Chapter 23: Will You Take This Man...

"Arr, Matey!" Malcolm said as Trip let him and Hoshi into his and T'Pol's quarters for dinner. They hadn't said anything about 'the incident' during the shift as the four of them had an agreement to strictly separate duty and private time.

"We're never going to live that one down, are we?" Trip asked, rolling his eyes.

"Never," Hoshi said with a giggle and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Just do me one favor, don't joke about it when T'Pol is around. She says it doesn't bother her, but I know her better than that."

"Don't worry," Hoshi said, still amused. "That pirate exchange and the line about the Vikings cracked me up though."

"So I didn't imagine that laugh," the chief engineer realized and shared their amusement. Hoshi shook her head.

"But if you need to know, I gave myself a cracking one. I thought I'd explode. That was so hot," Hoshi admitted, with a slight blush.

"Yeah, thanks for raising the bar to unattainable levels for me," Malcolm added sarcastically, but with one of his rare grins.

Their banter was interrupted by the arrival of T'Pol and their two guests of honor.

"Almost like old times," Jon said and took a look around the table.

"Except that the captain's mess would have been way too small for the audience and you only served juice," Trip said and Jon raised his beer mug in response.

"Are you planning to run a full-fledged restaurant," he asked and pointed at Trip's richly ornamented mug, that also sported a lid that one had to thumb open at the handle. "Quite impressive handiwork."

"Yep, our two Germans outdid themselves," Trip said with a smile. "Of course they could have made some nuts and bolts to get the hang of working with the new resequencer, but instead they used up three days worth of cr ... er ... I mean material ... to get enough potter's clay to make these."

Jon chuckled about the stare Trip received from his better half. There was no doubt that he had caught a major language infraction in the nick of time.

"I'm surprised that you let them get away with it, T'Pol," Jon asked with a smile. "Somehow I can't imagine you letting us get away with something like that a few years ago."

"I was hardly in a position to 'let you get away' with anything," T'Pol replied. "As I remember, you were the Captain at that time."

"Come one, you know what he means," Malcolm snorted with a chuckle. "You wouldn't have let him hear the end of it."

"Possibly," T'Pol admitted dryly and Jon was amazed at how proficient his former first officer had become at bantering with people. It was good to see Trip and T'Pol healed so well after all the tragedies of the last two years. Speaking of healing, he thought and cast a glance at Erika, who had made the trip over to Salem One, but had not said much so far.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she answered with a smile. "I'm just enjoying this."

"'Nother one?" Trip asked and raised his mug.

"I'm not sure," Jon said and cast a cautious glance at Erika, who smiled back indulgently.

"Don't worry," Trip said, while refilling the mugs from a small keg. "It's pretty lightweight stuff. After Mattes and Kriegel knocked out Malcolm and me with Bock beer a couple of months ago, T'Pol threatened them with serious consequences if they ever brewed up that 'hazardous substance' again."

"Wouldn't I have wanted to see that?" Jon laughed.

"God no!" Hoshi said, giggling. "You wouldn't believe the snoring!"

Their laughter was interrupted by a com chime.

"Lieutenant Mayweather to Captain T'Pol."

"T'Pol here."

"The Horizon is ready to leave. I would like to request permission to see them off."

"Permission granted. Have Lt. Taylor take ops."

"Aye, Captain."

"Still as enthusiastic as on the first trip," Jon said.

"Who wouldn't be," Trip said with a grin and a look at T'Pol. "The Vulcans were all over him the last two weeks. Not that the Vulcans would ever hero-worship, of course, but he had to take Enterprise out three times to show them how he flew the ship with just a few mechanical instruments."

"So now you are not only ruining my former XO, but other Vulcans as well," Jon said, giving Trip a lopsided smile.

"Hardly," T'Pol joined in. "This is the first ever joint operation of Vulcan and Earth that spans any considerable length of time. It is a good sign that my people are willing to learn. That has not always been our strong suit."

"You could say that," Jon said with a smile. "They must have learned a lot. Gardner sent me a message this morning, saying that twenty of the Vulcans want to switch sides. He wants me to ask you about that."

"There are a couple, who would work better with us," Trip explained. "Look, before the Kir'Shara T'Pol has been considered a maverick, or even deviant, because she dared to make her own decisions. Now that they realize that it is anything but abnormal, others come to the fore, who think the same."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Erika asked.

