Unexpected-Chapter 16

Unexpected

by Orion9

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter One
Feedback: One last time? Please?
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Chapter Sixteen – Recovery

Sickbay
Enterprise
0755 hours

“I believe Commander Tucker is beginning to regain consciousness, Captain.”

From what seemed like a great distance away, Trip heard the words but ignored them, too drained to even bother deciphering what they actually meant. He was drifting off again when he heard another voice calling out his name.

“Trip? Come on, Trip, wake up.”

That voice. Somehow, he knew instinctively that it belonged to someone important to him, one whom he trusted completely. Fighting the temptation to just float away into the waiting darkness, Tucker stubbornly concentrated on the familiar voice as it continued to call out his name and forced his eyes open.

“Cap’n?” he whispered hoarsely as the various blurred images slowly sharpened into familiar shapes.

Phlox’s face swam into view as the doctor greeted him heartily, “Ahh…, welcome back, Commander.”

Squinting his eyes in reaction to the substantial pounding in his head, Trip watched with growing confusion as Phlox beamed down at him before continuing with his usual enthusiasm, “Glad to have you finally awake. You gave us all quite a scare. We’d almost lost you, you know.”

“Can’t … breathe,” Trip wheezed painfully in reply, one hand clutching desperately at his chest.

“An allergic reaction. I expected as much,” Phlox commented as he quickly filled a hypospray. He injected the contents into the side of the patient’s neck and the engineer’s laboured breathing slowly quietened.

“There! Better?”

Still completely disoriented, Trip could only nod, staring blankly back at the Denobulan, as he tried to remember what he was doing in Sickbay. His brows drew together in a slight frown as his eyes slowly shifted to Archer, who had stood silently beside the doctor the whole time, his face a mask of worry.

“You … look … terrible, Cap’n …”

“Me?” Archer chuckled in automatic response, relief colouring his voice at his friend’s comment. It was just like the Commander to focus on another’s problems, as if he hadn’t been fighting for his own life in the past 24 hours. “Have you looked into the mirror lately? How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Trip mumbled, his blue eyes already glazing over. “And like … I’m ‘bout ... to throw up.”

“Another one of the after-effects of the sedatives that you unfortunately came into contact with,” Phlox explained, inordinately cheerful now that his patient was awake and relatively out of danger. “We managed to flush out most of it but I’m afraid you’ll have to let whatever that’s left in your system to take its course. The nausea you feel should go away in a few hours or so.”

“How much do you remember?” Archer asked.

“Not much,” Trip replied, his eyes closing from the throbbing pain. Even the dim lighting of Sickbay felt glaringly painful. “Wooden hut. Huge men … lots of trees.”

“You suffered quite a severe concussion from the blows to the head,” Phlox remarked as he turned away to fill another hypospray. “This may be the cause of a temporary memory loss. Not usual in this type of injury. However, it’s nothing to worry about. You should remember everything as soon as the swelling goes down. Right now, it’s time that you rest.”

Archer nodded in silent agreement, watching as Phlox pressed the hypospray at the side of the injured man’s neck. Trip’s eyes closed in relief as the medication quickly took effect. Soon, he was relaxed in sleep. Archer looked from his sleeping friend to the Denobulan.

“Will he be all right, Doc?”

“Yes, with a little help and support from his friends,” Phlox answered cheerfully. “I’m sure that Commander Tucker will be just fine, Captain, both physically and psychologically.”

Archer exhaled, nodding. He guessed that was the best assurance he could get for now. It was now basically all up to the young engineer but at least Trip was back where he belonged. Pausing at the door on his way out, Archer met the doctor’s gaze.

“Please inform me when he wakes up again.”

“Certainly, Captain.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Will he be all right, Doctor?”

”Well, like I have assured Captain Archer, Lieutenant Reed, Ensigns Sato and Mayweather, the rest of the bridge crew and the whole engineering team, who, for reasons I am unable to fathom, found it necessary to come down one at a time to enquire about the Commander’s condition, Commander Tucker will be just fine, Sub-Commander,” Phlox finally took a breath, much to T’pol’s private relief, for the doctor looked suspiciously bluish for a moment.

“Good,” T’pol replied in a neutral tone of voice, none of what she had been thinking visible on her face. The only reaction she’d showed during Phlox’s vocal presentation was a slight rising of her eyebrow, her features remaining as expressionless as usual. Glancing down, she looked at the sleeping man, taking note of how particularly young and vulnerable he looked. It was … disconcerting.

Although Captain Archer had made it clear to her that it wasn’t her fault, she somehow felt responsible for the Commander’s present condition. Knowing that he was going to be all right helped a little, although not by much.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

After one final look, she turned and left Sickbay, heading for her quarters. She had some meditation to carry out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Xanindra…”

“She’s all right. She’s safely back in the palace.”

Trip relaxed noticeably at the news. He’d awoken half an hour ago to find the doctor leaning over him with a broad smile while Captain Archer stood slightly to his right. It was not unlike the first time he’d regained consciousness that for a brief moment he was overwhelmed by a strong sense of déjà vu.

