Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 21 May 2004 22:53:30 -0700 In: alt.startrek.creative From: susieqla@yahoo.com (Sue) TITLE: Mood Swing - (22/?) AUTHOR: Sue E-MAIL: susieqla@yahoo.com SERIES: Enterprise PART: 22 RATING: PG-13 STATUS: WIP CODES: T/Tu CATEGORY: Angst/Humor/Romance SPOILERS: Countdown ARCHIVE: Yes, all archives are fine, no permission necessary. DISCLAIMER: Enterprise is the property of Paramount and its subsidiaries. No profit is being made. SUMMARY: Missing scene Mood Swing - Part 22 "How's the readin' so far? I figured it'd be somethin' you could sink your teeth into." Trip looked up from his, a text on advanced quantum mechanics relative to problematic space. It, along with the six other volumes making up the set, had been a gift from one of his mentors, a Dr. Samuel Gelles, a professor emeritus, who had predicted he would, "Go far, one day." Never in the learned physicist's many years of mentoring quick, young minds could he have foreseen just how far his brightest pupil would go, one of the key persons on a do-or-die mission to save the planet. So often life was far stranger than fiction. T'Pol's selection, Volume II of the series he recommended she peruse, was worthy of her attention, but her mind wasn't in it. Any other time, certainly, and although this was a crucial time when supplemental information could do nothing but help, a little voice urging from within advocated she stop pushing herself. She needed to meditate. Having forgone it for so long, it dawned on her that taking it up at this point might not be as simple as just starting in again. She lay the thick book aside, and her vision remained with it. It was only when Trip spoke to her that she realized she was sighing. "Tired?" "Somewhat." Another sigh nearly escaped her. "You look it." She looked up then. "So do you." Trip jammed the pad of his index finger into the sloping nook near his right eye and pressed. Eyestrain, he thought, and blocked his yawn with the side of his hand. "Well, we have been burnin' the midnight oil over the long haul ever since Cap'n left. Least we got somethin' concrete to show for it when we rendezvous. Puttin' the finishin' touches on all our hard work little over an hour ago felt good. What you pulled out of forty-one was a windfall." "Your idea of intermittent transference of polarity increasing the discharge's yield significantly has viable merit." "-*Our*- idea, remember?" "Perhaps calling it a blending of innovation is more suitable." "Tomato, tomotto, an idea that works ninety-nine point nine percent of the time within the parameters of modular controls, with negligible variances, is an idea worth runnin' with in my book." T'Pol nodded, feeling satisfied with their hard-won accomplishments. Yet despite the promising achievement, she felt more than a little off-balance emotionally. She'd gone to see Phlox before getting herself something to eat. His suggestion had been for her to get back to meditation. She longed to meditate, but wondered if she were capable of concentrating, imaging and projecting to the degree necessary to do her the good it used to. "So were ya serious?" She'd closed her eyes! How had that happened? In the interim, Trip had positioned himself closer so he was sitting alongside her on the cushion-littered floor of her quarters whose illumination was not owed to candles, for once. -She's got to be real tired- Trip thought -if she just nodded off like that- "Maybe I should go. Give ya a chance to get some well-deserved rest." "No!" T'Pol turned to face him sharply. "Don't go." -Not what I expected...just when I think I've got better clues, she changes up on me- Trip relaxed his stance, taking his time before responding. "I'm only thinkin' of you, T'Pol. You're all done--" "Was I serious about what?" "In..." Trip considered the dark shadows under her eyes, along with the inquiry in them. "Joinin' up with us? Starfleet's finest. Makin' it official..." "As I said, I'm considering it." How hard would it be to ask him to meditate with her? His presence was soothing, and if he acceded to join her, she had the feeling the meditation would proceed more smoothly. But, asking him, that was the challenge. Meditation wasn't neuro-pressure; the two were as different as Vulcan and Earth. The mentality for the discipline required rigorous discipline, and single-minded concentration. The commander had his moments with both, brief ones at best. "Can you think of any way I could sway ya to make your plans more definite?" "I decided to allow you to buy me a drink." "I mean anythin' I could do right now." His effortless chuckling entangled her in his amusement. "Anythin' at all." His