"Well, yes," Trip continued. "But most other Vulcans are still uncomfortable with that. See, there's this young engineer, T'Len. She is a brilliant engineer and she gets on with the job. If something needs doing, she does it."

"That's what makes a good engineer," Jon said.

"Yes, but other Vulcans see that as disruptive," Trip said. "You wouldn't believe the negative performance reviews she's gotten just for doing things that needed to be done without waiting for someone's order to do so."

"Ah, I think I get it," Jon said. "I can see how she would fit in better with us. I'm just not sure how the Vulcans are going to react if we poach their people. And then there's the thing about marrying and them having to return home for a year."

"All Vulcans in the fleet are married or widowed," T'Pol explained.

"You aren't married," Jon pointed out.

"And I was not supposed to be stationed on a spaceship. Remember that the original mission was only supposed to last eight days. And I am married now."

"When did you... ?" Jon asked and Trip felt his friends glance on him.

"Well, we don't have a sheet of paper to show for it," Trip explained. "But according to Vulcan tradition, we are married. Having it witnessed is a mere formality. And quite frankly, that's all we need."

"Wow," Erika exclaimed, eliciting a sheepish shrug from Trip.

"So, Malcolm, when are you and Hoshi gonna tie the knot," Archer teased.

Trip heard Malcolm mutter: "Bad timing."

He fixed his glance on Malcolm and said nonchalantly: "As good a time as any, Malcolm."

Erika watched the quiet Brit with amazement. She hadn't known the reserved Commander personally so far, but during the few meals that Commander Tucker had shared with her during his short-lived stint as chief engineer on Columbia he had talked way more often about Enterprise's introverted tactical officer than he had relayed tall tales about her captain.

She watched him get up slowly and for a moment she thought the man would just run out of the room. If Trip's stories were any indication, her better half's innocent question had just hit a very sensitive spot in the armor of the reserved Brit. To her amazement, he didn't run, but instead he fished a small object from his pocket and sank down to his knee and took the hand of a clearly flabbergasted Hoshi.

"You know that you're in love when you can't sleep, because reality is finally better than the dreams. Over the last months I lost quite some sleep, because reality definitely exceeds my dreams. Hoshi Sato, would you bestow the honor upon me to become my wife?"

Erika lost it. Her vision became blurry as she followed the proposal and her eyes filled up with tears.

"Yes," was all a crying Hoshi was able to get out and suddenly the room was filled with Trip and Jon's cheers and to Erika's surprise both of them were watering up as well. She didn't know much about Vulcans, but she had never seen one with so few control over her face. Captain T'Pol's nostrils were flaring and her eyebrows were twitching nervously.

"You did plan that," she heard T'Pol say with a voice that was remarkably thick with emotion.

"I would have preferred a more private setting," Malcolm answered, gently rubbing the back of Hoshi, who was still helplessly crying in his arms. "But the Commodore cramped my timing. Trip and I had been talking about the best moment to come forward. I guess the timing wasn't that important after all."

"You couldn't have chosen a better time," Erika sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Congratulations, Commander."

"What is it?" Trip asked, when he noticed that T'Pol did not seem to be able to find sleep. Normally she would fall asleep quickly after an intense bout of love-making and after Malcolm's proposal, today's bout had been very intense.

"I'm honored that Malcolm and Hoshi asked me to marry them, however, I am unsure if I will able to perform that task adequately."

"You did well, when you married McInally and Kusnezova, so why shouldn't you be able pull it off again?"

"They were crew members from which I had a professional detachment. Hoshi and Malcolm are our friends."

"So you want it to be special," Trip said.

She nodded, her head still resting on his chest.

"Don't worry, we'll work on that. It's not like I'm gonna be far."

He noticed T'Pol lift her head and although the darkness didn't allow him to see much, he knew that T'Pol was probably staring at him with an unspoken request for clarification.

"Who do you think did Malcolm ask to be his best man?"

Her head sank back to his chest.

"I will be in need of your help. I do not trust my control."

"You'll do fine," he said. It didn't need much explaining. He had seen himself that Malcolm's proposal had nearly shattered her control.

When Erika hobbled towards the Engineering office, she had to push down her uneasiness about being seen by any crew members. Even though her rehab program was still going on, it would still take weeks until she could walk more than a few hundred meters before running out of power. Dr. Phlox had happily taken over from Atlantis' doctor and however unpleasant his treatment had been, that slimy thing he had allowed to crawl all over her legs every day surely was effective. That was only the second time she had dared to make the journey from the ship to the station and this time she had managed to do so without Jon supporting her half of the way.

