Chapter 6

Episode 6: Vadder und Mudder

T'Pol watched Trip's face flush slightly as he said good bye to Hoshi. He had wished her the best for her upcoming surgery, which was planned for the day she and Trip would return from their visit to his parents. In return the young ensign had whispered something in his ear that caused the obvious abashment.

It was a situation that emphasized the reason why the promiscuous exploits of 'the group' had seized. Had she been one of the younger women and less confident in her relationship with Trip she could well have reacted with suspicion, but she knew that he would tell her of whatever Hoshi had said to him. She knew it would also be the truth and that Hoshi's message presented no danger to their relationship.

She exchanged a short hug with Lieutenant Reed and Hoshi before following her mate into the waiting shuttle craft that had been signed over to them for the week they would spend with Trip's parents.

"You want to know what Hoshi said?" he asked after a period of quiet travel. Now that the auto-pilot had taken over it was safe to direct his attention elsewhere.

"Considering your reaction it must have been a rather intimate message. Has Hoshi revealed another 'fantasy'?"

"You could say that," he replied, smiling at her dry reply. "Do you remember when I took pictures of us on that first planet we visited the day before we all went nuts because of that psychotropic compound?"

"Indeed I do. I remember a particularly impertinent chief engineer who insisted on putting his arm around my shoulder."

"See, darlin', even back then I could not resist you," he teased her, causing an amused eyebrow lift. "Anyway, Hoshi asked if I still have the camera. She wants to prepare a naughty surprise for Malcolm when her new boobs are done."

"She wants you to create images of her unclothed physique?"

"And install them as background images on his private terminal," he confirmed with a chuckle.

"Will Malcolm not be with her when she has her surgery?" T'Pol asked.

"He'll stay with her until Phlox starts surgery and then he'll go to visit his parents for a week. He's already pushed it back by several days to stay with her. We return the same night handing the shuttle over to him, so someone will be with Hoshi when she wakes up. When he comes back Hoshi will have gone to visit her folks in Japan. Since they're not gonna see each other for almost two weeks she wants to give him something to 'remember her'. As if he wasn't already thinking of her day and night."

"Why are they not visiting their parents together, as we do?"

Trip sighed and shook his head. "They don't want to – at least not yet. Malcolm's father and Hoshi's father as well did not take well to the fact that they chose someone from a different race. They are both small-minded racists. Hooray for my folks. I'm bringing a girl from a different planet."

"Indeed," T'Pol said and she put her hand on his. She didn't say as much, but he could sense that she was slightly apprehensive.

"By the way, if a cute blond woman jumps at me, don't be alarmed. That'll be my sister Lizzy," he said with a chuckle.

"Thank you for the warning."

He was sure that reply had a very familiar eyebrow constellation to go with it, but he needed to direct his attention back at his flying as they were entering the upper atmosphere. Earth wasn't some remote M class planet where they'd be the only craft in the air.

If she had learned anything about humans in the last two years, it was that they tended to be gregarious. But within her mate's family it seemed to be a particular trait as immediately after exiting the shuttle they were surrounded by an excitable group of human children, some of which spoke with an even more outrageous accent than her beloved. And they all spoke at the same time.

"Awwright, folks, back off!" she heard him command loudly and it appeared that he had some authority within his clan as indeed the raucous celebration calmed down to a degree. "Y'all have a whole week to convince yourself that I'm really fine. You're makin' T'Pol uncomfortable if y'all jump on us like a pack o' dogs on a three-legged cat."

It had been a while that she had trouble making sense of his colorful metaphors, but T'Pol surmised that his strengthened accent was a result of trying to impart his message on his family, which seemed to consist mostly of young children as she could spot only three adults in the group.

"Alright, everybody except Grandpa and Lizzie goes back to the house! Uncle Trip isn't a piece of butter; he doesn't go rancid. There will be enough time for tellin' stories."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow when a dozen human children trundled off following the matriarchal command of her mate's mother without offering the slightest sign of protest.

"I apologize for the hullabaloo, Miss T'Pol. The young ones have been waiting for days to see their 'famous uncle'."

"I understand perfectly, Mrs. Tucker."

"Call me Cathryn please," the older woman offered with a smile. "After Trip's written about hardly anything else but you for two years, it feels like we've known you for a long time already. And we're so glad to have you."

T'Pol allowed herself a momentary indulgence in amusement, seeing her mate's face discolor in abashment.

"In that case it would be appropriate to address me simply by my first name as well," she counter-offered and held out her hand. The mother of her beloved returned the gesture gently and T'Pol could easily see how well received her adoption of human protocol was. She repeated the ritual with the other two humans and both stated their first names. Trip's father added a bow to the ritual. It was not hard to see where her mate got his sometimes antiquated manners from.

"Mom, dad, can you herd the hooligans for a while?" she heard the sister of her beloved ask. "I'll help Trip and T'Pol get settled."

Nods and smiles were exchanged and she saw Trip's mother caress his cheek as if she needed to convince herself my physical touch that he had really returned home. The maternal ancestor of her beloved appeared quite emotional.

Once his parents had left to 'herd the hooligans', which she suspected to be a metaphor for watching over the group of children, her mate's sibling directed them towards a small building that was a fair amount away from the main residence.

"You'll have the guest house all to yourself. Dave's staying in my guest room for the week."

"Is he still not done studying?" Trip asked.

"He's writing his PhD Trip."

Judging by the appreciative whistling sound of her mate, she surmised that Dave, probably another sibling, was indeed exceeding his expectations.

"May I?"

