Double Vision

Chapter 1: Where Are We and How Did We Get Here?

AN:  This story is in response to a challenge by drag0nsclaw at Fanfiction (hope you like it). Premise is NX-01 is in the correct timeline and another ship, not Enterprise is thrown from parallel universe into NX-01's timeline with Trip as Captain on its maiden voyage, with TOS technology (Vulcans hadn't hindered humans progress by 100 years because they figured it wasn't worth their time and left after first warp flight succeeded). Both ships have TnT pairings. The story then becomes more a look at the possible development of the bond and relationship between the NX-01 TnT.

I borrowed a plot from TOS (adding my own twists to make it more fun and Enterprise oriented and less sixty-ish male hormone driven with mini skirt clad females). Girls wanna have fun too. Thanks to the original writers of this material (I'll let you figure out which episode) and thanks to Paramount/CBS for allowing me to borrow a small part of Star Trek for my own entertainment.

The time setting is undetermined but I used SOME of Season 4 and referred to other canon, but did it more along the lines of what made more sense than what the writers did.  This will be PG-13 to R. Suggestive, a little skin to skin contact, but not too graphic and there will be swearing. No worse than was used on the show, though.  This should be considered AU because it changes some canon.

Enterprise NX-01

"Captain the engines are a 'go', we can head out anytime you're ready." Commander Trip Tucker was anxious to get going to find a planet suitable for shore leave. He and his staff needed some downtime having worked for three weeks straight trying to put the warp drive back together.

Travis informed Archer there were no problems going to warp. "Go get some sleep Trip. You need to rest up so you can enjoy that vacation you've got coming." Captain Archer suggested in that tone that said it was more than a suggestion.

"Sure thing, sir." Trip would rather stay in Engineering working so he didn't have time to think too much, but disobeying an order, even an indirect one was out of the question.

"Good afternoon T'Pol." Trip knew she hated it when he omitted her rank when on duty. Although, technically he was off-duty.

"I take it you have completed your work on the engines, Commander?" T'Pol responded, having given up on getting the Commander to be professional during their on-duty hours.

"Finally.  I'm going to get something to eat then the Captain said I had to go get some sleep. Care to join me?" He deliberately made his statement ambiguous just to tweak her a little more.

T'Pol was sure he meant join him for his meal, but with Trip, she could never be 100% confident about anything. He made such statements with such ease it unsettled her. "I'm on my way to the Mess Hall so I will join you for lunch." They ate most meals together anyway, so why he continued to invite her to join him she couldn't guess.

Trip sat at the table moving his food around the plate blankly staring at it. T'Pol could feel waves of exhaustion coming from him, making her marvel that he was still upright. "When was the last time you slept Commander?"

He tried to focus on her. "Three nights ago I think I slept for 2 maybe 3 hours before I woke up." Trip wasn't sure when he'd slept last. He'd let himself get so exhausted sleep was difficult. Most people passed out from exhaustion he found the more exhausted he got the harder it was to go to sleep and stay there.

"Perhaps you should either see Dr. Phlox for a sedative or come by my quarters for a session of neuropressure."

"I still haven't decided if I want to continue neuropressure." T'Pol had told him he was ready to take the sessions up a level, but that involved more intimacy. At least she warned him this time. Last time she wished to advance his knowledge, she simply asked him to remove his sweatpants. They'd compromised on his wearing shorts. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, it was that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to keep his body under control much longer if they were to wear less clothing and things got anymore intimate. And allowing himself to loose control once was more than enough.

"You may wear your shorts. You need sleep and if you continue as you are you will be useless to anybody." They'd been doing this dance around each other for some time now and T'Pol was not getting any better at interpreting his signals. Hoshi had explained that woman had to learn to read the signals men gave them to determine what they wanted from a woman because men didn't like to discuss relationships and feelings.

Trip seemed to enjoy her company. He had stated they were the best of friends. He had been excited about the prospect of a relationship after they met their son, Lorian, on the other Enterprise, but she had 'shut him down' again as he put it and he backed off. They had finally gotten back to being close friends with that easiness between them again. He simply ignored or wasn't interested in the advances made by other woman towards him and he spent most of his free time with T'Pol, Captain Archer, or Lt. Reed. If she was supposed to read his signals she needed a little legend, like on maps, to tell her what they were and what they meant. Although she had rejected her betrothed, Koss, at times, like this she wished it were as easy to mate with a Human as it was with a Vulcan.

