Generational - part 7

Generational

By: TLR

Rated PG
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: Sorry for the delay guys, I have been so busy with family issues and with school I had to put the writing aside until something let up. Here is the awaited ending I promised. We pick up just a few days after the last chapter. Trip and T'Pol made it through Pon Farr and are now trying to return to their normal routine. But something is looming with both of them. The question of whether or not they conceived from this round and whether or not they would ever become parents. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.

March 15th, 2006

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Part 7: Finale

Trip spent another sleepless night just staring at his wife's belly. It was smooth as usual, a fact that would normally have made him quite pleased but since their Pon Farr, he had the baby bug bad. After seeing several more babies born, Trip was feeling the need more and more. He tried hard to hide his restlessness from her but T'Pol could usually guess what he was thinking.

Initially she spoke to him about the odds and about their chances of never having offspring, but noticed it only brought to him even more anxiety. Finally she decided to pretend she sensed nothing and allow Trip to handle his emotions in his own way. Tonight, though like the last five, he wasn't handling them so well.

Finally his close scrutiny was too hard to mistake and T'Pol decided to intervene. "Husband, it's only been a week, even Human females don't know in that amount of time." T'Pol leaned up on her arm and looked directly at him.

"I know but…" Trip wasn't even gonna deny it, he was that focused on his obsession.

"You need to try and put it out of your mind." Her look was understanding, but firm.

"I know….. I just keep feeling like there is something new about us." Trip's gaze didn't leave the small area below her navel.

"I'm sure if things were different, I'd be aware of it. Please try and relax. Concentrate on your meditation to relieve your mind." T'Pol settled back into the crook of his arm as Trip tried to do as she asked. Focus as he will, the thoughts of a bouncing little one would not stray from the back of his mind. It gnawed at him throughout the early hours and into the day. Trip even burned his hand on a live circuit, he was changing out. He cursed and spit at his own clumsiness.

Later that day, the Tuckers sat together at a table in the mess hall. Their meal was going silently, since neither could get around the issue of reproduction. Trip noticed his wife picking through her food. "What's wrong?" he asked a tinge of eagerness in his voice.

"I am simply not hungry…..There is nothing else."

"You just seem to be less and less pleased with your food. You hardly touched your breakfast." Trip reached in to touch her arm but fell short by a few inches realizing they were in a public place. His hand lay on the table surface instead.

"My system must still be affected from the Pon Farr. It will resolve in time." T'Pol pushed her food away and picked up her glass of ice water.

"Yes but you had an appetite like a horse during…"Trip's voice lowered and he leaned in to provide for their privacy. "Why would you have less of one after?"

"Perhaps I've simply had enough to eat for a while." She answered evenly not even gazing in his direction. Trip returned her a look of mock disgust and went back to his meal.

****

(Four days later)

T'Pol was in the bathroom combing the strands of her long brown mane. She'd been experimenting with a longer length ever since she realized that Trip liked longer locks. Not only did she hear his thoughts but noticed how he'd play with the long straight strands as he fell to sleep at night. In many ways, T'Pol realized her husband was really just a big kid himself. It wasn't any wonder he longed for another child to play with.

Secretly T'Pol's fears on the subject were stronger than her mate's. The theories she grew up with put the chances of Human and Vulcan DNA combining at less than 6%. Even with Phlox's help, the chances of them conceiving were only put at 14%. It was clearly an issue that plagued both their minds. While her husband tried to keep his emotions in check, they bled through to the Vulcan and made her feeling of inadequacy all the more real. Her inadequacy in completing their mission and in giving her mate an offspring which was the duty of every Vulcan female, this thought plagued her mind whenever T'Pol let her guard down. It even entered her dreams in the form of her husband's long face while watching everyone else playing with their children. T'Pol's hand absently combed down her hair in slow motion while she continued her contemplation.

Trip entered the room unnoticed. He saw her standing there and knew immediately what his wife was thinking about. Coming up slowly, he laid two light hands upon her shoulders. "Now who's fixated?" he whispered into her ear then took the comb from her. In long loving strokes, Trip slid the comb through smoothing each glide with his free hand. As he did that, he could feel his wife's nerves relax as her eyes closed, enjoying the sensation she felt. After a few more strokes, Trip returned the comb to the counter. He wrapped his arms about his mate and rested his chin atop her shoulder. Looking at her beautiful reflection in the mirror, Trip tried to brighten her day with one of his characteristic smiles. In returned, he saw the look he now knew as one of deep love and affection.

