Besides, this will be the last prompt of 2009!! 
Most of you know how this is done. For those who don't, it goes as follows:
On the first of every month, I give you a word (or sometimes a short phrase). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story inspired by that word, featuring Trip and/or T'Pol. You do not have to use the word in the story, just be inspired by it. Any style, any genre goes, and there are no minimum or maximum word lengths. You may post your response to this thread if you want, but if your story is kind of long, or something that isn't suitable for general audiences (as in graphic sex or violence), please submit your beta-read response for archival.
There is also no real "deadline" to have these done; you can pick a prompt from a year ago if you want to and write a response. Not every prompt will inspire, and sometimes you'll get multiple ideas for the same one. It's okay--just write!
This month, I'm doing something a little different, and I've chosen a theme rather than a specific word. Here in Michigan, we're gearing up for winter, and it's just going to get colder and nastier, and some of us are already counting the days until spring. Our winters feel like they're six months long, and we're already craving warmth, so your prompt for this month is....
BEAT THE HEAT
Now get out of here and go write something!