Now she had to read this males signals, deal with emotions she was totally unprepared for (the expanse and her addiction had weakened her control), and remain Vulcan and true to the teachings of Surak. All this while also trying to be the First Officer Captain Archer required her to be to fulfill her duties as a newly commissioned Starfleet Commander. She was a Vulcan and should be able to multi-task with no problems and besides humans did this all the time, so why was she finding it so difficult to manage her life?

"Commander Tucker, you need to wake up."

Trip's head came up slightly with little slits in his eyes trying to keep the bright light from reaching them. "T'Pol?" It can't be I must be dreaming again. "Am I dreaming or did you decide to take me up on my offer?"

T'Pol was all seriousness and composed. "Commander you must wake up. Sensors have picked up a ship that appears to be a Starfleet vessel, but it has much more advanced weaponry and shields than Enterprise."

"Okay, this must be a dream. Starfleet has a ship that's better than Enterprise. Go away and let me finish my dream it sounds like fun. Good night." Trip's head dropped back down on his pillow.

"Commander Tucker. This is not a dream. Wake up, that's an order." T'Pol practically yelled at him. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

"I really need to work on my dreams. You're a bigger pain when I'm sleeping than when I'm awake." Trip complained as she maneuvered him under the ice-cold water. "Damn. What are you doing? That's cold." He yelped trying to stop his shaking, while slapping at T'Pol to make her let go of him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Stop torturing me and go away."

T'Pol held his shirt tightly to keep his head under the ice-cold spray. "Go see the Doctor and then come to the bridge. You have 15 minutes." T'Pol pulled him out of the shower stall before she released him and strode to the door leaving him standing with water dripping all over the floor.

Looking at the puddle at his feet. "15 minutes are you crazy. It'll take me that long to get dressed..." Leaning back against the shower door. "...and clean up this mess and I really need to see Phlox to get something to counter the 8 hour sedative he gave me..." He looked at the time. "It's only 3 am. Damn it. I've only been asleep for 3 hours again." If somebody had just warned him, there'd be an emergency, he could have managed on his own and not had this drugged out hangover.

"Then I suggest you shut up and get moving, Commander. You should have taken me up on my offer of neuropressure." T'Pol countered as the door slide shut. She wasn't usually so abrupt and rude, but the Commander was being difficult and needed the extra push his anger would provide.

He yelled at the closed door. "You're a real pain in the ass when you're acting all smug Commander." He knew she probably hadn't heard him, but he felt better. She actually came into his quarters and put him in a cold shower. He'd find a way to get some payback for that one. And he needed to work really hard at not using her rank, it only encouraged her because then she knew she'd gotten to him.

"Glad you could join us Commander." Captain Archer teased as his chief engineer took up a spot near T'Pol's station.

"Sorry. Seems the universe is conspiring to force me to stay awake." He shot T'Pol an evil smirk. "What's this about a starship that's faster than Enterprise?" Trip started looking over the sensor data T'Pol had gathered. "That's impossible. It looks a lot like Enterprise." The ship on the vid screen had the same nacellas. The saucer looked a bit bigger though. Everything was situated a little differently, but it was Starfleet.

Then he saw it. Shields. They had shields much like the Vulcans and Andorians. "Look at that Captain there's some sort of deflector and their warp generator is twice as big as ours. That's impossible." Trip Tucker had to see inside this ship. Who built it? How had they gotten the Vulcans or Andorians to give them the technology? 'I bet they have a cloaking device?' he thought to himself, all sense of being tired had vanished.

Lexington NCC-1702

"Don't say it T'Pol." Damn, he knew she was a Vulcan, why did she find it necessary to remind him constantly. The ears and that ramrod straight posture of hers were dead giveaways. Not to mention her strict professional behavior at all times, except when they were in bed together.

"I must say it. You seem to forget that I am Vulcan and expect me to behave in a manner other than what is normal for a Vulcan." T'Pol informed him with that even-tone she used when aggravated with him.

"No you're wrong. I expect you to behave like my lover, not some robot like creature when we're alone." Would she ever get it? He'd put up with the formal, stiff behavior outside the doors to his quarters, but once they entered this space he wanted her to be softer, more accessible. The only time she seemed warm and cuddly was right after they had sex and that only lasted for 30 minutes or so.

