Devil's Advocate - Ch 4

Devil’s Advocate

By Triplover

Disclaimer: When I own all this I’ll be sure to go outside and watch the pigs flying cause it’s never gonna happen.
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Angst
Rating: R (for violence and other stuff)
Summary: After saving a cargo ship filled with many different species, crewmembers on Enterprise are found dead.

Chapter Four

Comfort To All

How could this be? Why would anyone murder Harren? It just didn’t make any sense! Archer’s eyes widened when he saw the look on Trip’s face. He obviously wasn’t making a very cruel joke. This was for real, and yet he just couldn’t believe it. “Vince was a good guy; everyone on this ship loves him. Who’d want to kill him?”

Trip looked at Archer, genuinely concerned. “How the hell would I know, Cap’n? I’m just tellin’ ya that this was no accident.”

Archer nodded. “I want you to look into this further, Phlox. Make sure there’s no room for error.”

“Captain, I ran as many tests as I could, Commander Tucker’s right on this. It was a very powerful electroshock through his body that killed him; it stopped his heart.”

“Run them again! I want to be certain.”

“Well, when the Commander called I had just noticed something about the bruise marks we found while taking the body to sickbay. I believe Harren was not alone when he was killed.”

Trip frowned. “Everyone in the graveyard shift says he was alone. No one saw anybody else till the next shift.”

“I’ll talk with Malcolm. If Vince Harren was murdered, I’ll make sure he finds out who did this.”

Trip shook his head, in another world. “I can’t believe someone would kill him.” At that he turned around. The Commander let out an annoyed sigh as he saw the person standing at the hatch, eyes widened in both horror and pain. He’d seen that look before, Tess Lawrence had heard every word. “Tess,” he muttered just as she brought the padd to him.
Her hand was shaking, but she stilled it before the Captain and Phlox noticed. Trip on the other hand was painfully made aware as to how much this was affecting her. “You wanted this,” she whispered.

“Aw damn Tess, I totally forgot!”

Tess wouldn’t even look at him. Instead she just handed the padd and turned to leave. Trip glanced at both the Captain and the Doctor. “Excuse me for a minute,” he told them, then was out the door to catch up with her. “Tess!”

It seemed at first that Tess ignored her commanding officer’s call for only a second before her sense of duty kicked in and she stopped… she didn’t turn around, she just stopped. Trip stood behind her, trying to figure out what to say just as Tess swirled around to look at him. “He was murdered?!”

“Tess, we’re gonna find out what happened,” he assured her, but she didn’t seem to want to hear it.

“No! I can’t believe this! This is bull shit! Who would want to kill Vince?! He didn’t do anything to deserve this!”

Although Trip could hear the anger in her voice, the tears running down her face betrayed her. She was more than upset, and how could he blame her? She and Vince had been a couple for a long time; Trip remembered teasing the two about marriage for god sakes! He still remembered the conversation he and Vince had not but a month ago.

“Commander, how do you know you’re in love?”

Harren smiled at him. “No, not until now.”

Trip wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her everything would be all right, that she was going to get through this… but he knew that wasn’t true. He could never get through if T’Pol were to die; it would always weigh heavily on his mind. That was exactly what Tess was going through. No words could change what she was feeling or make things better. So instead of saying a thing he simply pulled her in his arms, attempting to comfort her. They’d been friends for so long, but never in his life had he seen her so upset… not like this. Tess’ tears poured out of her like a waterfall and his heart went out to her at the sound. His shoulder was wet with her tears, and it took everything he had not to cry with her.

It took a few minutes for her cries to stop. She stood there in his arms for a few moments longer then pulled away, wiping the wetness off her beautiful face. Trip smiled warmly at her, letting his hands rest on her shoulder. “I can’t tell ya it’ll get easier, or that you’ll be able to get through this in no time. I won’t lie to ya, but I will say this…” Trip cleared his throat and looked deep into her bluish-green eyes. “I WILL find out who did this, and there’s no chance in hell that he’ll get away with it.”

His stern response knocked Tess out of the anger and sorrow she felt for only a second as a smile replaced the frown. She nodded at him slowly. “I know you will, Commander.”

