie is back with her parents, T’Pol is still recovering from the final phase of Pon Farr and the rest of the ship is going to hell in a hand basket. Enjoy.


August 5th 2005


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Part 5

The captain made his way through the passageways of the ship toward the commanders’ cabin. His thoughts reviewed the earlier meeting he had with Lieutenant Berman in Engineering.

“Captain, the dilithium injectors are frozen in the open position. We can’t break out of warp.” The young lieutenant gave her best professional look to the commander, but the nervousness that lay beneath shown through. “We’ve been able to get her down to warp 1, but every time we try to disengage, we get some rebound spikes on the intermix readings.”

“Did you try purging the injectors per star fleet specs.?” Archer tried to assist the woman with some alternative repairs.

“Yes Sir, first thing….They just don’t want to close. I think we need Commander Tucker to come and take a look.”

“Commander Tucker is in quarantine, Lieutenant.” The captain seemed irritated to have a junior staffer manning the engine room during such a critical time.

“I understand that Captain, but I don’t know any other way. We’ve recalibrated , purged and even tried a cold start of one injector at a time, to try and switch over the system, but nothing is working. I am afraid to try any of Commander Tucker’s outrageous cures without him there.” The young woman gave him an understanding look, shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands.

“This may not be such a good time. I’m not sure the commander can leave quarantine.” The Captain fidgeted a bit looking at the floor as he moved. “I’ll check with Phlox and see what arrangements can be made. In the mean time, continue working on the problem and keep me informed.” Archer left engineering and headed for sickbay. Upon his arrival he found the good doctor had already left for the commanders’ quarters minutes earlier.

That is what brought him to this point. Archer wasn’t sure what he’d find after the last time, but he had been updated by Malcolm about Lizzie’s escape and subsequent change in venue. He rounded the last corner toward his destination and drew in a deep breath as he approached. Just outside the door, Archer stopped momentarily to try and hear any signs of upheaval. All was quiet and Jon suddenly started feeling a bit better about his request. He rang the door chime and waited for a response.

Trip unlocked the door using the code and the portal opened right up. He and Phlox stood in the doorway greeting the captain as he looked up from his shoes.

“Cap’n.” Trip started a bit surprised but not extremely so.

“Sorry to bother you Trip, but I wanted to check in on the situation with T’Pol.” Archer looked past his friend trying to locate his first officer. Phlox stepped behind the blond haired engineer allowing the Captain a better view.

“Come in.” Trip shifted as well, somewhat cautious about what additional visitors could do to T’Pol’s condition. When Phlox arrived, she defensively curled up on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin atop them. Lizzie climbed up behind her, placing hands on her mother’s shoulders to afford herself a better view. Slowly Trip and Phlox were able to convince T’Pol to let the good doctor run some scans. The two were talking quietly by the door after that.

Now Lizzie stood on the bed behind her mother, combing her hair with the large white marble comb. The action soothed the Vulcan, as she sat erect with feet planted firmly on the floor. Archer was unaware of the previous behavior and assumed all was back to normal for the couple. “She looks like she’s doing pretty well.” Jon stated based on his momentary observations.

“She’s better, Cap’n, but not completely. Phlox thinks it will be another day or so.” Trip was quick to point out that all was not what it seemed.

“What’s the problem, Trip. She looks okay to me.” Archer took a few steps in the Vulcan’s direction. He stared at her, examining her behavior closely.

“Well she hasn’t gotten her speech back for one thing and …” As he spoke, the captain took one too many steps in the first officer’s direction and she curled back up hissing and spitting. Her free arm whipped around her, knocking the child backward behind her mother for protection. This caused Archer to jump backward into Trip and Phlox.

“And she’s still a bit skittish.” Trip continued with his explanation at this point.

“Has she been like that all this time?” Archer asked wondering what was making her so defensive.

“Actually Cap’n, this is much improved.” Trip walked over and patted his wife on the knees. “It’s okay…..You’re okay.” He checked on Elizabeth who was by now righting herself and gave her a loving touch on the cheek. The little girl searched the coverlet for the comb and found it lying at her feet. She picked it up and resumed her ritual grooming. T’Pol’s eyes closed to the soothing strokes but popped open occasionally to check on the status of her family’s intruder.

“You said she hasn’t gotten her speech back yet. What do you mean by that?” Archer turned his back to the pair of Vulcans.

“Just that, Cap’n. She can’t say a word, just grunts and groans. I’m not even sure she understands what I say to her. I think she still just gets the gestures.” Trip held out his hands to illustrate the futility of the situation.

“It’s most likely she’s able to communicate with Elizabeth since their empathic connection is the strongest. I am estimating when she does begin speaking, it will most likely be in Vulcan first, that is if her neuro pathways come back as they went out.” Phlox was trying to be helpful but his news was only aggravating the captain, who wanted his chief engineer back.

“Is she okay to be left alone for a while?” He cut to the chase seeing how both Trip and Phlox were getting protective of her.

“I don’t think so, Cap’n. I doubt she’d hurt Lizzie, but I don’t think she can care for her yet.” Trip put his hands on his hips as he assessed the situation in his mind.

“You don’t understand Trip. We have a situation in engineering…. I need my chief Engineer on duty. How can we go about doing this?”

