Chapter 13: On The Mend

T'Pol basked in the sensation of her partner's hands on her body. One of them gently kneaded her right breast, while the other one was busy caressing her nether region. She felt the two fingers of her lover slip into her opening, caressing her heated flesh. While the warm water of the shower washed the last remnants of soap off their entangled bodies, T'Pol groaned and eagerly returned Hoshi's kiss.

She sat up with a start having suddenly woken up from another dream in which she had engaged in sexual relations with Hoshi, which was illogical as she harbored no sexual attraction to other females. And since there was no averse reaction in the bond, the thought could not have come from Trip. The dreams were also lacking the distinct alien sensation that was associated with thoughts that weren't her own.

Becoming aware that Trip was nowhere near, she shelved her thoughts for later contemplation and looked for her Adun. She soon spotted him, leaning against a palm tree about fifty meters from her and she could see that he was silently weeping. While that reaction had become a frequent sight lately, due to his emotional instability, she had a pretty good idea what his distress was all about.

Although she harbored some guilt of her own about having intimate dreams of sexual relations with Hoshi, the majority of guilt in her mind seeped in through the bond. Still unclothed she grabbed her discarded skirt and walked towards the palm tree. Receiving no acknowledgment of her arrival, she put the skirt on the ground and sat down on it, leaning against the opposite side of the same palm tree.

Patiently she waited for any word to be spoken, but for the next ten minutes neither of them said anything.

"Please forgive me darlin'," he finally said, his voice still strained from the long period of crying.

"I would not know what you need to ask forgiveness for," she replied, trying to keep her voice soft.

"I treated you badly yesterday. You don't deserve to be roughed up like that."

"By Vulcan standards our encounter was fairly sedate," she stated dryly. "It was – from my point of view – a very satisfying encounter and in all honesty I would occasionally wish for more physical intensity in our sexual relations were it not for the fact that I know you feel uncomfortable with touching me in a rough manner."

He came crawling around, looking at her in disbelief with bloodshot eyes.

"You enjoyed that?"

"Yes, I did and I can assure you, I do not say that to alleviate your discomfort. If anything, it is me, who has to ask forgiveness. I deliberately influenced your mind by feeding my own desire to you in an attempt to break through your defenses. Your lack of your normal inhibitions against forceful contact was a result of the intensity of my emotions."

"Don't apologize," he said, slinging his arms around her waist and resting his head against her shoulder. "I have no problem being a little more robust, as long as you let me know that you want it so and as long as it isn't every time."

"I will improve my communications of my intentions," she promised, gently stroking his hair. "I feel that your mind is much more at rest."

"I'm much better, especially now that I know I didn't hurt you. Hoshi is one hell of a counselor. Just with my ... urge, well, she couldn't really help with that."

"Why did you not tell me about it?" T'Pol asked. "You should know that I would never deny you intimacy if you need it."

He sighed.

"T'Pol, I don't know where it came from. That wasn't me wanting to make love. That was me wanting to fuck your brains out mindlessly. I would never do that to you. Hell, I was so damn horny I thought about sneaking away and sticking it in a hole in a tree somewhere, just to get rid of it."

"I doubt Doctor Phlox's research of interspecies breeding has progressed quite that far," she replied dryly.

For the first time since they came here, she felt his body start to shiver and suddenly he started to laugh uncontrollably. He was laughing so hard, his eyes filled with tears again and he started to cough as his breathing could not keep up."

She gently patted his back as he struggled in a mix of coughing and loud laughter. Looking back at the house she saw Malcolm and Hoshi grinning brightly as they heard the long-lost sound of Trip laughing. As he calmed down she sensed that for the first time in many weeks, his mind was truly at ease again. His contentment was still brittle, but she realized he was past the darkness that had clouded his consciousness.

Unseen by him, she returned Hoshi's smile for a second.

"I didn't know Hoshi actually brought something to wear," Trip said with a chuckle as he and Malcolm drank their coffee the next morning. They were sitting on the bench in front of the house watching T'Pol and Hoshi walk along the beach in matching summer dresses. The remnants of breakfast were still on the table in front of them.

"I doubt she'd be wearing that if it wasn't for T'Pau's arrival today," came Malcolm's amused reply. "I think that's the most she's worn in off-duty time in weeks."

"I never heard you complain before," Trip needled him.

"And I never will," Malcolm said. "I could think of worse things than coming home after a long shift and finding out that the only outfit my wife could decide on is a pair of panties."

"That's T'Pol's official meditation dress ever since I did that temperature job on the biosensors," Trip said chuckling.

"Best idea you ever had by the way," Malcolm replied. "Life support on my ship has been working fine since you've sent the specs to T'Len. If any of our Andorians fall on their knees before you and start worshiping you, you know why."

