The Sacrifice - Ch 2

The Sacrifice

By Triplover

Rated: PG
Disclaimer: See Chapter one.
Summary: See Chapter one.

A/N: This story I have to say is harder than I thought it would be. Figuring out where to go to next has always been a challenge for me! Hopefully I did okay. Comments are always great and I don’t mind if you want to give me criticism.
Anything to help in my writing is always welcome!

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Chapter Two

Caretaker

Trip opened his eyes slowly; finding two blurs standing over him. He closed them for a second trying to situate himself before opening then up again. “Doctor, will he be okay?” He heard someone ask. Her voice seemed to sound concerned but he couldn’t really tell yet. Everything was too foggy to understand.

“He’ll be fine.” Came a man’s voice. He recognized both. He moved his head to where the woman’s voice had come from. Something brushed his hand and he felt a warm slender hand hold his. He held it tightly for a second before opening his eyes.

“T’Pol?” He called out. Her hand held his tighter.

“I am here Commander.” She said very softly. He watched as his vision cleared then looked over to the man. Doctor Phlox.

“Doc… what happened?”

“You passed out.” He said. Trip could feel something in his voice. A wavering? He seemed upset. Trip cocked his head slightly on the bed, silently asking for more information. The doctor though didn’t seem to be paying attention now. He walked away from the bed and put something down on the tray. Trip slowly moved up into a sitting position and felt T’Pol’s hand let go.

“Why’d I pass out? What happened? Did I fall or somethin’?”

Doctor Phlox seemed to almost glare at him in that moment. Trip couldn’t help but move back a little. He’d never seen the doctor angry. Not like this. It was all he could to stop himself from gasping in surprise. “Just because I give you a clean bill of health does not mean you can walk out those doors and pay no attention to what your body needs!” He said, his voice rising slightly. Trip gulped in air, swallowing a groan. He knew where this would be going. “I checked in with Chef… seems the last time you ate was yesterday at lunch. The day’s almost over, Commander, and you’ve eaten nothing! Commander, your body is still healing from the surgery. You need to be careful! It’s no wonder why you passed out! Have you even been sleeping at all?”

Trip looked over at T’Pol, and then swallowed. He’d told her he had. But he knew it was a lie. He’d lied to her just to get out of doing what he needed to do. He’d been avoiding her ever since the surgery although he had no idea why. “I uh… I uh… not really, no.” He finally said and could feel T’Pol staring at him from behind. He didn’t look back at her. He knew she was probably glaring at him and he wasn’t about to look at her when she was doing that. He was getting enough of that from the doctor.

Phlox moved his fingers to his temples, indicating to Trip that he was giving the good doctor a headache. He swallowed hard. “Mr. Tucker, you are never going to heal from this if you do not get the rest your body needs. Therefore since you’re so busy, I have no choice but to tell the captain that you will be off duty at this point for 24 hours. I would make it more if it weren’t for the mission. You will be staying in sickbay and in that time since you obviously can’t take care of yourself, I will do it for you.” He said sternly.

Trip jumped off the bed immediately. “What?! No! You can’t do that!” He yelled, ignoring a few pains here and there in his head and through out his body.

“I can and I am, Commander.” Phlox shot back. Trip shook his head; he couldn’t believe him. How could he be this cruel?

“But-“

“No more Commander. This is final. I will not let you do this to yourself.” He told him then turned and began to work. Trip was breathing hard. He couldn’t believe this. But before he could say anymore T’Pol touched his shoulder and silenced him.

“Doctor, you could have someone check up on him in his quarters. Since the Commander obviously does not wish to be in sickbay.”

Trip nodded vigorously. “Yeah, my quarters are fine! At least there I could do a little work.”

Doctor Phlox didn’t seem sure though. He was frowning and Trip could tell he was worried. Trip knew he was just trying to protect him, but he didn’t need protection. He was fine. “All right.” He said with a sigh. Trip smiled, but the smile fell as soon as the doctor’s finger went up. “But, T’Pol will be keeping an eye on you if you are to stay in your quarters. I want her to stay with you until you’ve rested; I need you to be under supervision. You might have a relapse at any time.”
“You can’t be serious!”