Trip’s outward demeanor changed immediately at hearing about problems with his beloved vessel. His concern for his wife warred with his need to keep this magnificent starship and its crew safe. He turned to the captain for an update on the current situation.

“What’s going on Cap’n?” Trip dropped his hands to his side and took a much more serious posture.

“We have a problem with the dilithium injectors. They won’t close and we can’t break out of warp. We’re less than a day from Jupiter Station, so we have to slow down before we hit our own solar system. Lt. Berman got her down to warp 1, but says that there are buildups in the intermix ratio’s when they try to disengage warp drive.” The captain spoke low enough not to agitate, the already pensive Vulcan in the corner.

“Did they try a manual restart, independent purging and standard recalibration sequence?” Trip was running all the routine repair suggestions he knew that the Lt would have already thought of.

“Yep….and nothing is working. Berman thinks you need to come down and take a look. What can I do to help?” Archer looked back over at T’Pol who was now no longer enjoying her grooming. Her eyes stared daggers into him and a strange sense of discomfort filled the captain’s soul. Lizzie continued unfettered by her mother’s changing emotional swing.

Trip looked over to his family, realizing now that T’Pol was sensing something was up. He knew if he left her, there would be hell to pay, but also knew that if they didn’t get the ship under control, that there might not be a family to come back too. He thought a moment then looked to Phlox.

“Whatcha think doc….. should I just knock her out and you take Elizabeth with you?” The young engineer wasn’t liking the sound of that suggestion.

“I don’t know. You don’t know how long you’ll be tied up with the problem, and if she awakes to find you not here, she could go into a rather violent tantrum.” Phlox was serious, and yet Archer only saw the woman curl up and hiss. How could these two possibly think she’d be able to do much more than that.

“What do you mean by violent tantrum?” He asked not willing to believe this of his first officer. Trip simply pointed around the room. First, to the dents in the heavy reinforced door. Then to the opening mechanism, still lying against the wall from its exposed circuitry. His arm swept over to Lizzie’s bedroom door, still sitting cockeyed in its tracks from when she forced it open on day one. There were evidence of dents and bends on various walls, furniture was torn and the couch’s back rest was knocked totally behind, broken in two. Archer suddenly was stunned at all the damage.

“She did all this….What did she use to create such a mess?” He asked still surveying the damages.

“Her bare hands……” Trip started then turned his mind back to the problems with Enterprise. He rubbed at his chin, trying to think of another quick fix to suggest to the captain.

“Possibly we could leave her with someone she is comfortable with. As long as she has Lizzie here to communicate with her, then perhaps she could handle the separation for a brief time period.” Phlox was trying to be helpful.

“Fine…I’ll stay with her… You get to engineering.” The captain quickly spoke up and hoped this would solve his problems, but Phlox wasn’t too pleased with that suggestion.

“No captain, it would not be wise to leave you with her….She may not take that well.”

“Then fine… You stay with her and I’ll help Trip in engineering.” Jon turned to head for the door and noticed no one was coming with him. There was an awkward moment of silence, as he pivoted to see what was wrong with the current plan. “Well…. You coming?”

“Cap’n, What Phlox meant was, it wouldn’t be wise to leave any other male here with her. In her condition, T’Pol would take that as a challenge and would have to defend herself and Elizabeth against the threat.” Trip again considered a moment. “Hoshi… she could stay with her, communicate with Lizzie and even speak Vulcan to T’Pol to try and soothe her. She shouldn’t look upon her as a threat.” Phlox gazed at the blond haired human and ran the particulars over in his mind. Meanwhile, Jon didn’t like the idea of his communications officer locked in the same room with a woman capable of the damage she’d inflicted so far.

“You’re suggesting that Hoshi be locked in here with T’Pol. What if she gets out of control again? What is she supposed to do? Perhaps we should have Malcolm come too.?”

“NO…..” Trip and Phlox joined in unison. “Captain….any male will create these feelings of fear in her right now. She is acting only on instinct…..Ancient instinct…..” The good doctored tried without saying it, to illustrate his point.

“Okay….how about some security….female of course…..I just don’t want Hoshi in here alone with her.” Archer’s tone was authoritative. Trip and Phlox knew they were not gonna dissuade him on this point. The captain left their quarters and headed for the bridge. After spending a few moments alone with Hoshi and a MACO in his ready room, Jon felt that the women were properly prepared for their next assignment.

***

When Archer came back to the commanders’ quarters he had Hoshi and Corporal Cole in tow. When the door slid open, the reaction he got from Trip was more than over the top. The young engineer made a blatant point of pushing the female MACO from the doorway quickly and back out into the hall.

“She can’t come in here….” He said more in panic then in anger.

“What do you mean, Trip… T’Pol knows Corporal Cole….They have worked together for almost 3 years now.

“You’re damn right she knows her….. Just take my word for it Cap’n, Corporal Cole should not enter these quarters under any circumstances, at least not while T’Pol is incapacitated. She can stand guard outside, but….” Trip stood squarely in the doorway, blocking any and all passage into the room. T’Pol’s interest was peaked as she slid quietly off the bed and moved toward the entrance to get a better look at what the commotion was all about.