Trip snorted and laughed about the image of an Andorian bowing before him.

"Good to hear you laugh again," Malcolm mentioned casually.

"Hoshi helped a lot," Trip admitted. "If she wasn't the best linguist we have, she could just as well work as a counselor."

"That seemed to be working both ways," Malcolm replied. "I don't think I could have helped her like you did."

"Malcolm, all we did was talking and listening to each other. Of course you can do that."

"It's good to know someone's believing in me, but frankly I need to learn even basic social skills," Malcolm replied and Trip could hear the frustration in his friend's voice. "All I ever learned was to function properly. First that scumbag father of mine and later the section. All they needed was someone, who functions, no matter what. Hell, I would never have married Hoshi if you and T'Pol had not played match-maker."

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?" Trip asked. "You didn't seem to have any social skill problems at your wedding."

"It was all rehearsed, mate," he heard the frustrated reply. "Hoshi walked me through everything, even when to grin and when not. Do you really think I would've showered myself with that beer boot if it wasn't for Hoshi suggesting I should?"

"Shit, I never knew, buddy," Trip said sincerely.

"You and T'Pol probably thought I'm the shy type or something when you set up Hoshi and me," Malcolm admitted. "But I never asked her out because I never learned how to talk about my feelings. Hell, I was taught all my life not to admit that I even have them."

"There's your teacher," Trip replied deadpan, pointing his coffee mug in the direction of T'Pol. "If anyone knows how to learn that, it's T'Pol."

The shuttle landed near the beach and Trip didn't believe his eyes. In the co-pilot seat next to Travis on the pilot's seat sat his father and by the look of things it was his old man doing the landing.

"What?" Charles asked, coming out of the hatch a few moments later. "Did you think your old man couldn't land one of them newfangled things? In comparison to our shuttles back then, these things are ridiculously easy to fly."

"I don't doubt that, dad," he said returning his father's hug. "But your license must have expired something like twenty years ago."

"He's got it back as of one minute ago, together with a passed PPC on a Mark V," Travis said flashing a wide grin, while signing the check ride protocol on a PADD. "May I introduce myself: Lieutenant Travis Mayweather, chief pilot, SOLCOM fleet."

"Is there more we've missed in the – uh – three days we've been away?" Trip asked with a grin, congratulating his father and Travis.

"No that's the only major news you've missed," Travis explained. "I got checked out as a pilot instructor yesterday and they've put me right to the task doing check rides with some of the civilians on shuttles and runabouts."

"Not quite," Charles butted in and held out his hand to help T'Pau out of the shuttle. "You also missed that this young lady here will have her first day at school next week."

Trip went over and hugged her. "Welcome back, honey. Did all go okay on Vulcan?"

"Soval is now first minister and what little of my possessions did not fit in my bag have been deposited in your home. I became concerned when I heard there have been problems with your health."

"Don't worry, honey. I'm getting better," he said.

"And don't worry about her possessions either," Charles remarked dryly. "Cath and T'Pau hit the mall like a tornado."

"That's hard to miss," Trip said with a chuckle. The dress she was wearing was certainly not of Vulcan origin.

"Maybe you should have accompanied us," T'Pau said and turned to T'Pol pointing at his Hawaiian shirt. "I take it you were not involved in selecting this garment?"

"Obviously not," T'Pol replied deadpan and Trip could see Malcolm and Hoshi trying not to laugh. They were not very successful.

"Well son, I'll leave you to deal with the fashion police," Charles said and gave him a pat on the back. "Travis has to check out a few more people today."

The shuttle had just left when Malcolm released the laugh he had barely managed to hold back. T'Pau's dry assessment of Trip's fashion sense and his friend's indignant face expression were too hilarious. Hoshi couldn't hold back either. Even T'Pol was risking an eyebrow cramp.

"Everybody done laughing about me?" Trip asked.

"Not as long as you're wearing that," Malcolm cackled.

"Better now?" Trip asked throwing the discarded shirt away after he had pulled it over his head.

"You won't need it in the water anyway," Hoshi said and pulled her dress over her head. She crumpled it into a ball and threw it where Trip's shirt had landed. Then she ran off into the sea.

"Maybe you should go to the mall with your wife, too," T'Pau noted with a look at Malcolm. "Her supply of underwear seems to be exhausted."

Malcolm doubled over. He could see the satisfied look on T'Pau's face, realizing she had hoped to make them laugh.

"It's partly our fault, too," Hoshi admitted, lying on the beach next to T'Pau. She had accompanied the young Vulcan when she sampled swimming in Earth's ocean for the first time and she was now being quizzed by the former Vulcan leader about her godfather's health problems.