"We'll be okay. Whatever…" he whispered giving her a light squeeze. Kissing her neck, Trip eased back from T'Pol and returned to the main cabin to finish dressing. Moments later found the two leaving their quarters together and heading for the lift. Once there, Trip put T'Pol inside and hit the button for the bridge. He waved once more as the door closed then it was his turn to head to work. They wouldn't see hide nor hair of each other until that evening, both a bit distracted by their thoughts and concerns.

T'Pol sat at her console on the main bridge. She felt herself slipping into an undesired meditative state. Figuring it was her husband's daydreaming, T'Pol quickly began reasoning with him mentally, trying to regain control of her own consciousness. (This isn't the time T'hy'la, I need to concentrate on my scans)

T'Pol waited for a response, not seeing him in her mind. Instead she felt this strange awareness, no real mental thought, just a sense of mind starting to realize its own existence. This feeling was strange and it kept the Vulcan very busy trying to identify exactly where the source of this new thought came from. She checked the bond and found her husband remarkably silent within it. This thought seemed to over ride their connection, which disturbed the alien greatly. To that end, T'Pol initially thought to go and check on her mate, fearing he was injured and lying dazed somewhere among the large engine structure, but this strange feeling wasn't of pain or even confusion. It was of calm contemplation, a fact that held the Vulcan to her chair. It was a faint whisper in the back of her mind. A mind that was normally bombarded daily with the emotions of 83 Humans and of one that was particularly loud. But at this moment, all was silent except for this faint thought, making this feeling all the more surreal. T'Pol concentrated harder, almost touching the source of this feeling when an abrupt hand came up and grabbed her shoulder. It startled her back into the here and now.

"You okay?" Trip stood there quite concerned, having been trying to reach his wife through their bond since she first tried to correct him. "You seemed to be very far away…. You sure you're all right?" Now the young engineer was kneeling beside his mate looking up into her large round eyes.

"I am fine….. I simply was sensing your thoughts…. were you injured?" She ran a tertiary assessment of his overall being.

"I'm not injured…. I tried to answer you but your mind was blocked to me. I thought we agreed not to do that anymore." Trip was whispering, realizing that his abrupt entrance and behavior was starting to attract the attention of those on first watch. Even Archer was looking up from his padd to see what the commotion was all about.

"I blocked nothing… I sensed your confusion and was disturbed by the difference in the way it felt in my mind." T'Pol was totally fixated on this weird experience, not at all concerned at what was going on around her. Hoshi, Malcolm and Archer all stared in the couple's direction, having lost the ambition to try and hide their interest.

"Honey, I wasn't confused. I was fine and I tried to tell you as much from Engineering, but you blocked me out. Are you sure you're all right?" Trip had a very big lump in his throat. It had been a long time since T'Pol had blocked anything from him, knowing what havoc it caused in their relationship. Now she swore that she'd not done so when he knew she did. More over, she wouldn't lie to him, knowing full well he could see through it, and she wasn't lying now, at least not by her thoughts. There had to be something wrong, and the young Human wanted nothing more than to take her by the hand and deliver her to Phlox right this minute. "Perhaps you should take a break and see the Doc?" Trip's voice was low and tender but his mind was determined to have her follow his orders.

"Not at this time. It is clear that we are both tired and are having difficulty concentrating. We will turn in early tonight and catch up on our rest after a solid meditation." T'Pol returned to her console array. Trip knelt there a moment longer, trying to convey privately what he couldn't say publicly.

(I think you should go to see Phlox…) His mind was putting a forceful edge on things that the Vulcan wasn't reacting well too.

(I have work to finish, as do you T’hy’la. I suggest we both get back to our perspective tasks.) T'Pol didn't look back from her scanners. This made Trip feel all the more dismissed in front of his friends. He looked up and saw them quickly look away. He rose, very defeated by her send off, and laid a hand to her shoulder to denote his leaving. She looked to it, knowing it was more than should have been offered, but didn't make mention of it to him, knowing she'd hurt him already with her Vulcan logic. As he got into the lift, T'Pol turned to look at him.

(I am fine… please do not worry. Until tonight my beloved……) Her use of those words made the bad feelings leave. Occasionally, T'Pol would allow for some emotions to creep into her mental interactions with him, feeling as though if she didn't speak them they were not really a slip on her part. For Vulcan law was that what you felt and what you demonstrated were two different things. Her outward actions could be totally logical, but her interactions with her mate were private, meant only for him and if Trip didn't mind those emotions seeping through, than it wasn't such a bad thing. At this moment, this little slip helped sooth his feelings and he returned her a soft smile before the turbo lift doors closed. It would be another long night for both of them as neither knew what was really taking place within their bond.