She saw the face of Corporal Cole standing in front of her husband and a darkening greenish hue came over her features. Through their bond, Trip could sense a pair of eyes on his back, and looked over to find his wife within visual range. He motioned for Hoshi to come in and waved one more threatening finger at the rather insulted female Rambo. The captain, still perplexed, reinforced his friend’s wishes, and instructed the MACO to stand guard outside. He entered the room with Trip, Hoshi and the doctor, watching his first officer back up and away from their ever advancing motion. T’Pol stopped at the bed, pulling her daughter behind her. Lizzie was noticeably shaken, wondering why her aunts and uncles now frightened her mother so.

Trip motioned for them to stop then came over to his mate. He held out a hypo spray and looked knowingly at her. T’Pol raised her chin in a defiant move then lowered it once more when it didn’t get the reaction she’d hoped for. Her mate remained unfettered by her show and the young Vulcan knew her bluff was called. She grabbed the item from his grasp and held it in her hands a long moment. Archer held his breath, wondering if his first officer might inject the solution into her husband, making him unfit to perform the repairs. But instead, she eventually held it up to her neck and let it hiss. Once done, she handed it back to him and was rewarded with a loving embrace and kiss upon the forehead. “That’s my girl…..” He led her over to the bed and sat down next to her. Trip motioned for Lizzie to come and join them, which she did, climbing up into his lap and holding onto her mother’s arm.

“Lizzie….I need you to tell mommy something…Can you do that for me?” He asked in a very calm manner. The little girl’s head nodded.

“Tell her that I have to go work, but I’ll be back soon.” Again his patience for this procedure was far greater than the captain’s who was fidgeting over in the corner, getting the Vulcan’s attention more than he should. The little girl turned to her mother and stared long and hard at her. The concentration between the two was palpable for a moment then suddenly T’Pol panicked and grabbed at her husband’s arm. She shook her head violently and grunted. The sounds, Hoshi realized were attempts at the Vulcan word no, although very poor and weakly made.

“It’s okay….. Hoshi will stay with you…..Honey it will be okay… I promise….” Trip tried prying her fingertips from his flesh.

“Nev’oc punash tu.” Hoshi stepped forward and for the first time Archer realized what the two men had been saying was true. T’Pol didn’t back away, or react more than just a look. The young communication’s officer made her way to the bed and sat down beside her. She smiled her brightest smile, and kept her fears hidden, knowing all too well, the fear blocking techniques the first officer showed her just after a few months aboard.

“What did you say to her?” Archer asked in amazement that his communications officer was able to do more in one minute than he’d been since he’d arrived.

“I told her what Trip said. I would stay with her… I think you’re right…. Those grunts she was doing, they sounded a lot like the Vulcan word No.” Trip smiled, seeing yet another milestone coming to pass. This momentary glee was quickly squelched by the captain who reminded the young man that he had an out of control engine waiting for him.

Trip turned to Lizzie. “You stay with mommy….Give her lots of hugs until I get back, okay munchkin.” He saw the broad smile coming back to him as his daughter climbed over into her mother’s lap. She latched on, hugging ferociously about her neck, pressing a tiny cheek to her mother’s chest. Trip looked down into his wife’s face. The fear was beginning to show, as he saw her trembling against the pull of their daughter’s body. He kissed her once more, this time on the lips and felt her pulling forward with his retreat.

Trip’s hand ran gently over her hair which brought forth a soft exhale. “I’ll be back…. I promise….” He then turned to Hoshi. He handed her the hypospray and leaned down to whisper the location of the phase pistol in case of emergencies. After checking with his family one more time, Trip was heading out of the door and down the hallway. Hoshi activated the lock after giving Amanda a telling look. The door slid shut separating the two women, and leaving the young Asian female alone with a very powerful and out of control Vulcan.

***

As they headed for engineering, Archer couldn’t get the picture of his first officer cowering in the corner of the room. More over, he couldn’t get her reaction to Trip’s having to leave. If what the doctor said was true, then how would she know that her husband was leaving before he did. There was so much about Vulcans the captain still didn’t understand, but knew that this wasn’t the time to go into a debate about it. The awkward silence was broken by his chief engineer as they turned the final corner to the turbo lift.

“I’m real sorry about that Cap’n…..bout the display and all. I know T’Pol wouldn’t have wanted you to see her like that.” Trip looked over to his friend trying to gauge what he must be thinking.

“It’s all right Trip…. She is still getting better, I understand.” Jon realized this wasn’t easy for his friend to speak of.

“Do you Cap’n?” Trip put his hand on the senior officer’s arm as they waited for the turbo lift doors to open. A few days ago, if you had seen her, she wouldn’t have remembered it. But now that her mind is clearing, she will remember your being there. This will be hard for her….I’d….” Trip was cut off by his friend’s hand upon his.

“Don’t worry about it Trip….. I will not mention it to her. As far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t there and it didn’t happen.” Archer smiled understandingly as the door to the lift opened wide.

“Unless she wants to speak of it.” Trip added, knowing his wife’s guilt over unaddressed issues.

“Understood.” They entered the lift and were quickly off down the 6 levels to the engineering deck. Once out of the lift, Trip took the lead, his anxiousness about his engines building his speed with every step. The doors to engineering slid open and there was a palpable ease that came over the room at the sight of the blond haired engineer. Lieutenant Berman came directly over and addressed both Trip and the captain before they made it completely into the room. The young female held her hands clasped together in front of her, as she began to explain the situation. Within moments, Trip was at the warp reactor looking over gauges and flipping switches, while his crewmember followed continuing to talk.

