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Retrieval-Ch. 17

Author - zealousgirl
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Retrieval

By zealousgirl

Rating: PG-13, general
Disclaimers in Chapter One

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

CHAPTER 17 (Conclusion)

Recovery

Her head ached and she lacked the energy to even open her eyes. But, T'pol knew she was no longer in that room. The smells were different. Familiar voices could be heard in the distance - friendly voices.

"Come on Doc, you have to tell me more than that. Are you sure she'll be OK?" The drawl was unmistakable. "If I hadn't been such a cowboy, maybe I woulda been able to hold on to Koss, and he coulda told us what he did to her."

"Come on Trip. You got her back in one piece." This voice belonged to her captain. "Seema and T'Vela have done all that they can, and T'Vela is certain that she will come out of this, with only a few mental scars."

T'pol shifted in the biobed. She opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust to the bright lights overhead, before trying to sit up.

Doctor Phlox quickly crossed Sickbay and motioned that she should stop what she was doing. "Subcommander, I would recommend that you lay still a while. The drugs that they injected into you not only affected the neurotransmitters in your emotional centers, but also your balance and sensory cortices."

Trip and Archer were soon standing on the other side of the biobed with expressions of concern on their faces. Both looked unsure as to what to say to her.

"Captain. Commander." She cleared her throat before continuing. "What has occurred?"

Archer spoke first, while Trip shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Koss abducted you, and was giving you chemicals that appeared to break down your emotional control. It is our best guess that this was so that he could control your emotions himself. We found that he had booked passage back to Vulcan for you two. You were listed as his wife. Luckily, Trip got there just in the nick of time." Archer smiled, put his arm around Trip's shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze.

Trip pulled away from Archer. "Please, don't. It was my fault that she got into this mess to begin with. And it's my fault that Koss got away." He looked like he was about to collapse.

T'pol watched as Archer forced Trip to sit down on the chair that he had pulled up for him. "Commander. You are not to blame." Her voice quivered. She closed her eyes as she was too exhausted to continue, and quickly fell back to sleep.

"We should allow her to rest." Phlox directed them towards the exit. "You may come back later to check on her."

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

Several hours later, in Sickbay, T'pol still lay sleeping. Trip sat next to her, holding her hand and watching her sleep. He was going to miss doing that. On this mission, he had been able to observe her slumber several times, and always felt soothed by it. But this time, he was also greatly relieved.

He thought about the events of the past few days. Waking up in her arms had definitely been a highlight. Realizing that she had been taken had been painful. Not knowing what to do had been frustrating.

He also kept reliving the rescue. What had he been thinking? He had been a cowboy. With no formulated plan, he had pulled the fire alarm. When the door opened, he had charged in with weapons aimed and ready to fire. Luckily, the 3 boys were more scared than anything and just ran away. But Koss had defended himself. That's when Trip had shot him. 'Too bad it was only on STUN.'

"Commander, you are still here." Phlox came from around back, holding a hypospray in his hand. "You really need your rest as well. Please do not make me order you to your quarters."

Trip gave her hand a squeeze, and stared at her for another half a minute, before getting up and leaving. From the corridor, he did glance back once more before the Sickbay doors closed.

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

The door of her quarters chimed. T'pol looked up from the floor where she was meditating. "Enter."

"Sorry. I do not mean to disturb you." Trip peeked into her room and then started to back out again. "I will come back later. I know how important it is for you to meditate, especially now."

"Commander. Please come in." She directed him to take a seat on a cushion on the floor.

"OK." He sat down with his legs bent under him. He was not sure what to say now. "So, how's it going?"

"I am better, thank you. Did Seema and T'Vela have any difficulties on their return to the planet?"

"No problems. It sure was great that they could hang out here for a few days. Well, they sure deserve a ton of our appreciation."

"They have both been very helpful. When we meditated together, it helped me find more strength and control."

"Well, I'll miss having Seema around. She is an amazing young lady. I hope I will have the chance to see her again."

"I have invited T'Vela to visit Vulcan the next time that I know I will be home. She will be welcomed as a member of my family."

"Sounds like fun."