eyes twinkled like the stars beyond the confines of her austere place. "Meditate with me." "Meditate?" he echoed. "What's that like?" Her explanation was methodical, leaving nothing left for conjecture. She hadn't exaggerated about her ability to read him. By the transparent look on his face she knew meditation held small appeal for him. The disappointment she felt never made it to her face. "It helps me renew in order to gain stronger control over my emotions. I've neglected my practice for many weeks." "I like ya better when you're a little out of control..." His wink was harmless enough, or so he thought. "A little less sure of yourself looks good on ya." "Less sure of myself?" T'Pol nearly parroted, having said it with a distinct air of mystification. "That's when I get to see who you really are lots better, and I like seein' ya when the deck beneath your feet's quicksand." Nearly mumbling, he told her, "It's sexy." She wasn't sure how to respond. He wasn't exactly mocking her, she decided, but what -was- he doing? "I'm not baitin' ya, T'Pol. I'm hopin' for your openin' up. That's what I'd like, but I'm not gonna push. I was sorta hopin' you'd want to, seein' how we're on a first name basis and I know you have a mole shaped like a butterfly on your left hip." He touched the spot, pleased she didn't recoil. She was practically sitting in his lap, although unaware. "Trip..." Calling him that wasn't the absurdity she once thought it was, and its use had him eating out of her hand. His eyes came alive with responsive delight. "T'Pol?" Hesitating, without him any the wiser, she said, "Thank you..." Then she did hesitate, no masking in evidence. The power of the words holding sway, knowing that once she spoke them, the stage would be set. "For being my friend." His hand flattened itself against the silken smoothness of her belly; silk was her fabric without a doubt. Adoringly, he said, "Ya don't haveta thank me for -that,- either. The feelin' couldn't be more mutual. I hope we'll be friends for a very long time, providin' we live through the next couple of hours." "Your ability to un...settle me is innate," she uttered barely above a hushed whisper. Dealing with her feelings while being with him was an impossibility. It was as though she was merely along for the topsy-turvy ride. He stirred them, got them roiling with just the hint of his smile. "If I told ya you have the same effect on me, would you accuse me of gettin' emotional hopin' to pave the way for a relationship?" Trip angled. Flush with boyish charm, he divulged, "I like what you do to me too. I can't tell ya how many times you've made my day when ya pout and ya think nobody's watchin', but I've been..." Her slab of a belly twitched beneath his hand which reactivated his smile a thousand watts. "You've been the highlight of this mission since it began, and the topper bein' when you cemented those perfect lips of yours with mine." His cheeks burned as he recalled how she'd ignited both their passions. T'Pol gingerly fingered his left cheek which was closest, marveling over the increased warmth of his skin. With a wealth of feeling, she said, "You challenge my emotions, enliven them. Fascinate me." "You challenge me and my preconceptions." He lifted his hand to join his fingers with hers, then pressed the palm of T'Pol's hand to his cheek. "I wouldn't have missed knowin' ya for the world, any world you could name." Her hand trembled against his face. "You favor a romantic relationship between us?" Trip's forehead wrinkled. "Is that what's been eatin' ya alive? Whether or not we should get serious? My bein' a sexual experiment, nothin' more, notwithstandin'?" She couldn't answer because she had no idea what she wanted. Treating him as though what had been her idea was all his fault wasn't fair, she had no recourse but to admit. Trip deserved better than having cold water thrown in his face every time he tried reaching out. He was an honest man; he deserved honesty, hers, most of all. Where they stood in relation to each other perhaps boiled down to something she'd heard him say once: when push came to shove, push seemed ready, willing and able to shove, and shove hard. "'Cause if that's what's makin' ya feel like you're comin' apart at the seams, don't, T'Pol, please. What we've got works fine. No pressure. If there's one thing I've learned from failed relationships, it's what I told ya that night you melted me down...I'm easy. I've learned the hard way. I won't make anythin' tough for ya. If ya don't want anythin' to change between us, then that's how it'll be. I respect--aw, hell--I like ya too much to be a real pain in your ass, T'Pol. One thing's for