T'Pol looked up and nodded her approval as her mate's sister sat down on the porch in front of their assigned guest house. Although it had almost gone dark by now, Trip was still sitting a distance away on the lawn, entertaining a fair-sized group of children with tales of his voyage to the stars.

"He loves children," the human woman said.

"Indeed; although he qualified that observation with the amendment 'but not all at the same time' earlier today."

She indulged herself in slight satisfaction about her improving skills at employing humor in conversation with humans as the younger woman started to laugh. She could see a satisfied smile on her beloved's face when he heard the sound.

"Don't worry, they'll all get picked up tonight by their parents, but there was just no keeping them from being here when Trip comes home after such a long time."

"Understandably," T'Pol agreed, sipping her Champaign. "Deep space travel is still a novelty among humans."

"I've met a few Vulcans," the human female remarked with a smile. "But I've never seen one drinking bubbly stuff."

"It is not known to most Vulcans," T'Pol admitted. "And as I learned recently it has it's unique dangers, but the taste is fairly agreeable. I would have offered you a drink, but seeing you brought your beverage with you..."

"Oh no thanks, I have to drive later tonight," the young human refused.

"If it is not too personal, are any of the children yours?" T'Pol asked, wondering if that was an acceptable way to engage in 'small talk'.

"Sadly not," the woman answered. "Trip and I are the black sheep of the family. We're the only ones without children."

"You face censure because you have no children?" T'Pol asked.

The human laughed softly. "No, it's just a figure of speech. We both have jobs that don't make it easy to have children, or even a significant other for that matter. You can't imagine how happy mom and dad are that Trip found a wonderful woman."

"His father tried to impart that message on me countless times," she replied dead-pan, causing more amusement and another content smile from her mate.

"I'm an architect," Trip's sister explained. "I work all over the world – some months here, some months there. It's hard to find a partner who would put up with that. But I earn a lot of money and I'm only twenty-five. I think I'll do freelancing jobs for another four or five years before I settle down somewhere, and then it'll be easier to find someone."

"No doubt," T'Pol replied. Her mate's sister was by no means an unattractive specimen. Surely she would have no problems finding a mate once her life would be less nomadic in nature.

"Eww" Hoshi said, crinkling her nose and pointed at the puss-colored goo growing in Phlox's glass containers. "You're going to put that stuff in me?"

"I believe there is a human saying," Phlox replied and put the containers away. "'You don't want to see the sausage being made'. Now what was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

"First of all, I wanted to know if this was supposed to happen," she asked with a worried look and opened her uniform to bare her chest. Her breasts – as small as they were – had started to sag badly after several days of taking Phlox's hormone injections.

"Oh the skin is growing nicely," the Denobulan said. "Since your breasts will be enlarged quite substantially I had to induce some skin growth. Does this temporary change in shape cause problems with your partner?"

"It causes problems for me," Hoshi admitted, closing her uniform again. "Malcolm wouldn't care if I had none or six of them. He isn't the shallow type."

"Then all you need is patience, ensign. It's less than a week until I have all the tissue I need."

"Will it be visible?" Hoshi asked, causing a surprised look from the Denobulan.

"Of course such a substantial enlargement will be visible, ensign."

"No, No," she said, shaking her head. "I mean scars or anything."

He raised her arm and put his finger into her armpit. "There will be tiny scars in your arm pits, but I can assure you, you won't easily find them."

"Thanks Phlox," she said with a nervous smile and hopped off the biobed. "Six more days..."

"Six more days," he said, flashing her one of his impossibly wide grins.

"You wanted to see me captain?"

"Yes Phlox, have a seat," Jon said, looking at the PADD. "I've read your medical report, and I appreciate your thoroughness, but ... You requested an anesthetist from Starfleet Medical and the docking of a Marconi class hospital ship for a ... breast enlargement surgery?"

"Indeed. Ensign Sato undergoes surgery on Saturday. It's not like it won't be obvious once the surgery is completed."

"If it isn't violating patient-doctor confidentiality, may I know what this is about and why the procedure isn't done on the surface?"

"Ensign Sato has authorized me to speak about the topic with you, and only you."

"I get the hint, Phlox. This will stay in this room," Jon promised.

"Ensign Sato has been suffering from adverse psychological effects due to her diminutive bust size since her youth. After several therapeutic conversations I have come to the conclusion that an enlargement surgery will have enough of a positive impact on Ensign Sato's self-confidence to warrant the substantial expenditure."

"During those therapeutic talks, has Hoshi ever told you why she was on a two-year probation period that has only recently expired?"

"If you refer to the – frankly outrageous – cover story of her breaking the arm of her commanding officer during a gambling congregation? Yes."

"She told you what really happened?" Jon asked, just to be sure.

"After performing a 'striptease' the recently disgraced Admiral Black failed to comprehend the concept of 'look, but don't touch' and she defended herself quite violently. An impressive feat for such a diminutive female, wouldn't you say, Captain?"

"That's where I start to wonder," Jon said with a serious look at Phlox. "It's normally none of my business, but I feel a sense of responsibility for her. I was part of the board of inquiry back then and I am her captain now. You say she's having problems with the size of her breasts, yet back in the day she showed them to anyone who bothered to look."

"A typical case of overcompensation," the doctor said. "On the planet the ban on fraternization is strictly enforced. Especially after a certain period of deprivation the sight of a female bust is exciting for the males of your species. She compensated for her lack of self-esteem by basking in adoration that was mainly born out of deprivation. 'The other women may have a bigger bust, but mine is more appreciated because I bare it'. A simple, but in the end terribly flawed logic."

"I trust your professional opinion on that," Jon said, feeling uneasy about digging so deep into Hoshi's most private affairs. "But I need to know why you can't do that on the surface."