It wasn’t long before all the memories came rushing back and he realised with a start how close he had come to losing his life, especially when Archer told him what had happened in the hut after he had passed out. Making a mental note to thank Malcolm and Travis for their timely save, he started to narrate some of his experiences to his listening friend.

“When I looked up–“ he stopped, his head cocked slightly to one side as he stared vacantly at the wall behind the captain, distracted by a sudden thought. His eyes rounded as he recalled the elusive name. “Ri’krd! He’s–”

“Dakr’a’s son. Yes, we know. Don’t worry, we got him. Thanks to the button that you managed to pull off his uniform. Right now, he’s awaiting trial for treason, attempted murder and murder,” Archer replied, unconsciously rubbing the sore area on his shoulder where Ri’krd’s knife had nicked him before Malcolm and Travis had managed to pull the maddened man away. It was definitely too close a call. He could have sworn that his men, especially Malcolm, had looked suspiciously green for a short moment after the incident.

Trip watched curiously as a play of emotions crossed his captain’s face.

“How?”

“It’s a long story,” Archer stood up as he caught sight of Phlox heading towards them. “I’ll tell you some other time when you’re feeling better. Come to think of it, you have some answering to do as well.”

Trip frowned at the last sentence.

“Cap’n?”

“Later, Trip.”

“But–“

“Get some rest, Commander.”

The wounded man puffed out a resigned sigh.

“Aye, Sir.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Captain’s Personal Log, Supplemental: It has been two days since the rescue and both Commander Tucker and the young princess are doing well, given what they just went through. In appreciation, Zenandria presented its highest civilian and military medals to all those who were involved in the search and rescue of Princess Xanindra. Commander Tucker, along with Sub-Commander T’pol, Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Mayweather, were among the Enterprise crew honoured in yesterday’s hour-long ceremony. As the Commander was still under strict rest orders, I passed on his thanks when I accepted both our awards from His Royal Majesty. In addition, the entire crew was given an open invitation to return to the planet at any time.

The Royal Family has also requested that we extend our stay on Zenandria a little while longer as members of the family would like a chance to talk to the Commander when he was well enough. Although we were all extremely anxious to continue on our journey, I decided to comply with the unusual request. On the plus side, this gave some of the crew, especially those who did not get the opportunity to do so in the last few days, to have some much-deserved shore leave.

Sickbay
Enterprise
1105 hours

“You need to keep still, Commander, or you will aggravate your wounds further.”

“But, Doc. It itches … real bad!”

Phlox gave him what Trip have come to dub as the evil eye as the Denobulan looked unsympathetically back at him.

“Your wounds are healing, Commander, and very well I must say. That’s why they tend to itch a little.”

“Yer callin’ this a little?!” Trip exclaimed incredulously, trying hard not to scratch but failing miserably. He was going to launch into another series of complaints regarding the bandages around his waist when he heard a giggle. Looking up, his face broke into a wide smile, all thoughts of his discomfort forgotten, at the sight of the young girl standing shyly at the door.

“Xanindra!”

“Hi, Trip!” she greeted as she practically ran up to his bed. Phlox chuckled as he pulled up a chair for her and left them alone. Perhaps his young visitor would be able to help elevate the Commander’s boredom due to being cooped up in Sickbay for the past two days.

They had been talking for only five minutes when he touched upon the very subject that she was hoping not to hear. Her face fell.

“So you’ll be leaving soon…”

Trip looked at her and sighed.

“Come here,” he patted the empty space beside him and waited until she had seated herself. “We’ve talked ‘bout this already, remember?”

She looked at him gravely. “You will come back some day, won’t you?”

“I can’t promise you anythin’ but if we’re ever in the neighbourhood again, we’ll be sure to pop in for a visit, ‘kay?”

She nodded, returning his smile.

“Good,” Trip said, giving her a quick hug. “Now, tell me, what else have ya’been up to lately?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hello, Charles.”

Trip opened his eyes to find Princess Xadria standing beside his bed. For a moment, he just stared at her in surprise. He saw her parents this morning but no one had mentioned that she was coming in for a visit.

“Her Royal Highness requested a private meeting with you, Commander,” Phlox said brightly beside her. He turned to the princess.

“Just to let you know, he is still rather weak–“

That earned him a glare from the patient. Impervious to it, Phlox continued cheerfully, much to Trip’s annoyance, ”Call me if you need any assistance, Your Highness.”

“I will. Thank you, Doctor.”

Phlox nodded and then bustled away, humming to himself. Once they were alone, Trip cleared his throat.

“So, how’re things at the palace?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, why, um … why’d you do it?”

She had the grace to look embarrassed at his question, as colour flooded her delicate features.

“It seems rather foolish right now but I just wanted to show my father that I had grown up, and that I was not his little girl anymore.”

“By what? Selectin’ a non-Zenandrian as a Royal Suitor?”

She gave a faint sigh and nodded. “It was never questioned that Ri’krd would be one of the five men I would choose when the time came. Our families have thrown us together since we were children, as it was my father’s greatest wish that our families be joined in a royal marriage. For a long while, I went along with the whole charade, telling myself that I would eventually come to care for him. However, a few years ago, I concluded that I could never love Ri’krd, not the way he wanted me to, anyway.”

