Sins of the Father - Chapters 6 and 7

Sins of the Father

by Hoshissis

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Friendship/angst

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Chapter Six

The day seemed to drag as Trip spent all his time in Engineering trying to keep his mind focused on his job, not all that easy when his head ached like a son of a bitch. He knew that Phlox would have given him some pain killers in a flash, but if the truth was known, what Phlox had told him scared him to the core. The very thought of sickbay, never mind the sight of it, brought forth images of what was to come in regards to his illness, and Trip just couldn’t handle that right now.

In the same manner, Archer remained in his ready room trying to keep his mind focused on reports regarding the ship and Starfleet. He’d hoped saying goodbye to his mother earlier would have eased his troubled thoughts on how his father, the man he’d looked up to, had betrayed their trust in such a despicable manner. But no matter how hard he tried, the image of his father in an intimate tryst with Trip’s mom just wouldn’t budge. How could he face his friend, knowing that Trip’s mother was the cause of all the heartache his family had gone through when Henry and Sally broke up?

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During dinner later that night, T’Pol knew instantly that something was wrong. The atmosphere was heavy and tense in the Captain’s private dining room as both Trip and Archer tucked into their meals with none of the friendly banter that she was used to. They had acknowledged each other’s presence upon entering, but after that, neither seemed to want to initiate conversation or even eye contact. As a Vulcan, T’Pol wouldn’t have found this behavior too out of place, but having served on the ship for the last three years, she had grown accustomed to their dinner conversations and often found them quite stimulating. She hoped that they hadn’t had a falling out, like what had previously happened a year ago with the Cogenitor. It had taken a while for both of them to sort it out, but morale on the ship had suffered badly through it and she didn’t want that to happen again. They had been through enough the past year as it was. She would seek out Phlox later for counsel on the matter, as he seemed to understand these humans on a far deeper level than she could emotionally comprehend.

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Entering sickbay after dinner, she spied Phlox tucked away in the corner looking at something through a microscope.

“Can I help you, Commander?” asked Phlox, without looking up, causing T’Pol to raise her eyebrow in surprise.

“You’re busy, I can come back later …”

“It’s not important,” said Phlox, waving her back over.

Unsure of how to begin, T’Pol paced up and down for a minute with her hands behind her back before coming straight out with her query. “Has something happened between Captain Archer and Command Tucker while I have been on Earth?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” replied Phlox with a look of confusion. “What makes you think something has happened?”

“Their behavior at dinner seems very … ‘out of sorts’,” replied T’Pol, unsure of how to phrase her concerns. “They seem … distant … towards each other as if they have had a disagreement … again ....”

“I’ve not heard anything to indicate that they have had words. And believe me, it wouldn’t take long for that sort of knowledge to hit the grape vine, if they had,” said Phlox. “Captain Archer’s mother stopped over for a visit recently. I know he hasn’t seen her in a long time and it’s not unusual for humans to feel drained after an emotionally charged event.

T’Pol nodded to indicate that he had a valid point.

“I’m not sure about Commander Tucker,” said Phlox, shifting his gaze to the microscope again to avoid eye contact. “He probably has a lot on his mind with the repairs to the ship,” he mused quietly. “Maybe you should talk to him … try to find out what’s bothering him.”

T’Pol threw him a curious look. She had gone over the crew duty roster on her return, so she knew that Trip hadn’t had much to do while Jupiter Station was refitting Enterprise, and they hadn’t experienced any problems that needed his immediate attention. Looking at Phlox’s whole stance and tone of voice, T’Pol could tell that he was keeping something back in regards to Trip and what was presently wrong with him. “Hmmmm… curious,” she thought.

“Thank you Doctor … I believe that would be a logical course of action,” she stated before turning round to leave sickbay.

Phlox smiled. Apart from Captain Archer, T’Pol was probably the only other person who could draw Trip out. Maybe now he will get some support to help him cope with what he’s about to face.

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Chapter Seven

Sleep seemed to be eluding him again that night, so Captain Archer decided to take Porthos for another run around the corridors. He really had to get his mind refocused on his job, Enterprise was nearly ready to set out once more on another two year mission of exploration and it wouldn’t look good for the captain to have a problem of not being able to look his Chief Engineer in the eye or even talk civilly to him. Coming up to the Mess Hall doors, he decided he might as well stop by for a drink and a quick bite. Maybe even give Porthos some cheese, if there was any left. As he walked through and up to the drinks dispenser and food cabinet, he spied Phlox sitting in the far corner tucking into some food.

