That Time

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: No infringement intended.

Trip walked into the mess hall. It was strangely empty for this time of the morning. Normally it would be full of chattering crewmen, but today only T-Pol was there. Trip approached T-Pol who was standing near the drink dispenser.

"Good Morning T-Pol, how are you today?"

"What is good about it?" snarled T-Pol.

Trip, taken aback, was going to say something more, when T-Pol turned to the drink dispenser and asked for "Tea Hot," then said, "Erase that. Green Tea Hot."

Trip felt hands grab him and pull him out of the Mess hall.

"What the Hell?" he said.

"Shh," whispered Hoshi.

"What is going on?" asked Trip.

"T-Pol is going through an event."

"What? What event."

"What human women go through once a month. Something I never would have guessed Vulcan women experience."

Trip looked stunned. "I never knew that Vulcan women had periods."

"There are lots of things you don't know about Vulcans females' intimate secrets."

"I'll be damned," Trip breathed. "So that's why she's so bitchy."

"Yup," retorted Hoshi.

Trip peeked through the window of the Mess hall and saw T-Pol sitting alone and looking grim.

"How long is this going to last?" he asked.

"About two days, maybe three. I'm not sure," replied Hoshi. "She has never talked about it openly. Only said a few things in passing. There's nothing in the database either."

"It's not going to be easy on her, but I think she will do all right . . . So, we have to live with this for two or three days."

"And it isn't as if she is Miss Personality on a normal day," Hoshi grumbled.

"The worst she ever does is ignore people," Trip noted. "Or gives them that eyebrow or a cold stare."

"Though you don't seem to get that treatment," said Reed, who had just walked in, with a laugh.

Trip favored him with a dirty look and said nothing.

While they were taking turns peeking through the window, the captain walked up.

"What is going on?" he asked.

Then he looked into the mess hall. "Oh, T-Pol. I have been looking for her. I want to have a word with her." And he walked into the Mess Hall.

Trip cracked the door a bit so they could hear.

The captain walked up to the table where T-Pol was sitting.

"May I sit down?" he asked.

"No you may not"

"I beg you pardon?"

"No, you may not sit down. I do not want company," she said, glowering at him.

Archer was stunned and didn't know what to say or do. He turned to look at the door and could see the others signaling for him to leave.

Archer walked quickly out of the Mess hall. T-Pol didn't seem to notice his departure.

Once outside, he looked around and said. "Does anyone know what has gottten in to Commander T-Pol?"

"Yes sir!" they replied.

Trip pointed to Hoshi. "She can explain it."

Hoshi gave him a dirty look.

Hoshi sugar coated it as much as she could, but it still sounded like a real problem that had to be met.

"You get along with her, Trip" Archer said brightly. "You go in and talk with her."

"I get along with her, and I want to keep getting along with her. I am not about to go in there. You can bust me but I ain't going in there. Fact is, I am going to hide in Engineering and not come out 'til she is back to normal."

"Trip, don't make me issue that as an order."

"Please don't Captain. I would hate to think of your chief engineer in the brig."

"That bad is it?"

"Yup" said Trip. "She has murder in her eyes, and I don't want to get on the bad side of her when she is like this."

The Captain turned to Hoshi. You're a woman. Perhaps she would talk to you if you approach her as a female who has the same problem, only every month."

"Yeah," echoed Trip and Malcolm. " It's worth a try."

Hoshi looked angry, then skeptical.  "Not that I ever have severe PMS," she scolded, but reluctantly agreed.

Hoshi openend the Mess room door and walked over to T-Pol's table.

T-Pol loooked up. "What do you want?"

Hoshi said, "I have the same problem as you, only I have it once a month. I feel just as bad as you do during that time. I will have to deal with this recurrent problem for many years to come."

"Oh," replied t-Pol. "I have never seen you showing any signs of it."

"I hide it as much as I can, and if it gets real bad, I take a day off.

"How do you hide it and why?"

I keep a low profile and I hide it because the men don't like to know women's plumbing problems or deal with their moods. So, T-Pol, you have been on the ship for four years, and have never shown these symptoms before."

T-Pol blushed. "My cycle has been started in the last week."

"Last week? How?"

T-Pol took a deep breath and said, "I must tell you in private so no one will hear, and you must promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Okay," said Hoshi. "When?"

"Later," said t-Pol. "Perhaps on morning break."

"Fine I will meet you in your quarters then."

"Agreed," replied t-Pol.

"In the meantime," said Hoshi, "if I were you, I would only be around females as they know what you are going through, and they won't bother you with stupid questions or get mad at you."

"The men will?" asked T-Pol.

"Well," replied Hoshi. "Human women call it "The Curse"  because God punished Eve with it."

"Really?" said T-Pol. "Why?"

"Long story," said Hoshi. "I will tell you some time."

Hoshi stood up and said, "I have to report to the bridge. You should wait for the guys outside the door to leave for their duty stations before you go to the Science Station."

"I will do that," said T-Pol. "Oh, and Hoshi, thank you. Talking with you has helped me a little."

"So long," said Hoshi in a low voice "I will see you in a couple hours."

At break time, Hoshi was standing outside T-Pol's quarters waiting for her. T-Pol walked up, keyed in the combination for the lock, motioned Hoshi to enter, and followed her in.

Hoshi sat down in the one chair in the room, and T-Pol on the setee.

Hoshi looked at T-Pol expectandly.

T-Pol hesitated for a moment and then said, "How much do you know about Vulcan females and their more intimate details?"

"Not much," replied Hoshi. "Just what you have mentioned in our conversations and little else. You Vulcans seem very private about such thngs."

"When a Vulcan woman marries and goes to live with her husband, living with him starts her cycles."

"Oh. But you aren't married to a Vulcan man or any man that I know of."