Trip nodded, his eyes filled with understanding. “What happened after that?”

“Nothing,” she answered simply. “I was unhappy but I had resigned myself to the inevitable. Royal duty precedes all else, you see. Then, I met you and your friends. And I thought that perhaps a little defiance might open my father’s eyes to the fact that I could make my own decisions, especially ones concerning the heart. The truth is, he was right – in certain aspects. I still need some more time before I am indeed ready to govern my people, for decisions made in haste have brought about nothing good, as you can see. For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry for what happened to you.”

“Thanks, Your Highness. But it wasn’t your fault, y’know.”

“Yes, it was. You almost died because of what I did,” she said ruefully. “Not to mention that I could’ve lost my sister and eventually the throne to a mad man.”

On impulse, Trip reached over and took her hand. She looked back at him, startled at his sudden move, but relaxed as he smiled disarmingly at her.

“Look, don’t be too hard on yerself. None o’ what happened was your fault. You couldn’t have known that you had some crazed admirer waitin’ to kidnap your sister, or me, in the process,” he looked solemnly at her. He waited for her reluctant acquiescence before continuing lightly, “‘Sides, some good did come out of all this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one, you got the chance to try out pecan pie,” he winked, causing Xadria to laugh in spontaneous response.

“You know,” she mused after a comfortable silence. “It’s a pity all my brothers are away at their respective training grounds. I’m sure they would’ve enjoyed meeting you.”

“Oh, I’m sure the feeling would’ve been mutual,” he assured her with a wry grin.

There was a quiet smile on Xadria’s face as she studied the man before her. His bruises were still vivid although most of the serious swelling had gone down, particularly around his eyes. Dark purplish skin peeked out from under the bandages that still covered his wrists and abdomen but she was glad to see some colour returning to his all too-pale face, which was still covered with a patchwork of cuts and scratches. Curbing the strong urge to fidget, Trip was getting more than a little uncomfortable by her silent scrutiny when she finally spoke again.

“She is indeed a lucky woman.”

He gaped at her for a moment before frowning with utter exasperation.

“For cryin’ out loud! Do I have a sign pasted on my forehead or sum’n?!”

Xadria smiled and shook her head.

“Our people are just more sensitive when it comes to such emotions,” she said, indicating her antennae. “These help. It’s how we choose our lifemates.”

“Oh … right.”

“Does she know?”

“Nope.” A pause. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“Will you not tell her?”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided on anything yet. “Sides, I don’t even know how she feels. It’s … really complicated, y’know?”

“Yes. Would you like me to find out how she feels? It’s the least I could do.”

Trip studied his bandaged wrists as he thought the offer over.

“Thanks,” he said finally, looking up and meeting her eyes. “It’s really awfully tempting but I think I’d rather find it out myself, the ol’ fashioned way.”

Xadria gave a graceful nod as she stood up.

“I hope it turns out well for you then.”

“Thank you, Princess. I wish you plenty o’ happiness too. Jh’ond is a lucky man.”

With a smile of thanks, Xadria leaned down and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

“Goodbye, Charles Tucker the Third. It has been a pleasure knowing you.”

“Same here, Your Highness. G’bye … ”

Trip sat motionless for a while after the Sickbay doors had swished shut, using the quiet time to think things over. He was extremely thankful that everything turned out all right in the end, seeing that there were several intense moments where he was sure that it wouldn’t, remembering the despair he’d felt during those times. He’d almost given up hope then; only the knowledge that there were people out there looking for him had kept him from doing so, and had kept him going.

He sighed tiredly. Although he wasn’t lying when he told Xadria that he was fine, he hadn’t counted on the exhaustion that seemed to envelop him, even at the lightest of activities. And no matter how much he’d enjoyed them, he knew that visits from Malcolm, Hoshi and Travis, just before the princess made hers, had also contributed to his overall fatigue. Guess this means I can’t get back to work jus’ yet… Damn …

With a soft groan, he lay back on the biobed, his eyes already closing. I wonder if the doc would allow me to pay Engineering a visit though, Trip thought drowsily as he drifted asleep. Think I’ll jus’ ask him … tomorrow ...

The End

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A/N: Special thanks to plumtuckered, for being so terrific. Also to myst123, for introducing me to this great site. Thank you both for your wonderful encouragement and support. To Dee, ocean, wildcat and snowtear, thank you for taking the time to read and review this story. It wouldn’t have been the same without all of you.
Lastly, to my beta reader, have I told you how much I adore having a younger sister? :)
The experience was nothing short of amazing. Thank you all once again for making it possible.

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Two folks have made comments

Oh a fine ending. You answered all the questions this story asked but left us with a few for a sequel.

I especially liked Trip telling her Highness he'd rather find out the old fashion way.

Long wait but worth it.

Thanks for writing and sharing,
TheCube

Oh Im so delighted you finished this. It was a really wonderful ending and I will wait anxiously for a sequel. Thanks so much for a fantastic story.!!