Tomorrow is Yesterday - Chapter 7

Tomorrow is Yesterday

By Mctrip7

Rating: PG-13, a little cussin’
Genre: Suspense, Angst
Archive: Trip/Archer
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Paramount and will not be sold.
Summary: A beginning

~~~~~

Chapter 7

Kevin and Steve helped ease Trip over and winced at his bloody face. Archer cautioned, “Don’t move him until Dr. Phlox gets here.”

“He needs to have his head raised, Captain, so he won’t choke,” T’Pol pointed out as she gently placed her hands beneath his head, turning it slightly.

Dr. Phlox came bustling off the lift. When he saw Trip lying on the floor, he went immediately to his side. He called for a stretcher as he began pulling the wad of material out of Trip’s mouth. Of course the clamps were dislodged and he was bleeding profusely. The doctor restored the clamps.

“Please continue to hold his head, T’Pol, until I can get a brace on it,” Phlox requested. Trip opened his eyes, seeing those beautiful brown ones above him.

“T’Pol, T’pol, I c a n ‘ t b r e a . . . .”

“Doctor, you will need to do something right now!”

“It’s alright, T’Pol. We’ll be in Sickbay in just a few minutes and I can take care of him there.”

In the meantime, Kevin, Steve and Nancy Robbins removed the aliens from the Bridge.
Dr. Phlox had told Jonathan to come to Sickbay and let him take care of his arm, so Archer was preparing to leave.

“Hoshi, you’ll have to take over while I’m gone. You’re the ranking officer now.”

Hoshi looked stunned as she replied “Yes, Sir. What needs to be done, Sir?”

“Just keep things quiet. I’ll be back soon. You have the bridge now, Ensign Soto,” Jonathan said as he made his way to the lift.

Sickbay was not a pleasant sight. Trip was thrashing around while Dr. Phlox and a Corpman were trying to hold him down to sedate him. Once he was sedated, T’Pol resumed holding his head while Dr. Phlox performed a tracheotomy. Trip began to breathe normally immediately.

Before x-raying his ribs, Dr. Phlox removed the temporary clamp from his mouth. It was necessary to keep suctioning it because Trip could not swallow. T’Pol stayed at her post and followed the doctor’s orders, occasionally soothing Trip’s face when she thought Phlox wasn’t looking.

The torn tissue was restored but it would be some time before the swelling would go down. Because of its location, the tissue would remain very sensitive.

Now the ribs! Of course the fractured ribs were now broken. He could restore them but it would be much better if they were allowed to knit partially on their own. This was certainly not going to sit well with Commander Tucker, though. The Doctor decided he would just have to take his chances with the Commander’s temper.

Jonathan had arrived in time to see the restoration of the mouth tissue. “How long will he be off duty? He looks pretty banged up.”

“That depends on Commander Tucker, Captain. If he cooperates, about a week. If not, who knows! Let’s have a look at that arm.”

“You were lucky, Captain, the beam passed through the fleshy part of your arm. Half an inch higher and it would have shattered the bone. I do want you to keep it in a sling for a few days, though, to remind you not to use it!”

TWO WEEKS LATER –

As the Senior Officers met for dinner everyone’s attitude had improved. Jonathan’s arm was still in a sling but he had become quite adept at eating with his left hand. T’Pol was back to normal, but Trip was another matter. He was still on “liquids only,” his ribcage was untouchable and his attitude had improved from horrible to tolerable. Jon and T’Pol tried to keep the conversation interesting, but Trip’s wired jaw limited his contribution to “yes” and “no.”

With the shuttlepod back in its bay, operations were pretty much back to normal. The remaining prisoners had been turned over to the Interstellar Patrol and Enterprise was headed home.

The Courts on Alpha Lyra claimed custody of the prisoners and they were to be tried for smuggling precious stones from the mining colonies to Rigel. They would also be charged with hijacking the Achernar when the Court received Kirk’s testimony.

Malcolm was back on limited duty and Kirk was handling Engineering in Trip’s absence. Even Trip acknowledged that he was doing a good job.

~~~~~

As they entered Earth’s orbit, Kirk was making plans to take the shuttle down and catch a flight heading East. As he entered the shuttlebay, he hesitated . . . all the crew assembled to wish him well. He was really touched. As he approached Archer, he extended his hand.

“Captain, you and your crew have made me feel like I was a real part of this beautiful ship. What an experience!”

“Ty, without your expertise and clever maneuvering, we might not have made it,” replied Archer. “Starfleet could use a good man like you.”

“Thanks, Captain, but I probably won’t make it back into Space right away. Little Sam might decide that’s what he wants to do or maybe I’ll have grandsons someday. Anyway, I don’t think Star Fleet has seen the last of the Kirks!”

“Commander Tucker, I hope I took good care of your engines. You’re a fine engineer. I hope one of my offspring will choose to be an engineer. I’ve loved every minute of it.
When those engines are humming, there’s nothing like it!”

Trip stepped forward and took Kirk’s hand. Through his wired jaw, he said “You did one
hellofa job. You can fly with me anytime!”

And so the saga begins . . .

EPILOGUE – A possibility -
2151 Samuel Kirk is born
2189 Samuel Tiberius Kirk is born
2224 George Samuel Kirk is born
2233 James Tiberius Kirk is born

THE END!

Return to Chapter 6

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

One person has made comments

Good ending, especially the epilogue; gives us a time referece.