"Good grief," she heard and before she knew, she felt two hands on her arms helping her into a chair in the office. The exhausted woman sat down into it, breathing heavily."

"Erika, why didn't you say something?" Trip asked. "and where's Jon?"

"Jon's over on the ship. Someone's got to keep the shop running," she said and smiled. "Could you get your wife down here?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Just call her, okay, or do I have to pull rank?"

T'Pol entered the office in engineering, not quite yet sure, why her mate had insisted on her coming down. When she entered, she found Trip looking at her and Captain Hernandez in a chair. The captain looked clearly exhausted.

"You wished to see me?"

"Erika does," he said.

"What can we help you with, Captain?"

"Well, Commander Reed asked you to marry him yesterday and I was wondering if you would extend the same courtesy to Jon and me?"

"I'll be damned!" Trip exclaimed with a beaming smile.

"Well, looks like he got an inspiration yesterday," Erika said sheepishly. "Although I'm glad he did it privately."

"Was is that corny?" Trip asked, laughing. T'Pol thoroughly relished the sound.

"Not really, but – and I did not tell you this – when he got up after kneeling down before me, I swear to god – his bones creaked."

T'Pol looked on as both humans hugged each other, laughing helplessly. Considering the rather unpleasant events of the last few weeks, seeing her husband in such a pandemonium was most pleasing. She had long since given up to pretend that 'Vulcans do not enjoy'.

She still wasn't sure whether or not it was proper to enjoy laughter about an apparent ailment, but considering that Commodore Archer's mate herself was doing so, she decided that it was more likely some form of metaphor rather than a real ailment.

"Now I have another problem," Erika said, still out of breath from her giggle fit. "Phlox doesn't happen to have a wheelchair, does he? I'm not sure I'm going to make it back."

"Ah we'll take care of that," Trip said and crouched down in front of her, presenting his back."

"I'm not so sure that a piggy back ride is a dignified way to travel for a Captain," Erika chuckled. "But what the heck, I feel giddy enough today!"

As Trip rounded another T-Junction, he saw a solitary figure walk through the corridor in front of them.

"Delively fol Mistel Alchel," he sang in a high pitched voice and a faux Chinese Accent.

Jon turned around and doubled over, seeing his wife-to-be piggy-back riding his former Chief Engineer.

"What the heck is that all about," he managed between chuckles.

"Have you any idea how far it is to Engineering and back?" Erika mock-complained.

"You know, I could have asked them, too," Jon admonished softly, guessing what had brought Erika to Engineering. "Did any of the crew see you?"

"Don't worry. Except for a few of Trip's engineers, nobody saw us. Up until two junctions ago, T'Pol ran interference and scared everybody away. Her stare must be something else," Erika said and dismounted her 'steed'.

Jon couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks Trip," she said and placed a small peck on his cheek. "I think I'll manage from here."

"Listen," Trip said. "I hope you two don't take it the wrong way, but this wedding probably won't be a double feature. Malcolm and Hoshi deserve the spotlight. Is it okay, if T'Pol marries you a week or two later?"

"Don't worry Trip," Jon said. "We waited – what – twelve years? Two more weeks won't kill us. And I agree - Malcolm and Hoshi shouldn't have to share their big day with us. We want a rather quiet ceremony, anyway. Just my former and Erikas current senior staff. Knowing Hoshi, she wants a HUGE ceremony."

"You bet," Trip said with a smile. "That'll make it easier for T'Pol, too. She's still uncomfortable being the center of attention. She'll suffer through it for Malcolm and Hoshi, but a big crowd twice in a few weeks might be a bit much."

"Yeah, that's what we thought, too. We're a few days too old for the whole white dress and rice throwing routine anyway. All we want to do is getting married quietly," Jon answered and wondered, why Trip and Erika started giggling like school children.

"Now, Mr. Terval, I expect you to take it easy," Phlox lectured. "Captain T'Pol has been informed that you are limited to light duty for another week."

"Of course doctor. What are the limitations on ... recreational activities?" he asked and wondered why the doctor broke into a smile. What was a rather pleasing sight on Amanda's face, looked rather unnaturally distorted on the doctor's face.