I’m actually amazed I made it this far! I went all out, pedal to the metal with the sap on this one, so I’m afraid I must hibernate now. okthanksloveyoubye
Turning the pages backwards
“Good night, sweet girl,” Trip whispered.
Elizabeth looked up at him sleepily. Her hair was long enough for little plaits now; it made her look more child than baby.
She reached up to pat his cheek gently in a slightly clumsy imitation of the way her mother demonstrated affection. “Ni-night, Daddy,” she yawned before turning over and pulling her blanket up to rub it against her cheek.
It was a moment for the mental scrapbook.
Trip closed the door quietly and went out to the kitchen. T’Pol was just closing the plate cupboard, so he took the opportunity to hug her from behind, pulling her against his chest and resting his chin on her shoulder. “She’s not really a baby anymore,” he murmured into her neck. “It’s almost two years since we brought her home.”
T’Pol turned to face him and rested her hand on his jaw, “She is growing well.”
“Do you ever wish you could go back to a moment in your life and revisit it?” Trip asked.
T’Pol hesitated, and there was a moment where they each considered the other’s thought processes. She didn’t want to insult his emotional sensibilities by being too blunt.
He shook his head. “I don’t mean like Daniels and his timey wimey stuff. Not to go back and change things. I just mean like re-reading a favourite scene in a book. Like the day we brought her home from the hospital.”
T’Pol gave him a subtle smile. “That was a good day.”
“I was terrified. And after reassuring us and reviewing everything about fifty times, Phlox finally just bellowed ‘Take your daughter home, Commanders!’”
A delicate eyebrow lifted in amusement. “It was an enormous change in circumstances. I think some trepidation was to be expected.”
Trip nodded. “So, if our life was a book, what pages would you flip back to?”
T’Pol gave him an unimpressed look that turned a bit shy as she chose to engage with his game. “The first time you kissed me,” she said softly.
His eyebrows shot up in intrigue, “Our first kiss?”
“No,” she clarified seriously, “the first time you initiated a kiss with me. It marked an important shift in our relationship.”
“Yeah, it did,” he smiled at the memory. “I’d go back to the first time we met just so I could laugh at how pissy we were with each other. Who knew we’d end up like this?” he asked as he trailed his hands down to rest loosely at her waist.
“We did have a rather contentious start,” she acknowledged.
“There’s that Vulcan subtlety I learned to love,” he teased. “Come on, one more. There must be something else you’d want to see again.”
T’Pol looked thoughtful. “I believe I’d like to see the expression on your face when I asked you to marry me.”
Trip scoffed out a bewildered laugh. “Was I awake for that?”
Their faces conversed silently for a moment. Her eyebrows raised meaningfully as first confusion, then skepticism and finally startled recognition painted themselves across his features.
“I was correct. It’s an excellent expression.”
He glared playfully, feeling vulnerable. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging here, T’Pol.”
Her beautiful eyes were suddenly serious. “Trip, to the best of my ability, I will never ‘leave you hanging.’ It is not necessary to formalise our relationship…”
Trip smiled wryly at that. Everything else in their lives was carefully detailed, in triplicate, in two languages, for Elizabeth’s benefit.
T’Pol touched the back of his hand with her fingers as she went on, “But I would like to call you my husband if that would please you as well.”
Trip reached his right hand up to cup her jaw. “I would love to call you my wife,” he said as he moved in to kiss her tenderly before pulling back and looking down with a sigh.
His newly-minted fiancée looked at him in concern.
He shook his head, “I can’t believe you beat me to it.”
T’Pol blinked.
“I’ve been trying to figure out just the right way to approach the subject — nothing over the top, but you do appreciate a certain subtle romance.” His look dared her to deny it.
She tilted her head in acknowledgment.
“I made a whole list of logical reasons!” he laughed. “And you’re still a step ahead of me.”
T’Pol gave him the slightest smile. “I don’t think I’m ahead. I believe we’re in sync.”
“Yeah...” he grinned. “You want to see the list, don’t you?”