sure, though...I'm flattered you wanted to experiment with me. I'll never forget how wonderful you are no matter how long I live." He was also someone she would be wrong not to trust. "I'd like ta be one of the best friends you ever have, T'Pol, attachin' no strings." As even she herself had taken into consideration, everyone had weathered some stressful times that might have broken a lesser crew. The extreme situations had taken its toll on everyone, as he had brought up. Her varied mood swings were understandable under the circumstances, despite her being so gallingly Vulcan. It wasn't hard to figure out why he'd shot down the gamut of ideas she'd contributed. Her prissy, keep your distance, piker, attitude had bugged him to no end. So much so that he'd had to say something, finally; enough was enough. Her treating him like crap had to stop. Had they shared intimacy, or had she roped and hog-tied him to her weird version of hand-to-hand combat when she'd finally admitted doing a great imitation of being jealous? He was glad he had spoken up; it had forced an apology out of her. Why, she'd even used 'Trip' to stop him cold from storming out on her in the midst of their project. "I know I said we could talk about it after this is all over, but what if we don't make it?" His eyebrows knitted together. "We could fail, ya know... Earth's inhabitants, and all of us could wind up dead." "We -will- succeed. The captain expects nothing less," T'Pol reminded him, while admiring his ability to accept the opposite outcome at the same time, seemingly coming to grips with the unacceptable. Telling him about her abuse of Trellium-D weighed heavy on her mind. Why did it bother her that she hadn't told him already? She still couldn't. "I sure hope so; dyin' would get in the way of so much. But just supposin' we don't make it. It'd be nice to know I'd gained your confidence enough so you could confide in me." He settled her more securely on his lap. "How 'bout bein' friends with benefits? See where it takes us?" "Friends with benefits? I don't--" "It means whenever we need each other, we'll be here for each other. You need me, I'm there; I need you..." "Your assistance would be invaluable to me, Trip." Giddy hearing her use his nickname so freely, he gushed, "I feel the same 'bout yours 'cause we care for each other and want to help any way we can." Not to alarm her, he delicately pecked the tip of her right ear. The urge to cuddle with her growing stronger. "Meditation, huh?" "You'll engage in it with me?" This time there was a distinctive, hopeful lilt in her tone. "Tell ya what...before we get into that, I have another idea. I'll bet the homestead you've never had one before." The swift slant of her eyebrow behooved him to end her suspicions. "A good ol' down home back rub, gal. You're tighter than a snare drum. Clothes aren't optional, which is the big difference compared with neuro-pressure. My momma raised us modest." "What does it entail?" "Touchin' a whole lot of touchin' to coax the kinks outta your stiff muscles." Touching...she liked it when he touched her, made her even more emotional...his touch was irritant and balm. "It'll make ya feel like a new woman, not that there's anythin' wrong with the beautiful one who knows what makes those damn spheres tick, through an' through. I figure, the better you feel, the better you keep me in line." Plinking his left earlobe with the nail of her forefinger, T'Pol, much to Trip's utter bemusement, timidly approached something akin to bantering by replying, "Agreed. The captain's depending on me, knowing the complexity of the task." "Yep, his shameless enablers, that's us all right..." Not giving it any thought, T'Pol filled his arms as though they had been made only for her. His right hand, being free, tenderly rubbed her back, up and down. The rich feel of the silk she wore to perfection, with each loving stroke, satisfied his desire of wanting to smooth out whatever remained that might be rough patches between them. Gradually, the tension in her back eased as T'Pol allowed herself to relax in Trip's blandishing embrace. The thought in her mind that predominated while it comforted was of her being home. His generous warmth enveloped her like the heat of the rolling plains typical of the Sarviikan hinterlands, one of her favorite haunts to meditate. She closed her eyes and saw those sprawling lands down to the minutest detail, and T'Pol smiled ever so faintly against Trip's broad shoulder. TBC -- Forwarded to ASCL by: Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek.creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! 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