"I'm sorry Captain, but I cannot be more than I am." She wished to please him, but she couldn't let herself go. Maybe someday. Hopefully when they formalized this arrangement.

"Dammit, T'Pol you didn't just make love to the Captain. It was me Trip, remember." I think she does it on purpose. Just to put me in my place or keep me in my place. Whatever the reason it was irritating.

"Trip. I am sorry." She had agreed to only call him Trip when they were alone, but often slipped and called him captain when she became upset with him. He hated it and let her know it.

"Captain to the bridge." The comm sounded cutting off their argument.

Captain Tucker turned, heading out the door on his way to the bridge he tapped the comm button on his wall. "What's up Commander?" He inquired of his first officer Robert Cummings.

"Sensors have a contact off our port. It's weird Captain." Cummings was studying the vid screen. "It looks like one of those ships they have in the museum at Starfleet HQ, sir."

"That's not possible. Those ships have been out of service for close to 100 years." Tucker countered.

The ship before him looked like one of the first warp capable starships Earth ever built. But Cummings like Tucker knew they had all been decommissioned and turned into scrap metal or stuck in museums all over the planet. "According to sensors we're looking at an NX-class starship with warp 5 capabilities and hull plating, sir." Cummings sounded confused to say the least.

"I'll be there in a minute. Tucker out."

"Tucker to Engineering. Reese was there any problems with the warp test you did this morning?" Trip commed his chief engineer. Not sure, what he wanted the answer to be.

"No sir. We went to warp eight for 40 minutes then dropped back to our normal cruising speed. There weren't any problems that I'm aware of." Lt. Commander Reese reported.

Turning to T'Pol once they reached the bridge. "Commander T'Pol is there any data to explain that ship out there?" The Captain hoped his Science Officer could find some explanation.

"Sir, it appears we are no longer in our own space." The Commander offered.

"What do you mean not in our own space? These readings say we're right where we're supposed to be." He looked at the sensors. They were the same as earlier. Having tested the warp drive after he and Reese made adjustments to the intermix flow they ended up exactly where they thought they would when they slowed down to warp five.

"We're in the right place, but in another time. So we are not in our own space." Commander T'Pol continued to collect readings from the sensors. "It appears we are in a time parallel to our own."

"Same space different time zone?" Captain Tucker questioned.

"No. Same place, same time zone, different timeline, would be more accurate."

"How can we be in the same time, and they're still in those dinosaur ships?" The helmsmen, Ensign Watts, wanted to know.

"We've traveled sideways to their timeline, somehow? When did the sensors pick up the change and why didn't anybody notice before now?" Somebody wasn't doing their job. If they hadn't come into range of that ship, they might still not know there was a problem. They'd run the test and he and T'Pol had a scheduled day off, so when everything came back normal, they retired to his quarters. T'Pol would not have come back on duty until late the next day.

The first several months in a new ship was supposed to be to about working out the kinks, finding, and solving problems, but the last 6 months had been one problem after another. He'd been unable to convince Starfleet to allow him to be part of the design and construction of the Lexington. Because he was going to be its Captain not its Chief Engineer, they felt it unnecessary to allow him any more access than any other Captain of a starship. Had he known what a mistake that was going to turn out to be he'd have fought harder to change the regs. They were on a five-year mission of exploration, so he'd been required to take 3 months leave before boarding the ship in space dock and prepare for the mission.

He and T'Pol had spent half that time in Florida with Lizzie, his parents, and the other half on Vulcan with T'Pol's mother. If it hadn't been for the sightseeing and betrothal ceremony T'Pol refused to explain, but insisted they have, he would have considered their time on Vulcan as a waste. She had been the closest thing to happy he'd ever seen after the priest finished and nodded his head 'yes' to her. They'd made love for hours afterwards, outside, overlooking the Fire Plains, which made him very happy.

He was sure her mother didn't approve of him, but she refrained from making any comment. She spoke to him and asked questions about Earth and his childhood, but remained standoffish. His mother raised him to be respectful and courteous, so he easily slipped into that southern gentlemen persona even though he hadn't felt like one during the rest of their time there.

Tucker left the bridge giving his staff instructions, to slow down to warp one, then to figure out what had happened and how to get them back to their own timeline. Upon entering the Mess Hall, he checked the schedule next to what was supposed to be the Captain's mess to see if it was open. He did not agree with the idea of the captain segregating himself from his crew during meals, so he only used the Captain's Mess when they had guests or for private dinners with T'Pol. The rest of the time, it was open for the crew to schedule for their use. Finding it occupied he found a secluded spot away from everyone else so he could drink his coffee and think. He'd started the day off worrying about T'Pol and whatever was up with her lately, and now he had to figure out how to get them back home.