He moved through the routine maneuvers and met with the same unsuccessful results. “We tried all those same things initially, but the valves weren’t budging.” Berman looked intently over his shoulders, as Trip pulled a set of panels from the front of the reactor. He crawled in head first, and was waist deep, his head inches from the static flow just beyond.

“Best be careful in the commander.” Archer noted how comfortable his friend was around the live pulsating flow of energy.

“I’m okay Cap’n. Hand me the flux capacitor, will ya.” A single hand stuck out from behind the engineer’s posterior. Archer looked around for the tool Trip wanted, but was quickly beaten by the young lieutenant who had now gotten down on her knees beside her boss and slapped the item firmly into his grip. Within a short time, Trip emerged from the corridor with a tissue box sized part. He handed it to Berman. “Run a complete diagnostic on the modulator and recalibrate it to a zero/ 2/ zero timing gap. The Captain and I will continue to dismantle the injector arrays until we are left with just one. Once we get them manually recalibrated and replaced we can go after the one remaining. That should give us better control.” His order given to the young woman, she hustled off to do as he asked, not hearing the remainder of his comment, which Trip murmured under his breath. “That is assuming Travis hasn’t got us steered toward an asteroid or something.”

The captain looked at his friend and chuckled. “I told him to keep us in open space until we get her under control.”

“Well that’s good to know… Wouldn’t want to fix a dent like that…..That’d be one hell of a fender bender.” Again they lightened the moment before Archer joined his chief engineer on the floor within the crawl space. He watched as Trip outlined how to remove each injector circuit without getting zapped in the process then started assisting him with the task. The work was tedious and slow, having to replace over 40 circuits before getting down to the last. As each was removed, there was an audible groan from the pulsating engine above them. This sound worried the captain, but to the chief engineer, it was music to his ears.

“You know I have missed this, this week. I love T’Pol and all, but I was getting a little stir crazy being cooped up in our cabin.” Trip turned a rather warm relay and jumped back a moment to regrip it properly.

“What…. It hasn’t been like a second honeymoon?” Archer’s smile was broad, knowing all too well the hell he must have been going through.

“There was one good thing…..T’Pol couldn’t lecture me on my logic…” this time the circuit turned easily and allowed the joke to be enjoyed without distraction.

“I always wondered what the two of you had to talk about…..Learning anything?” Archer grunted, having to apply a bit more force to the next coupling.

“Learned never to discuss logic with her.” Again a chuckle came from both men.

“Seriously Trip…..How is she doing….Is she gonna be okay?” The captain’s tone was now settling on his larger concern, the health of his first officer and friend.

“Yeah…she’s gonna be fine....at least physically…. I think it will take some time for her to get over the embarrassment of the whole thing, but otherwise, Phlox says she’ll make a complete recovery.”

“That’s good to know…. I hope Hoshi isn’t having any trouble with her. Can you tell anything about how things are going?” Archer asked knowing a little about their empathic connection.

“Nope. I am a bit too far away for her weakened condition. I used to think it was both our minds that formed this bond, but now I am realizing it was just hers. I mean, mine had to agree, but it is definitely her mind that is generating it.” Trip’s voice betrayed the disappointment he felt.

“Why does that bother you? I thought you said that having her in your head was quite disorienting at times.” Archer turned a coupling too close to the flow and jumped back from the electricity that brought the hairs on his hand to a stiff stance.

“It used to be, but I thought that I was able to take care of her because we were connected…. Now I realize that if she is ill, I may not be able too. Not like she would need me too.” The young man stopped his work a second admitting his inadequacies could be a big reason he felt so helpless this week.

“Trip….You take great care of T’Pol and Elizabeth…They are very happy and I have never seen T’Pol so content. She looks serene even, something I haven’t seen any Vulcan be. I know her…. She has exactly what she needs with you. And I, for one am glad to have her more focused and less battling her demons.” Archer looked over to his friend and felt the calipers slip from the bolt onto his finger. “Ouch”

“You okay Cap’n?”

“Yeah…. I just gotta learn not to take my eyes off my work when I have calipers in my hands.” The captain sucked on his injured finger, seeing no blood, just a rather large red spot..… “What has you so upset, Trip. You seem to be able to handle this bond thing just fine. Or is it something else…?” The captain continued his repairs, knowing that if there was a problem, his friend needed to confide in him, it would be easier to do so over the pretence of work.

‘No…we are handling it well…. I just worry sometimes, that I won’t be as good a husband to T’Pol, as a Vulcan male would be. They are so different in some ways. I just don’t want to mess this up. I’ve never been so happy before.” Trip’s movements slowed as his mind reached back over the past years and remembered his life before the wondrous Vulcan came into it.

“Trip…. Obviously if a Vulcan male would have been the more logical choice for T’Pol, don’t you think she would have made it? Something inside her knew that you two were to be together….and that is obviously how your bond thing formed. It’s not like it was a conscious decision. It happened naturally, and that right there tells me it was meant to be.”

“Yeah, I guess your right Cap’n…. still though, I wish I could get a sense of what she’s doing right now. I’d feel a whole lot better bout things.” Trip turned the last bolt of his 4th modulator unit. At this rate the repairs were going to take several more hours. Trip only hoped his mate could hold out that long without him.