Trip grinned back at her. “Tess,” he whispered.

“Yes sir?”

“It’s good see you smile.”

Tess let out a small laugh before sniffing, still wiping away tears. “Thank you, sir. I should probably get back to work.” The pain was still there, he could see it in her eyes. Yet with it was a small bit of peace, the knowing that whoever did this would not escape punishment. He was glad he could be the one to give that peace to her. Once himself he’d felt that peace, a peace T’Pol had given him when his sister died. Tucker knew this would be hard for Tess, but he swore to himself that he’d do whatever he could to make things easier. He would give her what T’Pol had given him… a shoulder to cry on.

Trip let go of her as she turned and left. Tess was a good officer, and if there was one thing that all knew about the Commander, it was that Trip never let one of his people suffer alone. Tess wouldn’t suffer alone.

Archer waited, content at watching the Commander help Lieutenant Lawrence, who was obviously upset. When the woman finally turned to leave Archer walked up beside his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Funny,” Trip muttered to his friend, “after everything we’ve been through you’d think I’d be used to all this.”

“No one gets used to death,” Archer told him, seeing the pain in his friend’s eyes. “If you want, you can work with Malcolm, he’ll need a hand.”

Trip nodded, looking him straight in the eyes. Archer could see the determination in his eyes. “I’ll be there.”

“Good man.” Archer patted his shoulder, before walking back towards where Phlox was still standing.

Tucker watched him go before walking the other way. The Commander was getting a horrible feeling that this would not end well.

==

“I still can’t believe he’s dead,” Malcolm muttered, shaking his head.

“I can’t believe someone would kill him! Who would want to hurt Vince? Who the hell would do somethin’ like that? I just don’t get it!”

Malcolm frowned when he saw his friend pacing. “Trip, I know you’re upset, but you’ve got to calm down.”

“I am calm!” Trip almost shouted. When he realized he’d yelled he stopped pacing and took a seat. “I’m sorry Malcolm, I just can’t believe this is happenin’. I guess I’m a little on edge these days, with me not sleepin’ too well, it’s hard not to feel a little uneasy. Tess overheard me, the Cap’n and Phlox talkin’ about Harren’s possible murder. She didn’t take it too well. I just thought this kind of thing would be over after we left the Expanse.”

Malcolm put the padd in his hand down and walked over to sit by his friend. They were both in engineering, standing where Harren had been found. Trip’s eyes fell to the floor where they’d found him lying... where he’d found the power cell. Malcolm put a hand on his shoulder, frowning. “I know Trip. I know he was a good friend of yours. Vince was a good man, a very good man. He learned a lot while serving with you here and I don’t think he’d change that. He loved it here. This was his home.”

Trip nodded. “Yeah, he certainly did love it here. Dammit Malcolm, this isn’t how things are supposed to happen. He should die an old man. He was only twenty-four. He was so young… everyone’s dyin’. Every time things start to get better, somethin’ goes wrong. We’ve all ready lost so many… and now he’s dead too.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, and then finally Malcolm stood. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you come by here in the morning and we’ll begin the investigation.” Trip again nodded before standing.

“I am pretty tired. I’ll see ya tomorrow mornin’.” Trip turned and left through the hatch.

==

It was strange. His mind wanted to go to his room to sleep. He was just so tired, but his legs were taking him somewhere he’d not expected to go. Sure, he certainly didn’t mind where he realized he’d end up, but he still needed to sleep. Any time he went to where he was going, sleep was the last thing on his mind. He stopped at the door of her quarters and rang the buzzer. He smiled the moment he saw her face. “T’Pol.”

T’Pol cocked her head in surprise. “Trip?”

“Is it all right for me to come in?”

He knew the answer even before asking the question. T’Pol had even told him he didn’t need to ask anymore. T’Pol considered her quarters his quarters, and his quarters her quarters. That was what happened in a relationship, though he hadn’t exactly expected T’Pol of all people to feel that way. It seemed so strange to see this new side of her. She had changed so much around him, but only for him. She become so comfortable around him, he was honored that she could ‘let her hair down,’ as they say, around him. “Of course,” she told him, moving aside so he could come in.