***

( a week later)

The instances of little mental meltdowns grew in frequency. Sometimes it was Trip who went on a strange subconscious journey and other times it was T'Pol. Both couldn't communicate with the other and the pair spent most of the time running back and forth between the bridge and engineering trying to ascertain if the other was all right. Finally, late this night, Trip was as usual trying to get some sleep when the strange phenomena came to him again.

It was a feeling of awareness, just as it had been for T'Pol, but with a big difference. This awareness had a sense of humor at times. This, was something that Trip was noticing more and more with his wife, since they bonded, but this sense was different. It was even known to chuckle on occasion, a fact that never came from the Vulcan. Try as she might to make a joke, she never got the full feel of the humor, just the characteristics of it. But this was real humor, the kind Trip knew from his dad. That faint sense of comedy while Charles Sr. kept a straight face. It was weird and yet it gave Trip a feeling of reassurance when he didn't consider the origins of the feelings. When he did, he quickly woke his wife to check on her.

"Honey…..wake up." Trip shook the alien lightly, knowing how she could be startled when she was really tired. T'Pol sprang up slightly in bed, but was halted by her husband's light hand upon her shoulder.

"What is it?" She searched their bond to see if he was all right.

"You were chuckling…." Trip blurted out, not knowing how to relay what he'd been feeling.

"I was what?" T'Pol came back with a mixture of shock and puzzlement.

"Chuckling,.... not outwardly, but through our bond….. You were chuckling." Trip sounded like a record with the needle stuck.

"Husband… I was not chuckling… You must have dreamed it." T'Pol turned onto her side, putting her back to him for his waking her.

"That's unlikely. I've been awake for more than two hours. I know what I felt…. You were chuckling." He leaned over and looked down unto her face. This made the Vulcan reply back to him with a bit of miff in her voice.

"Vulcans do not chuckle… Not even in their sleep." She let it fly out to him, then grabbed the covers and tugged them over her shoulders tightly. Within another minute, she was just beginning to go back to sleep. It was just at that moment she felt a less than happy feeling in the pit of her gut. It was, she thought her husband's anger at her defying his statement and she turned to find him laid back on the pillows wide awake.

(You need not get upset, husband….. you simply fell asleep and dreamed the event. You are tired, try to rest.) T'Pol tried to relay to him that they were both tired and needed sleep. Instead a very huffy feeling came over her and she couldn't help but sit up and address him.

"You need not get that way….. I told you, you simply dreamed the event. To have this much anger at me is not logical." T'Pol screamed at him, feeling the anger inside her grow with every passing second.

"I'm not angry…. Where is this coming from?" Trip stared up at her in disbelief.

"You are so…..I can feel it within our bond. You needn't try to hide that which you are truly feeling. You are merely tired and need some rest." T'Pol leaned up on her arm and stared down at his shocked expression.

"Look who's talking…. If anyone is angry it is you and you're not even trying to hide it. What is going on here?" Trip seemed somewhat calm, even if his words were every bit defensive in nature.

"I am simply responding to the anger you are sending through our bond. You know how it affects me…. You must learn to control your emotions so that we are not so affected by them." T'Pol's voice now seemed almost sad in nature. If Trip didn't know her better, he'd swear she was about to cry.

"Honey…..don't you mean so you are not so affected by them?" Trip noticed the strange use of the word 'we' in her statement.

"You know what I mean." Now his wife's voice started to shake.

"Honey….do I look upset or mad?" Trip reached up and turned her gaze to him. He smiled at her seeing that she was at the brink of something he couldn't begin to understand.

"You are hiding your outward feelings, but they are still very hurtful to me." T'Pol tried to keep control, feeling the tears welling up inside of her.

"That's my point, Honey. When have I ever hid my outward feelings from you? You know me like a book, can feel my thoughts before I have them. Where is the logic in thinking I was trying to trick you or hide things from you?" Trip offered up another soft caress to help ease her nerves. This lessened the uneasiness in her soul and began to make things come back to normal. All this time, however, T'Pol could feel her mate blocking his thoughts from her, and it distressed her all the more. It wasn't until his caressing, did his thoughts return to her.

