Told You So

Summary: Way Post-Kir’Shara. Trip finally finds out exactly why T’Pol was on Vulcan so long following the events of Home and he knows he shouldn’t say ‘Told you so’…but he does! What will T’Pol’s reaction be?

Rating: PG
Genre: Romance/SciFi/Vignette/Missing Scene
Disclaimer: Nothing of Enterprise is mine. If it were Trip and T’Pol would be screwing like rabbits and be having loads of kids.

Author’s Notes: Yeah, I nicked the title from the Keith Urban song of the same name, but the contents of this story only bear a slight resemblance to the song.

T’Pol relaxed as she lowered herself into sitting position on the bed, feeling the tension that had crept in during her bridge shift leave her almost immediately. Suddenly, she heard the door chime ring. She exhaled heavily and managed to keep her frustration at bay as she called, “Enter.” She hadn’t expected to find him standing outside of her quarters, especially not at this late hour. Yet there he stood with several candles in hand.

“Sorry ta come by so late,” he said sheepishly. “But I was havin’ a hard time sleepin’. I thought we could…”

As her gaze locked with his, she couldn’t misread his intentions. He was seeking a neuropressure treatment, though he didn’t appear to need it. She paused, hesitant to turn him away. She then nodded, motioning him inside. He sat on the edge of the bed while she stood and moved to light one of the candles he’d brought.

She noted that he seemed agitated about something, though she couldn’t fathom exactly what was bothering him. She gazed at the flame for a moment, seeking to calm her emotional reaction to him. If she allowed her emotions to surface during this most intimate of activities, it would likely result in another sexual encounter. She couldn’t allow him to consume her so completely again.

“I told ya so,” he said.

She turned toward him with an eyebrow arched in interest. “Pardon me?”

The light from the candle allowed her to see the deep flush that crept into his cheeks as his gaze dropped to his hands and he shifted uncomfortably. When he didn’t reply, she cleared her throat and his gaze again locked with hers.

“Explain,” she prompted as she internally struggled to calm her racing heart.

He shrugged. “Seems kind of self-explanatory ta me.”

She gave him a tolerant look. “I do not understand. Explain.” She grimaced internally at the slight note of agitation that crept into her voice.

He grinned. “I told ya that Koss wasn’t goin’ ta keep his end of the bargain.” He paused. “He wanted ya ta stay on Vulcan, didn’t he? Even after all of that negotiatin’?”

She stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Yes,” she replied softly. “Yes, he did.”

Trip’s lips turned up in a half-smile. “That’s why it took ya so long ta get back.”

Again, she nodded. “He was most displeased when I would not remain. He attempted to influence me with the threat of withdrawing his family’s support of my mother’s reinstatement.”

“I guess since ya came back, that means that it didn’t work,” Trip replied.

T’Pol arched a brow. “It did, Trip, until Minister Kuvak offered my mother a more permanent position at the Science Academy under his direct supervision.”

Trip frowned. “Wasn’t he…”

“One of the men who forced my mother’s retirement?” T’Pol finished.

Trip nodded. “What made him change his mind?”

“Koss informed me following the discovery of the Kir’shara that it was at this time that the High Command began to suspect my mother of duplicity,” T’Pol explained. “They wished to have her within their jurisdiction in order to gather intelligence regarding her possible association with the Syrannite resistance.”

“But your mother didn’t take the offer,” Trip added.

T’Pol nodded. “She realized their intent and soon after my departure, she journeyed to the Syrranite camp in the Forge.”

The two fell into an uneasy silence for several long moments before Trip at last spoke up. “Whatever the reason—I’m glad ya came back.”

T’Pol met his gaze and felt her heart race at the affection sparkling in his eyes. I returned for you. She longed to say those words, despite what the admission would cost her. But she remained silent, simply staring into his eyes, hoping that it was enough—hoping that he could see what was in her heart without her needing to say the words aloud.

The corners of his lips turned up in a smile and he extended a hand, then cupping her cheek, his thumb running across her lower lip. He leaned forward so that his mouth was next to her ear. She shuddered and closed her eyes at the alluring sensation of his warm breath on the delicate tip of her pointed ear.

“I love ya, T’Pol,” he whispered, then nuzzling her neck and placing soft butterfly kisses over the sensitive skin.

“Trip,” she sighed.

Trip sighed into her shoulder and slid his hand down her arm to the curve of her waist. “I know we shouldn’t, but Lord I need you. I need ta kiss you—I need ta touch you.”

T’Pol slid her hands into his hair and gently lifted his head from her shoulder so that they were staring directly at one another. She brushed her lips against his and stroked a hand through his blonde hair. She could never comprehend why it was that any resolve she had to not share intimacies with this man evaporated the moment he touched her.

“Then kiss me—touch me,” she returned in a low voice.

Trip smiled. “Call me old-fashioned, but we haven’t even been on a first date yet.”

T’Pol arched a brow. “I believe that point is irrelevant as we have already had sexual relations.”

Chuckling, Trip brushed his lips against hers. “Well, then—maybe we should try this again. First—we go on a date.”

A twinkle of amusement lit T’Pol’s eyes as her brow arched even higher. “If you insist—though I still do not think that such a prelude is necessary.”

“Movie night,” Trip replied. “I’ll pick you up here at 2000 hours tonight.”

Trip then pulled himself from her embrace and moved toward the door, smiling at her before exiting the room. The doors closed behind him and T’Pol returned to her cross-legged position to meditate on the events that had just occurred.