"Bridge to Captain Tucker. We're being hailed, sir. They say they're the Earth starship Enterprise."

"Don't respond until I get there, Ensign." Tucker needed time to figure out what he was going to say. The starship Enterprise in his time had been one of the first ships sent into space with a warp 5 engine. It was currently mothballed at the space museum near Jupiter Station. He wanted somebody, anybody to wake him up and tell him he was having a dream. A very bad dream.

Enterprise NX-01

"Enterprise this is Captain Tucker of the starship Lexington."

Archer choked loudly as he took in the face on the screen. "Trip Tucker? Is your name Charles Tucker III?" He moved towards the science station where Trip and T'Pol both stood staring at the image before them.

The man on the screen was attempting to stammer out his reply. "Yeah, that's me. T'Pol is that you?" Captain Tucker choked out as his Commander Cummings and Commander T'Pol moved into the frame.

Trip couldn't react. His sleep-deprived brain refused to function or make any sense out of this. He looked to T'Pol trying to decide what exactly her reaction was. Subtle signs of shock, alarm, and he wasn't quite sure but maybe a little intrigue. She wouldn't ever admit to any of it, but he could see it, almost sense it.

She still tried to insist she didn't believe in time travel. While she couldn't account for all Daniels and the other's little games messing with the timeline over the last 3 years she still said she agreed with the Science Directorate decree that time travel was not possible.

His eyes returned to the vid screen and his world stopped. Not only was there another 'Trip' but another T'Pol had joined him. "Damn, I have enough problems with one, now there's two." The words came forth quietly into her ear. Close enough that no one else heard him. So close, in fact, those watching from the other ship noted his familiarity with the Vulcan.

T'Pol didn't have time to decipher what he meant; she must act as the second in command for her Captain. "Yes. I am T'Pol, First Officer of Enterprise." The level of intrigue jumped way up. She was curious about her double, but the way she kept trying to keep from checking out his double told Trip she was really curious about him. Or maybe she was curious about them.

Captain Tucker shook his head as if to better organize his thoughts. "Captain Archer if you have no objection we would like to come within transporter range and beam over. I'm sure you'll agree we have much we need to talk about."

"Fine. You can transport here to the bridge then we can go to my ready room and talk." Archer agreed. "Let us know when you're ready. Archer out." The transmission ended. Jonathon Archer dropped into his chair.

"Captain, should I have a security team come to the bridge before our guests arrive?" Lt. Reed suggested. He'd prefer to be prepared in case the other Trip and T'Pol were hostile. They seemed friendly enough, but that might just be to put them off their guard.

"I don't think that will be necessary Malcolm. They have more firepower than we do and better shields. If they meant us any harm they'd have attacked us by now, don't you think?" Archer appreciated that his tactical officer wanted to protect the crew, but he did get overzealous at times. "I would like you to join us in my ready room when they get here, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." The Captain was right. They had superior weapons, shields, and a crew ...of 432 according to the biosigns, so they could overpower Enterprise whenever they wished.

"Remember this is a first contact and should be treated as such." Archer reminded his staff. It might be a bit different with alternate timelines and the personnel, but there were protocols to observe. Looking at the bridge crew, he was becoming very aware of how difficult that might be.

Hoshi, Malcolm, and Travis had all locked their gazes on Trip and T'Pol. Whether to gauge the pair's reactions or to settle their own Archer didn't know. He needed them to focus on the problems at hand. "Hoshi, I need you draft some kind of announcement I can make to the crew. We need to prepare them before anyone sees the other Trip or T'Pol."

"Yes, sir. I'll see what I can do." Hoshi had no clue what to say. 'We ran into a starship from another timeline and there are crew members who physically resemble our own crew members. Don't be alarmed. We've done this all before.' She hated time travel and all that implied. And why couldn't the Captain make his own announcement? She was a translator not a speechwriter.

She wanted to know if there might be another Malcolm Reed on board that ship. One who wasn't so stiff and formal. So British. She'd tried to be subtle and plant the idea of dating when she offered to cook for this Malcolm, but he'd been so adamant about there not being anything between him and a subordinate that she never brought it up again. Hell, at this point, she'd settle for being good friends, but he didn't let anyone get that close. He and Trip had become friends, but Malcolm even kept him at a respectable distance. She needed some insider information.