They were not at all what she'd blamed him of. Instead of anger there was love and understanding coming in from every direction. This soothed her all the more, but left the Vulcan with an uneasy sense that perhaps she was loosing her mind. The rest of the night, Trip held his wife close and kept her from harm. He sent waves and waves of love to her. Feeling them returned, the Human could finally rest. But for the Vulcan, there would be no sleep. She lay awake, wondering if the affects of the Pa'Nar Syndrome was starting to destroy her mind. She feared it would continue to get worse and result in her death much sooner than she or the doctor at first thought. T'Pol made a point to go and see the doctor first thing in the morning, before her shift.

***

It was early, pre-shift, and the day time crew hadn't arrived in the sickbay. Phlox was alone in the area, at his desk filing the last of his birth records into the ship's memory core. He was a bit surprised to see the young Vulcan standing in the middle of the room.

"T'Pol?" the doctor moved up to her in a cautious way. "Can I help you?"

T'Pol remained silent a moment, checking her feelings to see if she could detect anyone in the area. Aside from the various array of pet life, there was only the Denobulan's emotions that were readable in the near by area. She advanced meeting the older alien half way. He stood there silently awaiting her first communication.

"Doctor…. I am experiencing someone's consciousness that is not my own or my mate's." Her voice sounded shaky as she tried to relay the facts. "I believe that my control is slipping, possibly the Pa'Nar is advancing faster than we first predicted."

"That hardly seems likely. Your last exam showed lower levels of the disease. The serum I synthesized from your people provided a great deal of progress in fighting the disease. I don't think things have changed that much in the last month." Phlox pulled out a hand scanner and started running the length of T'Pol, who stood totally expecting the bad news to start coming through. Instead, through the doors came her husband, bounding into the room as if realizing that something was about to go down and he wasn't going to get their in time. Trip seemed somewhat out of breath as he came up to stand beside the doctor.

"Commander?" Phlox seemed somewhat bound by his doctor patient confidentiality for the young Vulcan, even from her husband.

"What's wrong?" Trip looked at the older male then turned to his wife. "Has he told you anything…. What's causing these strange sensations?" Trip didn't get the fact that the doctor was not pleased to see him there.

"Come on… will someone say something." He nudged, knowing his wife was trying to hold out something, but didn't know what.

"Commander….perhaps you could come back at another time." Phlox seemed to want to help relieve the Vulcan's anxiety about the matter. He knew not if her mate knew of her diagnosis of Pa'Nar.

"Doc….this is my wife….. If there is anything you need to tell her, you can tell me. I will know it anyway through our bond, so it makes no sense to……" Trip was quieted by the wave of his wife's hand.

"Go ahead doctor, he is correct. There is nothing my husband can not know about me." T'Pol knew that trying to get Trip out of sickbay would be fruitless. If there was to be a big change in her because of the Pa'Nar, it would be now that he would have to find out. With Phlox here, the Vulcan knew she could better explain to him what to expect in the coming years. Phlox simply looked from one to the other before resuming his scan.

The small palm sized scanner hummed softly, sending a low blue light to fall over T'Pol's body as it went from top to bottom and back again. After the third pass, Phlox turned the light downward and ran over the smaller screen's data quickly. T'Pol was restless, knowing already what the scan would say, but trying to keep her husband from feeling her anxiety. Finally the jovial doctor looked up and faced the two of them.

"Well it would seem that your diagnosis was incorrect, T'Pol. It is far from what you thought and I believe that you will be pleased with what has been affecting you." Phlox wanted to stretch out the suspense for as long as he could, but before he got too much further, he was cut off by Trip's revelation.

"She's pregnant…..It's the baby we are feeling." The Human's eyes were far away, as if he was communicating with someone else, not in the room.

Both T'Pol and the doctor looked at him in shock. But the engineer's determination on this matter wouldn't waiver. He was feeling something, sensing another essence that was not his own or his mate's. It was tiny, soft and far away, but it was there sure as he knew his love for T'Pol would never change. T'Pol felt the wall between them as Trip continued his connection with the far away being.

T'Pol looked to the doctor, who quietly nodded, not wanting to disturb the interaction of father and child. The Vulcan seemed almost relieved as her tense muscles gave way to the exhaustion these last few weeks brought the alien. Trip's eyes then turned to the others and a smile came upon him randomly.

"I'm right aren't I ….. She's pregnant and it's are child that is trying to communicate with us….." His smile grew, Trip's heart filling with so much happiness he could hardly contain it. Phlox nodded, a small mist appearing in his eyes at the joy he was seeing.

