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The door chimed, suddenly bringing her back from a deep meditative state. She stared at the solitary candle in front of her for a few seconds, before blowing it out and replying to her visitor. “Come in, Commander.”
The doors glided open to reveal the handsome engineer. Despite it being the end of the day, he was freshly shaven, and wore a clean and pressed uniform. He stepped inside just enough for the doors to close behind him, and then sent her one of his boyish grins. “Just finished up in engineering, and thought I’d check on ya, on my way to the messhall. . . hey, how’d you know it was me?”
T’Pol opted ignore his query, as his tone had indicated that he was being sarcastic; he had paid her a visit around this time every evening since their return from the Reina system 10 days earlier. “I am doing well, thank you.”
“Do you think you’re up to going out in public yet?” He shuffled his feet from side to side, as would a child asking his parents for a prized toy.
“Actually, the Doctor has agreed to allow me to return to active duty, provided that I do not overexert myself.” She watched him intently after this statement. As relief swept across his face, she actually felt relief herself. She knew that he still blamed himself for her being abducted by Koss. This was despite her frequent assertions that without his being there, she would have surely succumbed to the maleficent attempt to gain emotional, and eventually physical, control of her.
A toothy smile now formed on his face. “That’s great, T’Pol! Come to dinner with me so that we can celebrate.” He practically jumped across the room, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up from the cushion on the floor. “Chef could whip you up something special, I’m sure!”
Prior to the events of the last few weeks, this exuberance would have resulted in her mentally chastising his behavior. Now, for T’Pol, it was a welcome show of emotion that she recognized as being genuine – the result of his true feelings for her.
She did not know how she was going to broach the subject of what they had experienced during the three-way meld, facilitated by Seema. T’Pol did sense the deep feelings that he had for her, and was convinced that Trip had discovered that she reciprocated these. For his part, Trip had been incredibly patient with her, allowing for her to regain her physical and mental strength. His daily visits were always cordial, without any pretense of his wanting to explore these affections. Although on occasion, T’Pol would catch him staring at her, with an expression that could only be described as doting.
Maybe if they dined in her quarters that evening, they would be able to discuss this in private. “Mr. Tucker, I accept your invitation, however would prefer to not to go to the mess-hall this evening. Would you be willing to dine here this evening?”
Trip smirked, but quickly tried to cover that up. “Sure. Any requests?”
“Commander, as you are acquainted with my tastes, I trust you to make the appropriate selections.”
“Alright. Be right back.” And with this, he left, with a slight bounce in his step.
*****************
Trip walked along the corridor towards the mess-hall, contemplating the most recent encounter with the Sub commander. Despite the Vulcans’ claims that they are emotionless, Trip had learned to read T’Pol expressions, and decipher what she is feeling and even thinking. He knew that the impending conversation was the one that he had both wanted and dreaded since the events outside of the Scaniran warehouse less than 2 weeks earlier. Was she going to acknowledge his feelings for her? And hers for him? What would this mean for them as friends, and colleagues? His mind was reeling such that he failed to notice that Hoshi had come around the corner – they collided.
“Commander?” Hoshi stared at him, with a look of confusion. “Are you OK?”
“Ya, I’m fine. And you?” He looked down at her, and gave her a friendly smile.
“Yes, sir. Actually I was just coming down to look for you. I just received a private message for you, and have sent it to your quarters.” Hoshi scanned his face, trying to determine if he was expecting it. “It was marked urgent, and confidential.”
Trip sent her a puzzled look. “Can’t guess who’d that’d be from.” He turned in the direction of his quarters, curiosity getting the better of him. As he darted away, he called out, “Oh, and thanks Hoshi.”
*****************
Trip sat in front of his computer monitor, his eyes fixed on the message in front of him. Bringing both hands up to his temples, he rubbed them. His face showed his disbelief of what he had just read. “What am I going to do?” he whispered to himself. He then leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling of his quarters, and let out a heavy sigh.
To Be Continued. . .
AN: I know where I’m going with this so please be patient. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be a rather long story. I am trying to not sit on each chapter too long. I have a habit of editing several times, and never finding it exactly to my liking. So if at times it doesn’t seem quite polished enough, I do apologize. I am taking someone’s advice on how to not get bogged down in the details.
Thank you for your reviews. And thanks for reading.
On 08 April 2003 at 06:41 PM Alison M. DOBELL said:
How I wish you could type faster, I want to see what happens next! Who is writing to Trip and why do I get the feeling it isn't good news? This is a lovely story. I devour every part with relish. Can't wait for the next part, thank you for sharing it with us. Ali D :~)
On 08 April 2003 at 11:24 PM kittytrypsin said:
Oh, very intriguing indeed. Can barely wait for the next installment, but I guess I'll just have to.
On 09 April 2003 at 01:15 AM myst123 said:
Great stuff! Keep going.
On 10 April 2003 at 02:51 AM Lisa S said:
I haven't read this yet because I like to read it all at once but I've enjoyed your other stories, especially "Retrieval". I'm looking forward to the completion.
On 06 July 2003 at 06:26 PM Phaser Lady said:
This is looking good! I can't wait for the rest of it! "Retrival" was a great story, I'm sure this one will shape up to be the same!
On 20 October 2003 at 11:15 AM Dee said:
Ive just read retrieval and couldnt wait to read this, but only to find to be continued / that was last April, I am desvastated, please finish this story.!!!!!
On 17 October 2005 at 10:37 PM Fireheart said:
Nice but still to short. It really dosen't have to be perfect!;)