"Trip, T'Pol my ready room." Archer ordered as he left the bridge.

Trip had a thought. "Captain maybe we should ask for a list of the crew on that ship or give them ours so we can see if there are more..." Twins, doubles, alternates? "...crewmembers who need to know they have a double on that ship."

"Not a bad idea. Wouldn't want anyone to run across another 'them' without some warning." Archer agreed.

T'Pol's eyebrow went up. "Warning them will be of little help Captain." She wouldn't have reacted much differently if she had known beforehand. She hadn't shown it but it was a shock to see another T'Pol, but it was even more of a shock, her heart actually skipped a couple of beats, to see another Trip. One who looked exactly like her Trip, except for that tiniest of scars on the right side of his chin.

"Are you two alright? It has to be unsettling to see yourselves like that." There obviously wasn't another Captain Archer if Trip was their captain. This Jonathon Archer wasn't sure he wanted to know anything about another possible double in another timeline. He had enough to worry about in this one and the Archer on last alternate they'd run into had already died.

Captain Archer saw nothing but the normal blank facial expression from T'Pol and Trip had so many emotions playing across his face Jon had a hard time deciphering them. He did notice, even though they were trying their best to hide it by looking away quickly, their eyes did keep wandering to each other every few seconds.

He'd heard rumors about a romance since right after they entered the expanse and they did seem to be closer, but he was never quite convinced they were involved romantically. He assumed Trip would tell him if things got that serious. Maybe he should ask. Trip might think his captain would object because of the Starfleet no fraternization rules. After all Trip knew he'd broken things off with Erika Hernandez for that reason, but he was the Captain and that meant he had to ensure there were no command issues with subordinates. It came with the job and he knew that when he accepted the commission.

"Welcome Captain Tucker." Archer offered his hand; a slight chill ran down his spine.

Tucker took the hand with his own. "Thanks Captain Archer. I have to say this is the strangest feeling." He said as his eyes turned to Trip and T'Pol standing together on the other side of the table.

"My First Officer Commander T'Pol and my Chief Engineer Commander Charles Tucker III. We all call him Trip." Introductions seemed redundant, but Archer didn't know what else to say.

Tucker countered. "This is Robert Cummings, my First Officer and Commander T'Pol, my Science Officer. If you have no objections Commander T'Pol is anxious to compare notes with your people to see if they have any ideas on how we get back to where we're supposed to be?"

"No problem. T'Pol is also our Science Officer. She'll be happy to help in any way she can. Right T'Pol?" Archer waited for her response.

"Yes, sir. If you'll follow me Commander." T'Pol motioned for Commander T'Pol to proceed ahead of her back to the bridge.

The Commanders exited and Captain Tucker turned back to Archer. "The only other crewmember who has a double on our ship is Lt. Malcolm Reed. He's in charge of our Armory. We have more personnel so the duties of tactical and security have been assigned to other officers."

Hoshi interrupted on the comm. "Captain Archer I have Admiral Forrest for you, sir. Should I put him through?"

"I'll take it in my quarters, Ensign. Give me 5 minutes."

"Yes, sir." Hoshi answered.

"I was hoping to have some time before I had to tell Starfleet about this. Forrest must be calling in response to my message about our R&R on the first suitable planet we find."

Captain Tucker was concerned. "What exactly do you intend to tell him Captain?" He didn't know anything about this Starfleet, but if they were anything like his he was sure they'd insist Archer try to gain access to as much of their technology as he could.

"Good question. Maybe I shouldn't mention anything until I know what I want to say." Captain Archer wasn't going to keep it from them, but he knew Forrest would want them to try to get the Lexington to a Starfleet facility as soon as possible. He also knew that if he were the Captain of that ship he'd want to keep as far away from any other ships as possible. The ripple effects of changes to a timeline could be catastrophic and Archer had had enough of people playing games with Earth's future. Meeting up with other species could also present a whole other set of problems.

Archer left.

"So do you go by Trip or Charles?" Trip knew the answer the minute Charles left his lips.

"I hate Charles. My Mom's the only one who ever called me that." Tucker grimaced.

"Me too. I could always tell how much trouble I was in when she yelled for me. Charles meant she was upset, but Charles Tucker III meant....