“I agree, doctor this is most inappropriate.” T’Pol added. Trip was glad she was with him on this. He wasn’t about to spend 24 hours with T’Pol. Especially considering the fact that he was in love with her.

“Well I’ll need someone to stay with him the entire time, I can’t do it, and technically at the moment you don’t completely need to be at your post. Enterprise hasn’t encountered anyone for days. T’Pol, you’re the most logical choice and you know it.” He stated then slowly guided her to a place beyond the ears of the Commander.

T’Pol looked back at Mr. Tucker then looked at the doctor. “Sub-Commander… I know this would be uncomfortable, but you are the best person to do this. He trusts you; you’ve been doing the neuropressure sessions with him. It’s just for 24 hours. We have to do something, or we’ll loose him completely. He’ll talk to you. Maybe you could find out what’s been bothering him.”

T’Pol tried not to roll her eyes. “It is obvious that he is upset over the death of Sim. What else do we need to know?” She asked him.

“There’s more here than Sim’s death. Of course he’s upset but I know there’s more to it. He hasn’t been eating, or sleeping. Whatever it is that’s bothering him, he needs to talk to someone. I’m a doctor, but this is one thing that I may not be able to heal. I think perhaps you can.”

“I am not a caretaker… nor do I have any clue as to how to help the commander.”

“Perhaps not T’Pol,” Phlox smiled, “but with the Commander sometimes the only way to get through to him is through unusual measures. You of all people should know that.”


Captain Jonathan Archer had spent days since his little excursion to the twenty-first century working and studying what he’d found there. He felt better somehow to know that at least Daniels hadn’t completely abandoned him. Now he felt more hopeful. He didn’t know why, but somehow it didn’t feel like he was alone anymore. He knew Daniels was helping now, even if it wasn’t as much as Archer would have liked. At least it was something. Before he could think of anything more though he heard Hoshi Sato’s console go off. She turned her head to look at him. “Captain, we’re being hailed.”

“From where?”

“I uh… I don’t know. I can’t trace it.”

He didn’t like that answer and suddenly wondered if perhaps his ship was being watched. He shook the thought out of his head though and stood to look at the screen.

“I see. Well, on screen.” He muttered and waited as a man appeared. His face was kind, not at all showing any sign of bad nature. He was an older man with silvery hair but Jon could tell he was still a strong man. His eyes were a strange tan color—like sand—and his skin was tan like T’Pol’s, yet instead of a greenish blush there was a bluish blush. He had small triangular spots on his neck that almost made him look like he was wearing a shirt under his clothes. Jon tried not to stare.

“Captain Jonathan Archer?” Even his voice was kind. Jon couldn’t help but like the man instantly. He had a way about him. His eyes looked as if they were honest. His brow made him look deep in thought, concern on his face. His mouth was smiling slightly, and Archer had to hold back his own smile just in case he was wrong about him. But he had no bad gut feelings in his stomach and he took that to be a good sign.

“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

The man smiled, then bowed slightly to show respect, or at least that was what the gesture seemed to be. Jon had no idea how things were with this people. “I apologize. I am Ambassador Vassion of the seventeenth order, servant of my planet, Roelor. I have information that you may find useful.”

Jon cocked his head. “Information?”

Vassion nodded. “Yes Captain. You see, I know of your ordeal with the Xindi. My people, too, have seen what they can do. Thankfully, not quite as bad as you poor souls. The reptilians are quite hostile, as well as the insectoids. When I heard of the plot to destroy your people I could not believe they would go that far. They have been hostile, yes, but never have they wanted to destroy an entire race!”

Jonathan walked closer. “Yes. Well, they do now.”

“That is why I wish to help. I have… found out something quite disturbing and I felt that perhaps it would help you in your search to find the Xindi’s weapon. It is a data file with information on their weapons, ships… all kinds of things.”