***

Back in their quarters, a rather nervous T’Pol sat rocking with her daughter still clinging to her neck. Hoshi had moved to the couch to give the young woman and child some room. She remained quiet, not wanting to ignite anything in the Vulcan that the communications officer may not be able to control. She heard an audible murmur coming from their direction and realized instantly it was T’Pol trying to voice her fears. The words were muffled and their syntax was confusing at times, but clearly she was calling out for her mate to return to her.

“Nea’tau tu mor’et” Hoshi whispered softly enough not to frighten the already pensive woman. “It’s okay…he’ll return” she repeated in Vulcan again, trying to get her to settle down. This worked for a brief period, causing the murmuring to stop, but not the rocking. Lizzie cuddled close to her mother’s cheek, planting soft exaggerated pucker kisses against it. This was her new trick, since her open mouth slobbers had lost their charm. Now that her father taught her to pucker, the little girl would charm everyone with her two lips stuck out in such a fashion. This today, however brought no break for the young Vulcan. She continued rocking, staring at the door, as if trying to will her mate to come through it.

This activity went on for several hours, only growing in intensity with the passing of time. Finally, unable to control herself, T’Pol stood up and began pacing the room. Lizzie tumbled onto the bed, surprised by her mother’s quick dismissal. The little girl rolled quickly off and began chasing after her mother, hands held up wanting contact again.

Hoshi watched the woman ignore the actions of her child. Finally the poor little one, stood still with a very evident pout on her face. Her eyes followed her parent wondering why she wasn’t responding to her need. Hoshi came over and pulled the child close, but was rejected the moment she reached out to her.

T’Pol’s pacing grew more frantic, her murmurs came louder and more distinct to the young Asian’s ears. Her calling out for her mate was definite, but it now was laced with angered insinuations about the MACO waiting outside. Her voice grew louder and was beginning to be audible through the heavy steel door. The intercom buzzed and Hoshi eased past the pensive Vulcan to answer it.

“Hoshi?” Amanda’s voice came over the box and the sound of it only infuriated T’Pol further.

“Corporal…..We are okay….Stay where you are.” Hoshi’s voice was barely audible over the angered murmuring of the agitated alien. She began moving for the door and pulling at the manual opening mechanism.

“T’Pol, NO !!…” Hoshi shouted suddenly, which caused the Vulcan to turn and stare at her. This quick move on the part of the communication’s officer, made the MACO leave the wall mounted comm in the passageway and go directly to the door of the cabin. She touched in the security entrance override code that automatically released the secondary lock, Trip programmed into their mechanism. The door swung open, revealing an agitated T’Pol standing directly in front of her. Amanda went to draw her weapon, but before she could, the Vulcan back handed her into the side of the room. Hoshi hit the close door button on the comm panel. She reinitiated the lock then went to try and defend the young woman.

T’Pol approached the MACO, now righting herself off the floor. The Vulcan lifted Amanda by her uniform, and proceeded to raise the woman over her head. Hoshi came over and grabbed at the science officer’s arm. She tried to comfort the alien using words she could understand, but was rewarded with a push to the mid torso, knocking her back into the desk.

Lizzie grabbed onto her mother’s thigh and stood on tiptoe. This didn’t hinder the Vulcan’s movements. She moved forward toward the open wall by the door way. There was a loud thud as the MACO’s back hit the wall. Amanda grabbed frantically at the hold her opponent had on her clothing. She kicked at her knees and almost hit the wayward child in the chin. Her attack upon Elizabeth only enraged the parent all the more.

The Vulcan stared down at her child and communicated for her to back away. T’Pol’s other hand came up and grabbed the woman about the throat. She lifted her up against the wall, sliding her higher and higher. Amanda’s hands went to protecting her airway, trying to pry T’Pol’s fingers from her throat. The Vulcan hissed out in her native tongue the reasons for her actions, which only frightened Amanda all the more. “What the hell is she saying?” The female managed through clinched fingers. Hoshi heard the words and realized the motivation for her anger. Her eyes widened, realizing that this logical Vulcan was now in the heat of jealousy. She swallowed hard and tried to find a polite way of telling the MACO just what the reasons were for her attack.


“Tu ku’tock mashnov…” This now frightened the communications officer. “What is she saying Ensign…!” Corporal Cole again shouted out from her precarious position.

“She says, you die in dishonor.” Hoshi’s voice trembled as she realized this Vulcan was not kidding.

“Do something Ensign…!” Cole managed again beginning to kick at the woman, totally disregarding the child’s proximity. This elicited an even tighter grasp about her neck from the enraged alien.

Hoshi stood across the room, having retrieved the phase pistol from behind the pillows on the couch. She checked the settings were on stun and had it aimed right at the Vulcan’s back. Lizzie saw the impending danger to her mother and ran back into the sites of the weapon. She clung to her parent’s backside and reached up to try to block the shot. The Asian female saw the problem and continued to holler in Vulcan for her commanding officer to release the MACO.

From out in the hallway, a returning Trip felt the increased upheaval coming from his wife and child. His instincts were confirmed when he and the captain turned the corner and saw Amanda gone from her post. Trip broke into a run and crossed the short span of passageway in a brief moment. Archer unaware of his friend’s distress followed him in kind.