“Missed dinner?” Archer asked, deciding it wouldn’t look right to ignore him.

“No, I find this quiet period of the night excellent for contemplation over problems regarding my work,” Phlox replied as Captain Archer came to sit down next to him. “You?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I have a lot on my mind.”

Phlox decided to press on, since Archer seemed reluctant to talk about what was bothering him, “Did you enjoy your mother’s visit?”

“It was full of surprises,” replied Archer quietly as he tucked into his sandwich.

“Good ones I hope?”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that.”

“Would you care to talk about it? I am discreet and would keep it strictly confidential,” asked Phlox.

“I wouldn’t exactly say it falls under medical matters,” replied Archer, pushing his plate away to indicate it was time to leave.

“As I’ve had reports that you’re problem is starting to bother you to the point that it is starting to affect your relationship with others, I would definitely say it falls under psychological matters,” Phlox replied in a serious tone, indicating that this time he wasn’t going to let the captains odd behavior carry on. “A subject in which I hold numerous degrees.”

Seeing that Phlox was not going to let the subject drop, Archer decided to confide his problems. “What would you do if you just found out a close friend was inadvertently responsible for a lot of heartache you suffered in the past?”

“Is this close friend a colleague …?” asked Phlox, suspecting who Archer was referring to.

“Yes.”

“Does he know?” asked Phlox.

“No, he doesn’t,” replied Archer, clued into the fact that Phlox knew who he was referring to. Deciding that he might as well let it all out, he carried on. “I found out his mom had an affair with my dad. An affair that may have been the cause for my mom miscarrying my brother and then later, resulting in them splitting up.”

“I see, that’s quite a lot for you to find out, years after the event,” said Phlox.

“Oh that’s not the half of it,” replied Archer. “Apparently the lady in question had a baby not long after, whose dates and father was of … questionable origin.”

“Arrhhh … I see your dilemma,” said Phlox. “Well that answers my quandary of how Commander Tucker got a genetic disease, which no one else in his family has suffered from,” he thought.

“Do you blame your … colleague for his mom and your father’s actions?”

“I wouldn’t say blame as I don’t know the circumstance that led up to it. I know that things were pretty bad between mom and dad, so their breaking up may have happened even if she hadn’t gotten involved,” said Archer, trying to put into perspective what he had been wrestling over? “It was more of a shock and disappointment at finding the perceptions of my father who I’ve worshiped all these years have been totally shattered.”

“Do you think you’re projecting this disappointment onto your colleague?”

“Kind of. I can’t look at him without picturing what the two of them may have been like and how upsetting it would have been for my mom.”

“Do you think he would be just as upset if he knew?

“Considering how he’s always followed such a high moral code, I would think he’d be mortified,” replied Archer. “But that’s what makes me so angry, how she can enforce it on others yet not follow the same standards herself.”

“Could it be a kind of atonement for the guilt she may feel at her actions?”

“Possibly,” replied Archer, thinking hard over what Phlox had said. “Mom did say that she disappeared after the news of her miscarriage came out.”

“So the young lady may not have known about your mother or the baby she lost.”

“No … but that doesn’t excuse what they did,” replied Archer sternly.

“No it doesn’t,” answered Phlox, “but it obviously bothered her enough to stop the affair and get out of your father’s life. Did your dad try and sort things out with your mother or did he desert you both?”

“No, they did try to put it behind them but they divorced when I was ten.”

“How did he act after the divorce?”

“He made sure we had plenty of special days together.”

“Which again could be atonement for the guilt he felt for the results of his actions,” replied Phlox.

“So you’re saying that projecting my disappointment and anger onto Trip is stupid considering how both my dad and his mom suffered equally with their guilt over what they’d done,” said Archer.

“Maybe not in those words,” replied Phlox softly.

“What about Trip?” asked Archer. “This changes everything between us.”

“Does it?” answered Phlox. When Archer raised his eyebrows in question, Phlox went on, “Haven’t you always regarded Commander Tucker as the ‘baby brother’ you never had?”

“I suppose so ….”

“So other than validating what you’ve always felt towards him, what else does it change in regards to your friendship?”

“Not a lot, I suppose,” replied Archer softly, deep in thought over what Phlox had said.

Phlox smiled, patting Archer’s hand as he slowly stood up. “Goodnight, Captain. I’ll leave you to think over what we’ve just discussed.”

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TBC

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Two folks have made comments

I have to say, this is quite an interesting idea and nicely played out. Hope to see more soon!

You've made this story completely plausible. Good job! Wow, you've really set both of these guys up for a very rough time. Keep it up.