Now Jon had a smile on his face. Could this really be possible? Was this man really going to help them? It seemed too good to be true! At that he frowned. Perhaps it was. He didn’t know this man, why was he so willing to trust him? “Where are you exactly?” he found himself asking. The Ambassador laughed a throaty chuckle.

“Oh yes, I almost forgot! I am on my planet, Roelor… My signal has been hidden so that no one can trace the signal… I’m afraid that as an Ambassador, people tend to want to make sure there is no way you will be attacked or hurt. I will send you the location of my planet, and where we should meet.” he said and began to work on his console. His eyes seemed to light up as he worked the controls. Almost like Trip’s did when he was working on his warp core. Jon felt himself warm up at the sight of his friend when he’d first seen the warp core, the fastest in the fleet. He’d never seen the man look so in love with something in his life. It was certainly a funny sight. It was too bad he didn’t see that in the man’s eyes anymore. Now instead of excitement there was only duty. It was as if the Xindi had taken away everything that made Trip Trip. And Jon couldn’t help but hate the Xindi for it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trip Tucker had never felt so uncomfortable in his life until the moment he realized that T’Pol would be with him all day, every minute, for 24 long hours. When she’d taken him to his quarters they’d gotten the chef to send them some food. Trip hadn’t eaten much of his food until T’Pol practically shoved it down his throat.
‘Do you want to stay in your quarters or not Commander? We could easily stick the food into you with a tube.’
He’d never found her so annoying until that moment. Now he sat in his bed watching as she meditated. After another second he walked over to his console and began to look at the work he’d been doing earlier until he caught sight of something. He looked over and noticed the gold-like sparkle of something there and immediately knew what it was. But before he could take it and put it away he noticed T’Pol get up. He put something over it to hide it from her gaze and cleared his throat.
“Done?”

She nodded.

“I believe we should rest now. It is getting late.”

He nodded and then stood. T’Pol had brought over some of her things since they’d be stuck for awhile, including a sleeping bag, her meditation candles and change of clothing. Slowly she got into her pallet and her eyes closed. Trip moved over to his bed, took off his shoes and shirt, got under the covers and watched the ceiling. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep; he never did. Before Trip even knew it T’Pol was fast asleep. He was surprised at how deep in sleep she was. He got out of bed with a smile, put back on his shirt and shoes and left his quarters in a tip toe so as not to make a sound.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~

His heart was beating faster and faster every minute. His muscles straining for rest but getting none. His heart was pounding so hard now that it seemed to be close to falling out of his chest. He was hardly breathing, yet his legs kept going. Running as fast as they could. Running faster and faster until his sweat was like water falling down over his body. His shirt clung to him tightly along with his pants. He paid no attention to the discomfort. He simply ran. Ran from his problems. Ran from his fury. He ran from everything. In his mind he watched everything that had happened to him disappear behind him, unable to catch up. He didn’t look back. He kept on. Running even faster now. His legs close to giving out from under him. And finally it did and Charles Tucker fell to the floor and off the treadmill. He hit the wall hard and grunted in pain. His back hurting him like crazy and for a second Trip wondered if he’d be able to get up. He simply sat there on the floor, leaning on the wall with his eyes closed tight. He kept them closed. He moved his hands into fists until he was sure his knuckles were white and listened to his heartbeat. The sound was calming now. No longer so hurried. He breathed in and out. Listening to the air escape him, then return and find it’s way into his lungs. The sounds were soothing, but he did not relax. His head was killing him but he paid no attention. He didn’t think. He only sat there and waited. He didn’t know what he was waiting for, but he waited anyway.

He heard the doors open, a steady walk came in and he knew who it was instantly.

“I thought the doctor told you to rest.” She pointed out coolly.

He looked up at her and rolled his eyes. “I don’t need rest.” He said sternly, letting only anger be heard through clenched teeth.

“You have been working out. When I awoke this morning I found you were gone. I thought you might be here.” She said sitting besides him on the floor. He looked straight ahead, not thinking about her close proximity.