"Yippie…." Trip wheeled around and grabbed his wife, spinning her in circles as they stood in the middle of sickbay. The morning shift began to enter, making the Human's actions mellow down a bit. He put his mate gently onto her feet and stepped back, but the grin on his face would not leave. It shown from ear to ear, bright like a light house beckon, bringing the attention of all around right to the group.

"So what now Doc?" Trip's voice was holding back the huge tears in his eyes. His hand reached down and brushed against his mate's. She didn't move away or even try to avoid his touch. Their fingers lingered as Phlox outlined a prenatal plan for the young woman, including the dietary needs that Trip was to enforce upon her if she didn't comply with his orders. The group stayed together for another 30 minutes, outlining what they were to expect in a classic Vulcan pregnancy.

***

(7 weeks later)

T'Pol hunched over the toilet, trying her hardest not to let out another round of retching. It was not a normal symptom of a Vulcan's first trimester, but because of the added Human hormones, she was having to endure the same things that the Human females aboard had too. It wasn't pleasant, but the embarrassment of her public afflictions was harder to get over, especially when she unfortunately relieved herself all over the Captain's shoes in front of the entire bridge crew. Archer understood the situation, but T'Pol still feared a repeat performance, so the Vulcan had taken to doing most of her work from the privacy of their quarters.

Trip came in from the outer room. He stepped up to her and began kneeling behind her. He eased her back by massaging it softly, feeling a bit of her nausea bleeding through their bond to him. He was not queasy, but his stomach turned over and over like he'd been riding a roller coaster. A soft green hue showed on his face, as he tried to be as sympathetic as possible. "It's okay honey." Trip whispered in her ear as he placed the hypospray to her neck and let the medicine inject into her.

Within a few seconds, the symptoms that had the Vulcan hunched over relaxed and she was able to straighten again. She took several slow deep breaths, making the remaining nausea fade significantly quicker. Trip's hands encircled her then slipped down to her belly, now slightly rounded. They stopped in a loving cup over where his child was now resting.

The scans they took, a week ago, showed that the fetus the Vulcan was carrying was a bouncing baby boy. That diagnosis made the Human openly weep, knowing full well that the child his mate was carrying, would never be seen by his father, who wanted a grandson since his first granddaughter was born, over 8 years ago. Since the diagnosis, the Tuckers were also refining their ability to better communicate with their son. They noticed that their child only could communicate with one of them at a time, so it was up to the other to be patient and wait for the opportunity to reconnect with their mate.

It was this connection that kept the parents aware of any problems that the fetus was feeling. It was evident early that the feelings of the parents influenced how the child felt about his own safety. If they argued, or were upset with one another, there was a distinct reaction with the child and he would become very discontent with his circumstance. Because of this, Trip and T'Pol made it a point not to get upset with each other, no matter how they were truly feeling. This kept emotional outbursts like the one T'Pol experienced many weeks ago with Trip, to a minimum. It would be a much smoother ride, as long as the resident parents to be kept things on an even keel.

(Six Months later)

A very pregnant T'Pol tried to fit behind her console on the bridge. Her belly rubbed against the edge of her desk and kept her chair from rotating fully to let her look into her scanner. There was a soft humming that kept coming from the console before her. T'Pol tried to reach for the button but fell short of it by a few inches. She held the under part of her belly as she reached further to turn off the annoying sound. It was the swift hand of the Captain, which came up and hit the button which stopped the noise.

"T'Pol….. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Ensign Taylor can man your station." Jon was trying to be polite, but the Vulcan took it as her inadequacy. She looked at him defiantly, waiting for the captain to back down. When he didn't, T'Pol eased her chair back as far as it would go and inched her abdomen out from the edge of her station. She walked toward the lift, turning to see the rest of the bridge crew getting back to the business at hand. She heard the mention of the disabled ship as the doors were closing.

Later from the events of the day, T'Pol returned to duty to help assist the members of the damaged ship. The E'carin's ship was caught in an anomaly field, and had taken on heavy damage. There were many aliens with minor injuries, but one that suffered great bodily injury when a conduit blew. Archer carried her from the shuttle pod directly to sickbay so that Phlox could start regeneration on her immediately, and ended up spending the next 12 hours in decon for his boldness. The patient's name was Aciellia, a young woman of about 30 years of age. The banded ridge on her nose was the only outward difference the young Vulcan could see between them. As she was ordered, T'Pol kept tabs on the young woman's progress and made hourly reports to decon, where the Captain remained on pins and needles. Something about his actions, made T'Pol wonder if Archer, who had till now remained separate from his crew, hadn't indeed met his match in the young frail woman he lovingly laid upon the biobed. She made a mental note to continue to monitor the situation for any chance that the Captain was becoming unfit for duty. He did after all willfully expose the ship to what ever the young woman could have been carrying. It seemed unlikely, he would do so if he wasn't under some type of influence. T'Pol would later bring this subject up with her husband as they settled in for a long evening's rest.