Having quickly entered the security code, the door slid open and Trip entered. He found his wife holding the MACO up against the wall in a combative stance. He went over to her and grabbed the arm that was holding Amanda to the bulkhead. T’Pol’s head stayed locked on the young woman’s face. Trip pulled at the extremity without budging it.

“T’Pol…. Put her down….” Her mate’s words were spoken with authority. He concentrated at her, trying to reach his wife through their bond. She finally looked his way, but didn’t lower the MACO from her grip.

“Nas’kov muskas’ka.” She stated looking at him with a very stubborn look.

“I’m sure…..but let her go now…..” Trip didn’t let his fear show. He kept his eyes directly on her totally ignoring Amanda’s flailing limbs. After a few moments of this standoff, the Vulcan lowered her prisoner, setting her down heavily on the floor. Trip pulled Lizzie from her mother’s body. He led her over to the bed along with his mate. He sat them both down and reached over into the drawer of the desk. Trip removed a hypospray and turned back to his wife. This hypospray was different from the rest. It was clearly marked with a blue tape about the medication injector. He held it out and waited for her to take it. Instead, T’Pol batted the item from him and it went flying back behind the engineer.

“No…” He stated forcefully then went to retrieve the item. In the meantime, the Captain checked on his Corporal, standing back with Hoshi over to the other side of the room. T’Pol’s eyes kept going from her mate to the woman and back again. Trip once more stepped into her line of vision and held out the item. The look that came over the Vulcan’s face was extremely familiar to Archer and Hoshi. It was the exact face that Lizzie made when she was caught trying to escape from them. Her bottom lip protruded and eyes raised as her head lowered, giving her a very angered pouting brood.

Finally Trip’s mate took the hypospray from him. She looked at it a moment, thinking about the consequences of being less than alert while her opponent was still in the room. Finally, T’Pol applied it to her neck and pressed the trigger. The hiss filled the silence of the room, but this time the Vulcan’s body went limp. Trip grabbed her as she fell backward and eased her down onto the bed. The engineer righted his mate on the coverlet and pulled up the blankets. He tapped the bed beside her and watched as Lizzie curled up next to her mom.

Trip turned back to the others in the room. He walked up to them as they huddled about the Corporal on the floor. “You okay?” he asked, less than concerned for the woman’s welfare.

“Am I okay?…..That crazy Vulcan tried to kill me…..Of coarse I’m not okay.” She was outraged at the commander’s indifference.

“First off, T’Pol didn’t try to kill you. If she’d meant to kill you, she would have done so, logically and efficiently even in her condition. She was merely warning you. Secondly, I thought I ordered you to stay out of these quarters. Why did you disobey that order?” Trip was staring daggers at the young woman. Hoshi and the captain also turned to the MACO to hear her answer.

“I heard the commander starting to holler at Hoshi…..I assumed she was in trouble.” Amanda was feeling very defensive of her actions.

“I told you to stay out. With what the commander was saying, you coming in here was the last thing that should have happened. It was clear your presence set her off from the start.” Hoshi was very much on her friend’s side in this issue. She didn’t repeat what the Vulcan said, but realized that Miss Cole was doing a lot more than being friendly with the southern gentleman, going out of her way to be near him and talk with him.

Since the commanders’ marriage, the MACO had become even bolder with her efforts, only when the science officer wasn’t around. Her escapades were part of the active rumor mill. No one on the ship believed that the engineer would do anything to be unfaithful to T’Pol, but the word on Amanda was that she didn’t like being defeated at anything, even men. She’d made several comments to the fact that she found Commander Tucker very handsome.

The captain felt the anger aimed at the young woman, but had to keep neutral to the needs of all his crew. He decided to separate the warring factions and quickly.

“Ensign….take Corporal Cole to sickbay and have Phlox check her out.” Archer offered the woman an arm, lifting her to her feet. Hoshi turned a less than pleased look at her new assignment then relented to the captain’s wishes. As she was being led for the door, Amanda turned around and began bad mouthing the sleeping alien.

“She’s crazy…. Phlox should be locking her up….she’s a menace….. I plan to file formal charges. She should be court-marshaled !” The young woman rubbed at the red marks on her neck. Archer came up and backed the small framed female against the wall once more.

“And I plan to bring you up on charges of disobeying a superior officer.” His tone stopped the woman’s threats. Hoshi yanked her around and pulled Amanda from the cabin and out into the hallway. As the door slid shut, Archer turned to face Trip.

“You know she’s got a point. T’Pol did attack her.” Archer didn’t want to bring up a bad subject, but he had to play each side fairly.

“Cap’n…. You and I know T’Pol wouldn’t have done any of this if she wasn’t still ill with this fever….. I doubt the corporal will do anything further. Not if she wants to get along on this ship.” Trip offered the captain a seat on the couch. They sat down together and tried to hash out some of what was going on between the Vulcan and the MACO.

“Well….. My first officer has just attacked a member of my security staff, and threatened to kill her. My ship is now dead in the water” The Captain’s tone was a bit sarcastic. “Well at least we are out of warp….”


“Sorry about this Cap’n….With all you have on your mind right now, you shouldn’t have to deal with this too.” Trip looked over in the direction of his family and saw that Elizabeth was now napping with her mom. “At least, once we get all the injectors cleaned and recalibrated, we should be able to manage more than just maneuvering thrusters.”