He hesitated. He’d wanted to sleep. Why was he here anyway? He knew the answer though. He didn’t want to be alone, not after what happened to Vince Harren. He needed to be with her, now more than ever. Yet still the question hung over him. Why was he here? He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. What did he want to say? I’m feelin’ a little lonely so I came here. He certainly didn’t want to say that. It wasn’t that it was embarrassing to say it, but no matter how strong their relationship was it seemed wrong somehow to say. He couldn’t put his finger on why that was true, he supposed it was just a feeling, a feeling he was sure T’Pol was consider illogical.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked. He could see the worry in her eyes. It was obvious that she was concerned. “Trip?”

Trip walked over to her and raised his hand to her cheek. He loved her so much. She meant the world to him. He caressed her face delicately before his lips went down on hers; he kissed her light then took a step back. “I just needed to see you. I haven’t talked to you all day.” It was then that the answer to his question was finally realized. He hadn’t just come because he was lonely; he came because he knew she was the only one who could help him. She’d been the only one to help him deal his sister’s death, not to mention Jane Taylor’s death, and now another friend was gone. He needed her again. Things felt better when he was with her.

“You have many duties. I understand.” T’Pol took a step closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down for another kiss.

He smiled down at her when their kiss ended. “I didn’t come down for this.”

“Does it matter? I know you are upset after the death of Lieutenant Harren, I think for now you need some time to forget. It has been my knowledge that comfort helps those dealing with such a loss.” She knew him too well. She’d known why he was here before he even knew. Of course he hadn’t been thinking of sex, but he had been thinking of her.

Tucker kissed her more fiercely the next time their lips met. His tongue moved into her mouth just as hers did the same, both tongues exploring its surroundings. He held her tightly in his arms, feeling the passion within him grow with each second that he was with her in this way. A part of him, though, was resistant to the feelings. Part of him felt wrong somehow… a man was dead, but as the kiss deepened, his doubt evaporated and he let go. He finally let go.

T’Pol wrapped her arms around him for only a second before moving her hands back to lie on his chest. Her right hand grabbed the zipper of his jumpsuit and pulled it down gently, while the left snaked inside the opening of his uniform to pull up the shirt underneath. He quickly began to struggle out of the uniform and the shirt underneath. Once everything was off he pulled T’Pol forward against his bare chest while her hands began to pull on the waist band of his underwear.

He smiled against her mouth, then finally grabbed the underwear and pulled it down easily. When he looked up he suddenly realized T’Pol was fully dressed. He leaned into her stomach, kissing her flesh while his hands pulled at her own pajama pants. He pulled them down sharply and began to unbutton her top; his breath caressed her skin, making her moan with desire. He loved to hear her moan. Just the sound made his arousal grow.

When her clothing was finally off he grabbed her right breast lightly, his thumb brushing against her nipple. His mouth molded against hers, as his hands worked her nipples lightly. She was already losing control. He could feel it. She wouldn’t last too long like this. After removing her underwear, he wrapped his hands around her once again, grabbing her buttocks as he lifted her up against the wall. She broke the kiss and groaned the minute he entered her. Her teeth sunk into his shoulder, her groans growing louder with each thrust. He kissed her neck before his tongue made its way up her skin towards her left ear. He kissed her ear tenderly before thrusting into her sharply.

That did it. Her climax came hard, pulling him with her as he moved into her one last time with a loud cry. He could feel her tighten around him, as if he would leave her, but he wouldn’t, he would never leave her. When it was over he gently moved her down until she was standing on her own two feet again. He kissed her lips, before finally feeling the pain caused by the cut on his shoulder. “I have injured you.”

Trip wanted to laugh at the woman in his arms; sometimes it was the little things that made him love her. “No more than usual,” he teased. He’d come to realize and accept, as they grew closer, that he would always walk away with some type of injury when they made love. The first time they had made love, all he’d really come back with was a sore back, but the next time she’d left him with much more. He had to admit how funny it was watching the doctor try everything he could to figure out how his patient ended up with cuts from T’Pol’s nails against his back. T’Pol had given him permission to tell Phlox the truth about their relationship; he was the only one who knew at the moment.