***

One month later found a very uncomfortable T'Pol standing before her shipmates and especially before her captain and his bride to be. She was uncomfortable, not because a quarter of her current weight was her abdomen, but because as second in command, the responsibility fell to her to unite Archer with the alien female that came aboard so abruptly just 33 days ago. Their fascination with each other had been apparent from the get go, but when her people's ship was fully repaired, no one was surprised when she stayed behind at the captain's request. Now the duty of performing a Human ceremony fell to her and the Vulcan was, to say the least a bit apprehensive about saying the words that a ceremony of that type dictated. Try as she might to use her current condition to get out of the chore, the female now found herself before the ship's compliment, children and all having to utter the words "love", "respect" and "cherish" at this event. How difficult could it be, she thought realizing to her those words meant something Humans would do, but having changed so since her marriage to one, it seemed almost like she was belying the confidence T'Pol had with Trip about their true feelings. It would be a difficult day ahead, for more reasons than she knew.

Nervously she stood with her husband at her side, awaiting the lucky couple to appear. They chose to walk in together, a custom that her people found to be sacred. Trip knew how difficult this was on his wife, whose emotions had been on edge for the last two months of her pregnancy. The time was getting close and both of them were ready to jump at the least little thing. She had been feeling very uncomfortable today, aching and straining for more than 12 hrs. She didn't know if it was the pains, or the fact that she stood ready to perform something so against her core beliefs. She watched as the outer door opened and the Captain and A'ceillia stepped through in formal E'carin dress. They made their way slowly to the makeshift alter while chimes and soft strings played in the background.

As they came forward and stopped before T'Pol and her mate, Trip noticed his wife hesitating a moment. Instead of laying her hand upon the couple's, she leaned forward as if bowing to them. But when she didn't straighten, Trip knew there was something desperately wrong. T'Pol crumpled to the floor, balled up and rocking from side to side. Within their bond, the Human could feel the giant wall she placed there early that morning. It was meant to shield him from the pain, but instead it only made him more worried about the health of his mate. He grabbed her and eased her down into his lap. The Captain and rest of the crowd present, stepped forward, concerned for the Vulcan as well. Phlox made his way past the onlookers and began running scans over the young woman's body. As suspected, she was in labor, full blown in fact. The Denobulan looked up to the Captain, who helped Trip get his wife into his arms. The crowd parted, allowing the doctor and the Tuckers to leave the area and head for sickbay. Archer felt compelled to follow, but decided to send the onlookers away before going to lend support to his very best friends. He and A'ceillia would show up there a half hour later, quietly standing outside the curtained off area with the worried expectant father. When Phlox was finished with his tests, he allowed Trip back in with his wife and went to speak with the bride and groom to be.

"She is in full labor, Captain. It won't be long now." The Denobulan seemed quite pleased with himself for his accomplishment.

"How is that possible? She didn't look as if she was in labor." Archer was perplexed that Vulcans could deliver so quickly.

"By my calculations Captain, she's been in labor for more than 16 hours. Vulcans merely control their acceptance of pain better. They can turn off the receptors to a certain extent, but it takes much concentration and I surmise that the added stress of performing in public while doing so overwhelmed her. She is resting a bit more comfortably now." Phlox laid down his scanner and allowed the captain and his fiancé a chance to take in the info.

"Can we see her?" Jon asked still remembering the hard way she went down.

"Not at this time Captain. For Vulcans, this time is all about family. They will need their privacy to allow this event to go smoothly. You may see her after the child is born and they have had time to bond formally with it, face to face." Phlox was apologetic but firm.

"Will you tell them, I am here for them?" Archer was wanting to lend his support but feeling a bit helpless to do so.

"Don't worry Captain, I will take very good care of all of them, I promise. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest. I will pass on your message as well." Phlox went to his desk and jotted a few notes. The couple started to leave and was stopped by the voice of the good doctor as they retreated.