“The ship, I know you'll have her ready to go in no time. It’s okay Trip….. T’Pol is still ill…. She couldn’t help her actions, although I don’t understand her reaction.” Archer looked at his friend, giving him an understanding ear.

“It’s a long story Cap’n….. I guess is started back when we were in the Expanse, when the MACOs first came aboard.”

“You and T’Pol were together way back then?” Archer asked truly surprised.

“Yes and No Cap’n. We were friends…. But there was something there… I just didn’t think she’d let anything come of it….. I mean T’Pol being a Vulcan and me a Human. When Amanda started flirting with me, I didn’t think too much of it.”

“Apparently T’Pol did.” The captain finished his friend’s thought.

“Oh yes….. I think that is what pushed our relationship to the next level. I mean…I knew I had feelings for her, maybe as far back as her joining the Enterprise crew, but when she showed me her feelings, I definitely was hooked.”

“What.....you mean Amanda?” Jon seemed confused.

“No……T’Pol……I guess Amanda making her feelings known for me made T’Pol decide to come clean. Not only did we finally talk about things… but she even made sure that our resident Corporal didn’t come near me again. What made Amanda think things had changed, I don’t know. I have no other feelings for any woman…. I can’t….But she keeps trying to push things and I don’t know how to get her to stop.” Trip looked back to his wife showing the love he was talking of in his gaze.

“Have you tried telling the Corporal her behavior is inappropriate?” Archer’s heart was warmed by the confirmation of his friend's faithfulness.

“What inappropriate… She comes and sits beside me and Lizzie at the movies….. She finds Elizabeth and I in the mess hall and sits with us at lunch. If you ask the Corporal, she is just trying to be friendly. However, T’Pol can sense her deception and so can I.” Trip looked back to his friend.

“Why don’t you just tell her to stop?”

“Cap’n….. I get up and walk out on the movie…. I’ve stopped eating lunch in the mess hall without T’Pol. What else can I do? Elizabeth has even grown to distrust her….something I didn‘t want her to learn about anyone.” Trip worried about his daughter picking up the bad feelings for this woman from her mom and acting upon them.

“Perhaps Corporal Cole might consider a transfer.” Archer wanted to help alleviate the circumstances.

“On what grounds Cap’n….. Fraternizing with the first officer’s husband…. No… I think once T’Pol is better, she’ll take care of our resident flirt… I mean there is only three reasons left on Vulcan to kill…..and interfering with the bond of another is still one of them.

“Are you saying that T’Pol may still try to kill the woman?” Archer was truly concerned.

“No Cap’n….I wasn’t kidding, when I said she was merely warning her. T’Pol, even in her current state could have easily killed Amanda if she meant too. Vulcan’s however swear an oath not to harm or let harm come to Humans before they take their assigned postings here. She can not go against that oath, no matter how important. But you forget, T’Pol makes up the duty rosters…. I foresee Ms Cole having some very difficult months ahead. As my momma always said, there is more than one way to skin a cat.” Trip’s brows raised in a mock expression that made his friend and captain chuckle.

“So Corporal Cole may be asking me for a transfer in the not too distant future….Is that what you are telling me?” Archer looked over at his sleeping science officer.

“If my wife has anything to do with it…. I wouldn’t be at all surprised……”

“Well, I had best get the paperwork ready…. I wouldn’t want to delay her.” Jon stood to leave. He turned to Trip who by now had come to his feet as well.

“We’ll be ready to restart in 36 hrs Cap’n. By then T’Pol should be about back to her old self. If not, I’ll sedate her and have Phlox keep an eye on her for me while I get Enterprise back up and running.” Trip placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“I’ll hold you too it.” Archer returned a pointed finger in the engineer’s direction then moved to leave the room.


Trip turned back and watched his family resting. He knew for now things were peaceful, but would feel uneasy until the Enterprise was back together and his wife was back to being her logical self.


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



Part 6

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Yay Im the first! Im really enjoying this storyline and can't wait for the next chapter!

great story!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love the whole story about amanda. i don't like this woman. and i think it's great that lizzie dosen't like her either. next paaaaaart please!!!!!!!!!!

What picture were you planning to put at "picture here"?... I'm curious.

I'm extremely impressed with your command of technobabble. How do you come up with this stuff? Is there a Star Trek technobabble website for us hopelessly non-technical fic writers?

You've really made Amanda kinda nasty. I always thought she was an all-American girl that wanted to be more than friends with Trip, but just got one-upped by the exotic alien. Guess it just goes to show you never can tell who your real friends are. - D

ah another good chapter
some of the technobabble was back to the future meets star trek
;)

Great story. I'm always happy to see a new chapter posted.