Both men said "...prepare to be smacked up side the head as soon as she got close enough."

Tucker chuckled. "Seems southern mothers are alike no matter what timeline they're in."

"Yeah, I still don't argue with mine." Trip added. "I need some coffee. Care to join me in the Mess Hall?"

"I could use a cup myself. Been a hell of a day so far and I don't see it getting much better anytime soon."

Sitting at a table drinking their coffee. "Can I ask you a personal question?" Trip asked.

"Are T'Pol and I involved?" Tucker questioned back.

"Yeah, but how'd you know?"

"I've been wondering the same thing about you. Seemed like a pretty safe bet you'd be curious about us too." Tucker saw the closeness between the two so thought he knew the answer. "We're betrothed according to Vulcan standards, which I guess is the same as being engaged in human terms."

"Don't Vulcans have to go through a betrothal ceremony for that to be true?" T'Pol had explained that when she rejected Koss and got released from her betrothal to remain on Enterprise.

"We had one 6 months ago. Just before our mission started. The wedding can't happen until after this mission is over, so it's an engagement for 4½ more years. There's some reason for the wait, but T'Pol says she'll explain it later. The ceremony we went through seems to have been enough to seal the deal and we're together, so I don't really care." Tucker knew there was a lot T'Pol wasn't telling him, but he choose to let it go if it meant they could be a couple. "So are you and your T'Pol a couple?"

"I'd like to be, but we're just very good friends." Trip got a far away look in his eyes. He wished things were different between him and T'Pol, but he'd given up on that dream the last time she told him it wasn't going to happen.

"You seem like more. She lets you get very close to her. My T'Pol doesn't let me that close in public and we share quarters." Tucker found it strange. His T'Pol only relaxed in private with him to a state this T'Pol maintained in public with everyone.

"Maybe it's the neuropressure. As I'm sure you know it's kind of intimate and involves a lot of trust between the partners." It had terrified Trip at first to get that close to her, but eventually he looked forward to their time together.

"Neuropressure? T'Pol mentioned it a couple of times, but it sounds like glorified massage therapy, so I've never bothered with it."

"You might want to reconsider. It's much more than massage and it's why we've become friends and learned to trust each other totally." When the words came out of his mouth, Trip realized how stupid he was being about continuing neuropressure with T'Pol. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone and he needed to trust himself where his friendship with her was concerned.

On the bridge the two T'Pol's had exchanged all their data and discussed their theories about what happened.

"Ensign Sato says your Captain went to the Mess Hall with Commander Tucker. I can take you there if you'd like." T'Pol wished to speak to her double, but not here.

"Okay. I could use a cup of tea. I assume you have mint tea?" Commander T'Pol was trying to size up this other version of herself.

The pair stepped off the turbolift into the corridor. "Commander T'Pol did you attend Starfleet?"

"Yes I did. The Vulcan High Council sent me. I was to graduate, return to Vulcan and marry. But I met Captain Tucker, at the Academy, and my plans changed." She was supposed to teach when she returned to Vulcan, but found she wished to explore space with Tucker.

"Then you and Captain Tucker are involved?"

"Yes. We have been together for 2 years. We are betrothed but our kal'i'farr and bonding will not take place until after our mission is complete." T'Pol had no intention of serving on a starship once the two were bonded. Whether they would go to Earth or Vulcan she did not know, but they had time to figure that out.

"It is possible to bond with a human?" T'Pol had not thought it possible.

"The priest at our betrothal ceremony said the Kah-ka was established and indicated he foresaw no problem with completing the bond when my time comes." T'Pol had tried to get Tucker to participate in neuropressure to help forge that connection between them, but so far, the only thing Vulcan he was willing to learn was the language. She planned to explain all this to him once he'd read and studied the Kir'Shara and before the time approached.

A Vulcan priest had created the start of a bond with a human. "I was not aware of this possibility." Her other self on the other Enterprise never mentioned if she had bonded with Trip and T'Pol had not thought to ask. There was hope that she could have a bond with Trip. This was very welcomed news, indeed.

Commander T'Pol noted the interest in bonding with Tucker. "You and Commander Tucker are mates?"

"Not at present." T'Pol answered cutting off any further discussion of her clear implication.

Tucker's eyes followed those of the man across the table from him as he focused on the door, just as both T'Pol's entered the room. Trip raised his arm motioning for them to come sit.