The two walked over to T’Pol’s bed, lying down, both exhausted. They said nothing more. He simply pulled the covers over them, letting her settle her head against his shoulder while her arm lay across his chest, her hand gently caressing his wound.

Sometimes he wondered if she liked all the scars she’d given him, proof that he was hers. It had been painfully made aware that T’Pol saw him as hers; especially after that first night they’d slept together. T’Pol hadn’t just slept with him because of their little talk before. It had to do with Amanda Cole, someone who was walking in on her territory. Though as he thought about it now, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He was hers, whether she truly knew that or not.

She was already asleep when he glanced down to look at her. Trip watched her sleep, feeling her against his chest. She was an amazing woman. When Enterprise had first started on its first mission, and T’Pol had walked onto the Enterprise’s bridge, every man there had been drooling. Who wouldn’t? She was beautiful, amazing, and if they weren’t drooling they were either gay or blind.

Trip had been completely blind. All he saw were the pointed ears on her head and nothing else. He saw a Vulcan woman who had come to make his life miserable. At least that’s what he thought he felt, but the truth was in the back of his mind he was seeing someone completely different. When he saw her in the captain’s ready room, it had been the first time in his life that he ever wanted to hit a girl. His mother taught him to show respect and though every bone in his body wanted to do something else he tried to be respectful.

It didn’t work quite that way when she spoke, he could see the smugness. He offered her his hand and she turned him down, left him hanging there, his face turning red with embarrassment. She’d been the only woman to ever do that to him. It wasn’t that they normally fell in love immediately. Although many found him to be attractive he’d had many friends who were of the opposite sex. It’s just that most would never do that. None of the other women did what T’Pol did, none on the ship, none in his entire life. She was different, very different.

In that moment her body was hidden. It was her personality that attracted him. She challenged him in a way no one else ever did. T’Pol gave him attitude and she gave him someone to fight with. He’d never had so much fun before. In love there were no rules. You could get your hands dirty if you wanted or you could keep them clean. T’Pol always got her hands dirty, and then she’d wipe half of the dirt right on his hands.

He’d loved her from the start because she had something not many women had. She was unique and she didn’t even know it. She was amazing and she didn’t even care. T’Pol didn’t worry about the mundane things. She was logical, self-sufficient, and frankly if he was being truthful with himself, she was almost a man in a woman’s body, at least personality wise. And the sad part was there was nothing he could do to stop it because the fact was she’d reeled him in before he even realized he’d been caught.

There was a time in every man’s life when he had to accept the twists and turns in his life and learn to deal with them. It was also a time to accept where those twists and turns would lead. He was fine accepting that they’d led him to T’Pol even if on a daily basis the woman took every last shred of manhood he ever had. He almost laughed at the thought.

The same thing had happened to his father. Charles Tucker the second had been so sure that when he found the right woman she’d do everything for him. It wasn’t that he had a sexist view; he was just so sure that everything would be easy. He’d expected his household to be filled with peace and the girl he would find to be a sweat hearted woman. Instead Charles Tucker the second and his wife had butted heads every chance they got, and he fell in love with her because of it. It wasn’t that Trip’s mother wasn’t sweet hearted because she really was, but his father hadn’t been so sure of that when he’d first met her. Trip should have known things would have been the same for him. He was after all, just like his daddy. He was a lucky man to have her, just as his father had been lucky.

She was so smart. Her love for science never ceased to amaze him. She had a passion for it, a longing to understand the universe, and because of that she could hold her own any day of the week. T’Pol had her weaknesses. For one thing, when it came to emotions she didn’t know what to do or how to react. She was lost and she needed a guide. He’d been happy to be that guide. Once he’d learned of her Trellium-D addiction he realized that she would need his help. She wasn’t used to the intense emotions, and since he was a rather emotional man himself he could get her through the roughness of emotions. He would get her through, because he loved her. He was her outlet, a way for her to express emotions without scorn, without confusion on his part. He knew her well and he understood her. It was because of this that enabled her to let go.