"No," said T-Pol.

"But also if a Vulcan woman takes a mate and she lives with him, he too starts her cycle."

"You have a mate on Vulcan, and you are not married to him?"

"No," snapped T-Pol.

"Then where do you have a Vulcan mate?"

"I don't have a Vulcan mate."

"But you just said you have a mate."

"I didn't say he was Vulcan."

Hoshi's eyes grew wide. "You mean you have a mate of another species?"

"Yes" said t-Pol.

"What species?" queried Hoshi,

"Human" replied T-Pol.

"Human? Is he on this ship?"

"Yes, obviously," said T-Pol in a low voice.

"Who?" exclaimed Hoshi.

T-Pol again hesitated. "Commander Tucker is my mate," she said at last.

"I mean who are you sleeping with?" giggled Hoshi.

"Commander Tucker," T-Pol said again.

"TRIP Tucker. Good god!" Said Hoshi.

"You are surprised at my choice of a mate?" asked T-Pol.

"No, no, delighted about it."

"Anyway, since we mated nearly a year ago, he has finally started my cycle."

"What took so long?"

"We were not that intimate that often at first, and then I discovered that I was deeply in love with him and he with me. We began to live as husband and wife as much as possible."

"You did a damned good job of hiding it."

"That was Trip. He was able to set it up so my comm and door chimes would ring in his quarters and his in mine so we could answer them wherever we were."

"Damned smart," said Hoshi.

"So, now you know our secret and why I have started my cycle."

"You should go to your Duty Station in the Science Department. I will walk with you."

"Thank you," T-Pol said gratefully.

When they arrived at the Science Department, Hoshi took some of the female members to one side and explained how T-Pol was feeling and why. "Try to give her support, Hoshi asked, "and assure her we know what she is going through."

Hoshi then turned to the males in the Science Department. "Stay out of T-Pol's way, make yourself scarce for a day or two. Just try to stay out of sight and let the women relay any questions you may have for T-Pol."

"What is wrong?" asked one.

"Never mind just do as I say, and everything will be okay."

Looking around Hoshi stepped over to T-Pol, Things should be all right. Count on your sisters they can and will help."

With that Hoshi left and went back to the Bridge.

When she entered the Captain looked at her, thought for a moment and then said nothing. Hoshi was relieved that she could take her station without getting into questions she would just as soon not answer.

Meanwhile down in Engineering Trip was in his little office pondering the morning events. He knew he had never seen T-Pol so agitated and in such a lousy mood. He knew one thing: he wasn't going to approach her for a few days until this passed, if it did.

The day passed more or less uneventfully except one blow up in Science, which was quickly smoothed over by the women. They got the guy who had been clawed out of the way. He looked scared and dazed. He was given some TLC by one of the females that he had been dating and eventually calmed down. But he made sure he stayed out of t-Pol's way after that.

That night Trip had just finished showering and stepped into his bed room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was going to put on his pajamas when he saw T'Pol standing by his bed dressed in a robe.

Trip was cautious and said, "Hello, what brings you here?"

"You," snapped T-Pol.

"Me? Oh? What about?"

"You started this cycle in me."

"ME? How did I do that."

"Because you are my mate, and we have had a lot of sex lately. My body has become attuned to yours and that has started my rhythm cycle. I am beginning to get in sync with you and my body wants to begin to have children with you."

Trip sat down on the bed and stared at T-Pol.

"What are we supposed to do about this?"

"Since this is the start of my cycle I need to have sex with you before my body reabsorbs the nutrients and fertilized Egg. If we don't, I can't reabsorb the egg and nurients becasue my body will be waiting for an attempt to fertilize the egg. That is why we must have Sex. Since you are my bondmate no other male can have sex with me. I cannot turn elswhere."

"Aren't you worried you might get pregnant?" Trip asked hoarsely.

"No, our DNA is incompatible. Humans and vulcans have never been able to reproduce, but my need is here and now."

"So how much sex are we talking about?"

"Two days," she replied.

"Two days! How are we going to do that? We are expected on duty during the day, and I cannot see us having sex breaks all the time. What happens if an emergency comes up when we are uuhhh in the middle of you know what?"

"We must not be interrupted during that time."

Great, I can just hear the Captain now. Yelling, 'Where are my Chief engineer and Science Officer when I need them?' He will blow a fuse."

"We must explain it to the Captain then and take leave for two days at least. My section can function without me, and I believe that Hess can take care of Engineering during that time."

"After what we have gone through to keep our love affair a secret? Christ, He will never trust me again. I may be lucky not to be courtmartialed and thrown into an asteroid prison for ten or twenty years."

"He must understand and agree to keep silent. After all, Starfleet will ask him why it is he doesn't know what is going on between officers on Enterprise. I don't believe he would want to risk that."

"What about first officer duties."

"Commander Reed can take care of those."

Trip paused to think, then added, "We must tell him he will lose the best first officer and Chief Engineer in Starfleet if he does say anything. Also the best science officer."

"Then it is agreed we will approach the captain tomorrow."

"What about tonight?" Trip whispered.

"Tonight we make love," T-Pol said.

She dropped her robe. She was naked underneath. "I have seen this before." Trip smiled. She advanced on him.

Trip stood up and dropped his towel. "Right, tonight we make love."

Trip pulled T-Pol in to his arms. He looked in her eyes smiled and then asked:

"Darlin', you going to be nicer tomorrow?"

"That depends on if you satisfy me tonight."

"You are going to be the happiest most contented woman in the galaxy if it means I can prevent a repeat of today."

"Have I been that bad?"

"OOooo, very bad. I would rather French kiss a tiger than be around you."

"Show me how you will make me the happiest woman in the galaxy," she said huskily.

"Time for less talk, more action," Trip said happily.

finis