“Careful T’Pol, you might get a little whiff of my Human odor. Wouldn’t want that now would we?”

“I am used to the smell of you Commander. I am no longer worried about it.” “You should return to your quarters and rest.”

“No, I’m tired of this shit! I’m not goin’ back ta my quarters! I’m not goin’ ta sickbay! I’m gonna do whatever I damn well please and not you nor the doc nor the cap’n is gonna stop me!”

T’Pol glared at him with disapproval. “You are being illogical.”

“Good!” He snorted. “I couldn’t stand myself if I was anythin’ like you!”

T’Pol seemed a little more than shocked by his last statement. He could see the hurt in her eyes, but she hid it well and he wasn’t too sure if it was hurt or not. He suspected, but he wouldn’t know for sure unless he read her mind. He let out a breath and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Haft the time I wish I were half as… logical as you. Then maybe I wouldn’t be… like this.” He had no idea what he was saying at this point. Words were just running out of him.

“Your anger certainly does not make things better. Although, I suppose, if you were… ‘half as logical as I am’ then you would not be you. If that were to happen then this universe… this crew would lose something quite special.”

“That sounded a lot like a compliment T’Pol… did ya hurt yerself?” He asked jokingly.

“I do not understand… how can you hurt yourself while giving another a compliment?”

“Just forget it.” He chuckled softly. You wouldn’t get it anyway, so there’s really no point in tryin’ ta explain it to ya.”

“Another colorful statement from Earth I presume?”

“Yup. Guess so.” With that he let out more air and tried to refuse to breath in for a few seconds. He didn’t last long. “Why did ya let the doc talk ya into watchin’ me? I mean, he couldn’t force ya. You could have just walked away and let me stay in sickbay.”

“I suspected that you would cause a problem for the doctor. I did not want him to be bothered with your stubborn behavior.”

“Oh… I see. Yeah, of course. You’re Vulcan… and Vulcans don’t care.”

“Pardon me?”

“Oh come on T’Pol. Ya know it’s true. Frankly I don’t even know why yer here. I mean, what do you care if Earth is destroyed? It’s not yer homeworld. You shouldn’t care what happens to it. You’re a Vulcan, you don’t have feelings, right? Why ARE you here anyway?”

She looked over at him about to speak when the comm when off. T’Pol got up and went over.

“Archer to T’Pol and Commander Tucker.”

“T’Pol here, what is it, Captain?”

“We just had an interesting little chat with a man named Ambassador Vassion. He says he has information about the Xindi for us. We’re going to his planet now. Once we get to the planet I want you and the Commander to join me in the launch bay.” T’Pol looked over at Tucker.

“What about the doctor’s request to have the Commander off duty for the next 24 hours?”

“I talked to the doctor. Once this is over and done with he can go back to resting… but the last time I checked working out wasn’t resting. Somehow I don’t think you two were following orders anyway.”

T’Pol lifted an eyebrow. “I was merely taking the Commander back. He was… resisting.”

“We’ll be orbiting the planet in about an hour… I want you both ready by then.” He ignoredher explanation. “Archer out.”

T’Pol turned again to look at Tucker who was now standing with her. “Looks like the Cap’n got me off the hook for awhile. Good, didn’t feel like restin’ much anyways.” He muttered and walked out through the doors of the room, T’Pol right behind him.

“That was apparent by your ill-mannered actions Commander.”

“You know T’Pol, yer not so bad ta be around when yer like this.” He chuckled.

“Like what?”

“Vulcany.”

“That is not a word.”

“Don’t ya think I’d know that?!” He asked her, rolling his eyes as they both stepped into the turbolift.

“With you Commander it is hard to tell.”

Continue to Chapter 3

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Three people have made comments

Great story, I have visited this site for the last few weeks and have read all your stories. They are beautifully written. Keep up the good work.

Another great chapter, can't wait for more.

Great, I am really enjoying this and the dialogue between Trip and T'Pol is very good. Can't wait to see what happens next! Ali D :~)