They sat looking at each other awkwardly for about 1 minute, in silence. They could not think of any more small talk.

"Commander." "T'pol." Both spoke at the same time.

Trip laughed. "You go ahead. Ladies first."

"I would like to thank you for agreeing to come with me on this venture. If it were not for you, I would not have likely survived this ordeal." She looked almost timid as she spoke.

Trip shook his head. "Oh God, T'pol, It's all my fault that we were found out. If I had been able to keep my emotions in check, Koss would not have gotten ahead of you. I just feel awful."

T'pol leaned towards Trip and placed her hand on his. "You have nothing to apologize for. You saved me."

He looked down at their hands. T'pol slowly pulled away. The seriousness of the conversation made him uneasy. "Well, at least, I did get to play cowboy for once in my life." He chuckled.

"A cowboy?"

"Ah, never mind. I'll explain that later." Trip shifted uncomfortably, and glanced at the door. "Well, I should really get going. Lots to do, after being gone for nearly 2 weeks."

T'pol grabbed his hand again. "I will not return to duty for another few days. You will come see me again?" She looked at him with an expression of vulnerability that he had never seen before.

He took her hand, and pulled it towards him. "Whatever my lady wishes." Then, he kissed the back of her hand. Trip stood up and advanced towards the door. Just before exiting, he turned and said, "Get better soon."

"I will try." She paused before saying, "Trip." And then she winked at him, for the second time in as many days.

He smiled back at her in appreciation for that last gesture, which he viewed as a very special gift to which only he was privy. He somehow knew, rather than hoped, that their lives were soon to change for the best.

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

He sat on the observation deck, examining his reflection in the window - dark hair, copper-tinged skin, and pointed ears. He then looked beyond, into the darkness of space. The transport ship had agreed to give him passage only part way to his destination. He would have to find another vessel to take him the rest of the way.

Koss spoke softly to himself. "T'pol, my love. We will be together again. Once I am able to dispose of the meddlesome Commander Charles Tucker." He grinned, as he perused the information stored on the data pad that he held in his hand. He had come up with the new plan and this time it would not fail. . . .

THE END

Author's Note: I want to thank all of those who have read this story, and a special thanks goes out to those who reviewed this story. Your encouragements have been a great source of motivation (although also a lot of pressure to satisfy). I have found it very difficult to finish this story once I got started. I may decide to change some of this at a later date, however, I had to finish it, since other aspects of my life have been suffering a bit. There may be a sequel should inspiration strike, so this is why I have left many things unresolved. Thank you again. And to my fellow authors, keep writing your great stories. ~Cindy~

***********************
Retrieval has a sequel. If you'd like to continue the story, go on to Astray


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Eight hardy souls have made comments

This one is a favorite of mine.

I couldn't stop reading it. I read it from beginning to end. Well done! I cry, "Sequel!"

Awesome story!

I wish it'd been a bit longer, though, with more fluff :) I would've liked more detail... 60 or so more chapters would have been adequate....

Well done.

Way to go Cindy! Loved it, Loved it, Loved it! Especially the unresolved issues with Koss and Trip. Hope the inspiration and plot bunnies show up.

A brilliant story, well done, with nice drama as well as the whisper of romance stirring between Trip and T'Pol. What more could anyone ask for? Yep, you guessed it, a SEQUEL! The story ending is perfectly set up for one and you 'know' you want to do it. Thanks for a truly great story, I loved it to bits. Please carry on! Ali D :~)

Pretty good, I enjoyed it.. Although I don't understand your penchant for adding annoying original characters such as that pestering kid Seema that magically saves the day and seemed to act like an adult half the time. Grrr why couldnt she have been locked away in a box somewhere. lol please note I don't have this attitude to real children just annoying fictional ones.

I had a problem with the portrayal of T'Pol. The winking would never have happened without a really good explanation. I also noticed that Trip's thought patterns were very similar to T'Pol's vulcan logic. While I concede that he would sometimes think like that - being an intelligent engineer - he's not Vulcan, and I doubt that he would always be thinking in such structured ways.

It was entertaining, at any rate.

Wow! That was intelectuall. Koss is wakko. I will definitelly read your sequel. :-)