Great chapie,,, loved Polly puttin Cole in her place,, and cant wait to see what 100% Polly will do to that wana be Home wrecker.,,, I really love how your showin the affects of the Ponn Farr on Polly, I just love that over possesiveness the most though,,,,And I just love that Lizzie got this built in instinct to try an help her mother,, and even knows what exactly what to do, its to cute to even imagine that lil angel takin care of an curlin up with her mother,,,,,,,,,,,,Ok I loved that you included some technobable in this one,,,, But dilithium injectors,,,,, I dont think that would work,,, Dilithium is the crystal that is used in warp engines to control the reaction in the warp chamber,, an the injectors that are in the warp core inject probably matter an anit matter, the two fuels that warp ships run on,,, their are also Plasma injectors that inject plasma which is the result of the combination of the matter an anitmatter,, the warp plasma is then used to run the warp nacelles or the warp engines,, those plasma injectors inject the plasma into the warp engines an other ships systems that need energy to run,,,,,,,Ok Im done tecknobabblin now, Just a great chapie just loved it to death.

It seems that alot of people beat me to the punch, lol. I have to agree with everyone that this was a great chapter. But I do think your kind of mean with Amanda Cole, I know you explained it, but still. I still loved it, especially the interaction between Archer and Trip, and how helpless both feel. I wonder what Trip would of done if Hoshi would of shot Polly. I wonder what Polly would of done. In all great chapter, and it was so cute what lizzie did when she saw hoshi holding the pistol, but again I would of liked to see what would of happened if hoshi had shotten Polly.

First off, there is a source for the technobabble, it's Star Trek the original series. And there are dilithium injectors. Scottie's favor breaking down part. ST 4 the movie. They don't inject dilithium, they inject energy into the dilithium crystal to ignite the energy reaction from the crystal. As for Amanda....I can't believe anyone who saw that episode where she was telling T'Pol about her feelings for Trip and didn't come away disliking the woman. I mean, the rumor was that Trip and T'Pol were .... and she goes and talks with T'Pol about how hot she thinks the commander is. The look on her face was not innocence. She had a glare to her eyes, while she made the comments infront of Polly. I was happy when miss Polly burned her back.....Rewatch the episode Harbinger and see if you don't pick up on it this time. This wench was openly flirting with Trip in public and was stupid enough to talk about him to his friend in that manner. I don't think she's innocent....I think she is just cocky... and dumb cocky at that. She was marking her territory and letting the Vulcan know that she was able to do more for the commander than Polly could....Laughs on miss thing...Polly took charge.......Just my opinion...T.

One of my favorite storylines. Excellent chapter!

Yay!!! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!

I'm just fine with Amanda Cole. Good for T'Pol!! :-) I can't wait for the next chapter! :-)

Love the timid, inept Berman! Love T'Pol going ballistic over Cole... amazed that Archer doesn't get what the problem is until it's explained to him. Uh, in touch with your crew, there, Jon? Love Hoshi... love Lizzy (tho a bit distressed that she's still being tossed around like a rag doll -- like Dolly in Colleen McCullough's "The Touch" -- poor Lizzy! I would hope the parenting instinct is a bit stronger than that...)

GREAT stauu, as usual! Wonderful installment.

Ok sorry TLR,,,,I honestly havent seen a lot of TOS :(,,, so I never heard of Dilithum injectors before,,,, They must have forgot them in all the following Trek shows an movies,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And Im totaly with ya on Amanda Cole,, that women is pure evil,,She's a homewrecker,, and Polly needs to make her run to the farthest starfleet ship away from Enterprise.

First off, good fic, well written with very good characterizations. The technobabble was a little unconvincing, as made-up science usually is. I may be in the minority here but I don't think Amanda was that bad. Her actions, at least in her own mind, are probably no worse than Trip's pre-relationship teasing of T'Pol.
One gripe; you REALLY need to watch the homophones. There was an awful lot of 'too' in place of 'to' 'peak' in place of 'pique' 'your' instead of 'you're' and so on. The details aren't that hard to learn and they are that important.

I love it. Please, can't wait for the next chapter !

Another great chapter but I also didn't really like how you made Amanda out to be so nasty. She was interested in Trip and even Trip himself didn't really know how T'pol felt about him. I would have thought that T'pol attacking any crew member would be a serious offense and both Archer and Trip would have been a bit more concerned about the attack.

I really can't help it. I am very protective of Trip and T'pol. I mean after 4 yrs of torture and then that horrible ending, do you really want a female Rambo to be in the way making waves. I mean sitting next to them in the movies, when
T'Pol is on duty. Having lunch with Trip and Lizzie when T'pol isn't there. We all know a female opportunist like that. I mean where do yo thing adultery comes from. If a woman didn't play into that bull, then it would be called rape, not having an affair. You don't see Hoshi doing that and she's a friend. No...I think miss Amanda got exactly what she deserved, besides T'Pol is sick with fever...she really can't be held responsible for her actions..hehehehe. On a duller note, started class again today. Wish me luck, this instructor makes the last one look like a pussy cat. That could also have contributed to my attack on Miss thing......T.

Cute story, and I agree with those above that the 'technobabble' was not great. BTW, the 'flux capacitor" is straight out of 'Back to the Future', not Trek!! You may be thinking of the 'flux coupler' that T'Pol has mentioned in several episodes.

Damn....I did say capacitor didn't I . Oops my mistake....I meant coupler...but at least I spelled it right......lol...That is usually what I get eatten alive for....Sorry I will keep it more Gene Roddenberry and less Steven Spielberg.....T.

I don't like cole. Good story again.

Great story! How about a showdown between our favorite Vulcan and our least favorite Maco. Hopefully it will involve some facial rearrangement. Can't for the next part. Hope school is going well for you.