True Love Travels on a Gravel Road

Prologue

Summary: A Valentine story about gravel roads, friendship and love, music, food, travel and the road home. Inspired by the episodes Bounty, Home and Bound.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This story is a response to a Valentine challenge to write a story based on the inspiration from a song. My song was Looking for Reason from Little Big Town. The lyrics in this prologue are from that song. The title of this story is from a song by Elvis, who will make an appearance. This chapter takes place after the episode Bounty (season 2). Thanks to my wonderful beta Artisticmom2.

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Prologue: Dream Food

He was happy. He was driving, his hands lightly on the steering wheel, sunlight on his face, and the wind in his hair. Red and yellow valleys passed by under a bright blue sky. He felt the gravel of the road spitting away under his car; a country travel song played on the car's music player. The beat of the song was in sync with the tires rotating on this road; the rhythm accompanied him on his travel. Clear above the music were the voices of the female singers singing a song of love lost or found.

Lookin' for to make some sense out of nothin'

Lookin' for the hunger to hang on

Lookin' for to know if you're really worth it

Lookin' for a reason not to be gone

Soon he would leave Earth behind him, but for now this was his home, his planet. He breathed. He lived. He drove. It was all he needed.

The sun slowly set. It was time to find the nearest motel and call it a day. At that moment he saw a car about three miles in front of him, stranded next the road. The hood was open and a figure stood next to it. When he came closer, he saw that the bystander was female. She was staring at the engine of her car, but when she heard his car, she pulled her head out from under the hood and looked around. She had a green shawl bound around her head, the end of it softly blowing in the wind. She wore a green summer dress with white flowers. Her outfit was matched by her elegant white shoes with a small heel. He slowed down, stopped, and stepped out of the car.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" he asked. She was petite and she had an exquisite face, with short hair, two big brown eyes with a spark of green and red lips. He never had seen such a beauty.

"A row of photovoltaic relays is malfunctioning," she answered. Her voice was warm. For some reason it pleased him that she had some engineering knowledge.

"Can I have a look?" He smiled at her. "I'm an engineer and familiar with this technology."

She let him, and together they looked under the hood of the car. Her face was so close; he could smell her spicy, honey-like scent. "I think this is the cause of the problem," she explained. She pointed at the row.

He examined it and agreed with her. "Yes, it is. See the burn marks? You need a whole new set of relays," he said. He moved away from the hood and she followed suit.  "If I'm correct, there's a motel and garage about 30 miles from here. I could take you there," he offered. She stared at him and gave no response. He quickly added that it wasn't a problem for him. "Besides, you can't stay here on the side of the road. It's getting dark soon."

"Then I will take you up on your offer," she replied.

She was standing so close he could almost touch her.  He felt the desire to reach out, just to lay his hand on hers and feel her soft skin. He rebuked himself for his stupid thoughts.  The shawl around her head had gone loose. The end of her right ear was visible. It was pointy. He felt like the earth just opened and he was falling into a big gap. This woman was Vulcan.

He pulled himself together, mentally kicking himself, and told her, "I'll tow you to that garage and you can get your car fixed. If my information is correct, there's also a restaurant and motel. So you can have a meal and some rest, if you want to."  He held out a hand. "I am Charles Tucker, by the way. Friends call me Trip."

He got this strange feeling he had been in a similar situation and that she would refuse his hand. Instead she answered "T'Pol," shaking his hand. Her skin felt warm.

He pulled his car up in front of hers, attached the cable, and drove to the motel. There he left T'Pol to handle her affairs. He saw her later on at the motel diner, sitting alone. She was fully focused on her food and she ate with her hands. She shoved the food in her mouth like a starving man. It was a strange sight, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. It was like time had stopped. Then she looked up. Their eyes locked. T'Pol stared at him; he was overcome by the desire he saw in her eyes, as if she were filled with a deep longing that only he could fill, like she wanted to savor him...

The alarm shrieked through the night. He woke up. He stared around in the darkness of his cabin. This was his reality. It had only been a dream.