"Oh and Happy Wedding day to you both." He flashed them that huge bizarre grin. The one that always made Archer chuckle when he saw it. They nodded, then left as they were instructed to do.

( Six hours later)

"All right T'Pol honey, you gotta push like the doc told you to." Trip was behind his wife holding her in an upright position. Her legs braced in a contraption at the foot of the bed. Squatted between them was the rotund alien awaiting the newest member of the crew's complement. T'Pol flashed her mate an annoyed look at his use of familiarity in front of the doctor. Trip felt the sting of her glare and decided to shake it off and continue.

"That a girl….. push….push…." Trip seemed like a cheering section, keeping in time to her contractions like a pro. This was helpful, for now the pain was beyond that of which the young alien could dismiss. She grappled with it, having her own thoughts so jumbled that listening to his directions was the only thing she could hold on to.

Again another contraction hit, and the Human was leaning harder into his wife's back as if wanting to help her squeeze the child out. "Push baby….Push." At this point, T'Pol was too engaged in the event to even react to that little breach of etiquette. She did as she was instructed and felt a swift movement coming from down there. The pain's intensity grew exponentially for a moment then was released, much like the pressure behind a coolant valve when vented into the atmosphere. She exhaled heavily, eyes closed and almost to the point of unconsciousness.

"Oh my god…." She heard the weepy voice of her mate and the alien's eyes snapped open.

"He's beautiful." Trip was openly crying now at the sight of his son laying head first in the doctor's arms. The greenish pasty substance that covered him didn't diminish the angelic features, nor did it keep the baby from taking a swift breath and letting out a yell that the Vulcans could hear, 110 years in the future. It wriggled and squirmed, as the doctor tried to keep a good grasp on him. With a free hand, he used a laser scalpel to cut and clot the cord about a half inch from the baby's tummy.

The pointed ears stood out against the roundness of its head, light hair and brilliant blue eyes. T'Pol stared in awe as the child was cleaned and handed to her with several beats of her heart. Once in her arms, the child stopped its fierce crying and opened its eyes wide, looking into the eyes of the woman that nourished it for the last 10 months. There was a definite connection going on and Phlox tried to stay as silent as possible, while finishing his care of the mother. Trip leaned down to his wife's level and joined her in the connection with his son.

"Hey there buddy….. We've been waitin' a long time to see ya." Trip whispered and saw the boy look directly at him. His heart melted at those eyes that connected so quickly. The baby knew the face of his parents and was calmed by their mere presence. The child's hands came up and began sucking fiercely on its fists. There was a strong wave of hunger detected and Trip turned to his wife in surprise.

"Is that you?" He asked not thinking his wife would feel this way so soon after giving birth.

"No...it is our son. He is hungry…" And with that, the Vulcan put the child to breast and watched as he attempted to get the gist of it. With some help from the doctor, mother and son got into a rhythm and all was well within their family bond again. Dad watched this sight, as Phlox left to inform the crew of its latest addition. There was a blissful feeling that came through this connection they shared. A feeling that from now on, there was nothing that could harm them, no matter what.

"Welcome home Lorian" Trip murmured, running a finger over the child's head as he fed from his mother's breast. "Welcome home son."

Hours later would find father holding his son in a rocker just beside his wife's bed. The child was awake, but T'Pol was so tired by the ordeal that Trip decided to take this shift's feeding. Secretly he relished the chance to have this father son time alone. He knew as the baby grew, he would be in more physical need of his mother, but was determined to be there whenever possible to do his share. Trip watched as Lorian hungrily sucked at the bottle while committing to memory his father's warm features. It was a time of peace. The ship was quiet. The crew was at rest, but throughout the vessel resounded a different feeling tonight, a feeling of joy and happiness that the crew had never known before. Did they realize that born tonight was their future captain? Did they know that with this child's help, Earth, Vulcan and in fact many more worlds would be saved? Or did they simply feel the overwhelming happiness the Tuckers were giving off this day. For if ever a Vulcan projected their feelings out on anyone, tonight T'Pol was not able to stop herself. Though her outward appearance was that of a mother who was concerned with the welfare of her child, her emotions were running rampant, due in part to her connection with an overly emotional Human mate.

At times of great emotions, Vulcans often allowed for these little slips in etiquette. This time was no different. However, unknown to most, when a Vulcan sends out waves of emotion, no one is immune to their touch. That night the entire crew was overcome with emotion, from joy and laughter to tears of happiness, it would be later documented as the night the entire ship came together to welcome the child Lorian Charles Tucker aboard the Enterprise.