T’Pol shifted in his arms, drawing closer to him. Trip smiled. She was cuddling. Who knew Vulcans could cuddle? He kissed the top of her head, enjoying the feeling of her breasts pressed against his chest. What surprised him most was the passion she held when they were making love. She was quite the animal in bed. He had bruises to prove it, and bite marks. This was not the only night she’d broken the skin while in the heat of passion. He loved it too. It was nice to see another side of her on a nightly basis, to see her lose all control and let go. He could see what no one else ever would. It was only for him.

“Trip?” he heard her ask, her voice still deep from sleep. “Why are you not asleep?”

“I’m not really that tired.”

“You need to sleep.”

“I can’t.”

“Perhaps I should perform neuropressure to relax you.”

Trip kissed the top of her head again. “Naw, I think I should just go back to my own quarters.”

When Trip tried to get up T’Pol held him tighter. “Are you all right?”

Trip gave her a reassuring smile, resting his forehead against her head. He trusted her with so much, but there were some things he kept to himself. Being with her had helped him, but there was too much on his mind and he just simply wanted to be alone. “Don’t worry bout me. I’m fine… now. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

Trip again moved to get up and gathered his clothes, getting dressed. He turned back to look at her, she was staring back at him. She was still worried. “I love you.”

“I love you as well, Trip.”

He grinned down at her. He truly was a lucky man. It was this knowledge that led him back to the bed where he gave her a proper kiss. “Get some sleep,” he told her, then walked to the door and left. She’d given him the strength he needed to keep going, to get past what happened last night, but he would find who killed Vince Harren. And he’d do it with T’Pol in his heart, she gave him what he needed, it was the reason he loved her as much as he did.

==

“Commander Tucker!”

Trip froze the moment he saw the man standing there in front of his door. “Tybris? What ya doin’ here?” he asked smiling.

“You look like you’re in a good mood,” Tybris noticed frowning. “I just heard about Lieutenant Harren. I’m so sorry.”

Tucker’s smile slowly melted away at the thought of his friend. “Yeah, I still can’t believe it. Just the other day we were all eatin’ lunch with the guy. It doesn’t seem right somehow, he was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“Death by electrocution. It’s not exactly the most desirable way to go. What a horrible accident.”

Trip walked into his room after putting in the code; he allowed Tybris to enter with him and sat on the bed. “It wasn’t an accident. Doctor Phlox says he might have been killed.”

“Killed?”

Trip nodded, looking up at the Captain. “Yeah, killed. Phlox is still checkin’ things out right now. In the meantime I’m gonna be helping Malcolm with the investigation.”

“How is Lieutenant Lawrence dealing with it?”

“She’s pretty upset, Vince was one of her best friends, but more than that they’d been together for a long time. I’ve been tryin’ my best to help her. It’s affectin’ her more than it’s affecting anyone else on the ship. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“You two are close?”

“We work together all the time. I certainly do trust her. She’s had my back on more than one occasion. I have a lot of respect for her; she’s a good engineer. I was also the first to know about her relationship with Harren. There were many times when she talked to me about Harren. I don’t think she quite knew what to do about her feelings for him, though I doubt anyone truly knows.”

Tybris nodded, folding his arms. “It is unfortunate that she must deal with the Lieutenant’s death, but I am sure she will be all right.”

“I hope so.”

Tybris dropped his hands to fall at his side. “I should go, it’s getting late and I know you need your rest.”

Trip gave a faint smile. “Night.” Tybris walked out of his quarters, leaving Trip alone. Trip lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes. He was asleep almost just as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Chapter 5

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A handful of people have made comments

Wow!! Another great Chapter!!!
Gee who could be the next one murdered?
Please update soon! I love this story, even the little bit of smut!

This is so good but I just can't see Trip making love to T'Pol then going back to his room. I realise that was to allow him to have that conversation with Tybris but can't help thinking that could have still happened but say in the early hours of the morning just before he would normally have been getting up, after his night with T'Pol. I also am worried that Trip told Tybris so much about Lawrence, it's almost like he is painting the bullseye on the man's next target. Can't wait for the next part. Ali D :~)

All will be explained in time Alison... don't worry! I like mysteries... and I'd been hoping this would be a good one! ;)

This is a great story, can't wait to see what comes next!!

The best chapter yet!
I just hope Trip never utters T'Pol's name in the presence of Tybris...