***

(110 years later/ back to the present day)

A very aged T'Pol sat before a monitor screen in her quarters. It had been a long while since she was on active duty. At 181 yrs of age, she was a bit more fragile than the average Vulcan would be. Her Pa'Nar syndrome hadn't been too bad until she turned 160, but after that, the shaking of her limbs and unsteadiness of her gait made her a hazard, instead of a help on the bridge. More than 60 years ago, her son Lorian took command of Enterprise from a dying Captain Archer, promising him that their mission would continue, and continue it did. With T'Pol as a guide, the adult half breed turned into one fine captain all his own. Now his ability and creativity would be put to the test. At the end of this day, either the other Enterprise would be on its way to the rendezvous with Degra, or it would be thrown back once more in time. Once more to start this cycle anew and give the Human's another fighting chance to change history.

But for T'Pol she could only helplessly watch from her room and pray that the ones she loved on both ships found a peaceful end to this tense situation. She knew that if the other Enterprise was successful, their timeline would no longer exist, and wondered what would become of herself in a different one. For that very reason, she loaded the extra diary entries onto that palm padd, before giving it to her younger self. T'Pol could sense the woman's hesitance about what had occurred and how her life could be so much different with the Human by her side. But still she was scared. Afraid of her emotions and even more of the difficulty in control she was just learning to deal with. It would be hard for the younger Vulcan, the sage T'Pol knew all too well, remembering back to her contemplations of suicide all those years ago. The very ones that got her life with Trip started. This time, with the information, this T'Pol in either timeline, would know of her options and could then make the decision to seek out the Human herself, making their choice all the easier. Included also was the specs for the serum that Phlox created, so that if they did choose to mate, there would be another chance for Lorian to be born.

Sitting at her desk, the elder T'Pol heard the call to battle stations and knew the true test of the ship was about to commence. She watched as both Enterprises made their way toward the vortex, being chased by the Kavolins. The ship bounced under the plasma weapons that struck it, almost knocking the older woman from her chair. (So it begins…) she thought knowing the outcome of this battle would seal Earth's fate one way or another. Secretly she hoped, if only for her late husband, that the plan the two Vulcans concocted would work. Even though it meant the end of her world and all in it, that Earth wouldn't have to go through the second attack that every Human crewman aboard lived through, knowing the first time they failed to keep the planet and its people from their deaths.

Another round of weapon's fire, and T'Pol held on tightly to her desk. She watched in earnest as a crippled other Enterprise was being dragged toward the nebula by the older more worn ship and its crew. Once released, the monitors kept up with the crippled ship, while the rocking and wrenching of her own hull was giving way to the four Kavolin's ships assault. The elderly female closed her eyes, as she saw the other ship enter the vortex, knowing at that point they were to no more see that crew or know its future. There was a shimmer of brightness and a feeling of light headedness, as the battered vessel and its gallant crew disappeared in a glimmer of light. One last conscious thought entered the elderly woman's mind as she left this universe for another unknown place.

(Live long and prosper) Her mind whispered that thought for the crew of her beloved Enterprise, but mostly for the two of them that would go on to something greater. That wish echoed into the vastness of space, as the generational crew's consciousness became no more.

The End

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

I know, it is a horrible place to stop, but I told the ending in the last half of a previous story I did, called "Of Love and Hope" (May 2005) . So if you want to know what's in the journals, I suggest you simply look it up. My next series coming out is the long awaited "A New Life", already turned in to Bucky and posted.

Part 6

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

As always you've written an excellent story! I loved it.

Very well done! I loved it!:P

Beautiful story. Loved the lot! My sympathy to you and your family for the loss of your grandfather.

TLR, once again another great chapter in an amazing series. You have a great gift. Thanks for this story.

Wow. Pretty. Thank you, and well done! :)

Thanks a lot, very well done.

Very good ending, I of course read Of Love and Hope, three times now, lol. Great once again TLR

The trials and tribulations of pregnant/laboring T'Pol seemed very familiar to me. The overwhelming joy was equally familiar. You've got to be a mother, TLR... or someone with an amazing talent for describing the process of becoming one. This was very moving. Thank you.

I wish, however I was unable to have kids of my own. I wanted them so, but it never was part of the plans. T

I started to read these fanfiction only a few weeks ago. I really your storys , they are great !
Best wishes from Germany Lisaellen

I started to read these fanfiction only a few weeks ago. I really your storys , they are great !
Best wishes from Germany Lisaellen