"We're ready to launch Captain." Trip's southern accent came over the comm.

"Good luck Trip. We'll see you in a few days." Archer was sending Trip and T'Pol to a nearby planet to bring back a load of duratanium. While the two of them conducted that mission, Enterprise would be continuing on to a planet several days away to drop off a diplomat that had been visiting the ship.

"We'll be here Captain. Tucker out." Glancing at T'Pol, Trip worked the controls of Shuttlepod Two and maneuvered out of Enterprise's landing bay. He was a bit nervous about going on the mission alone with T'Pol. Despite his efforts to be nice to her she had remained cold towards him. Granted, she was a Vulcan and did not display emotions, but he felt strongly that she didn't really like him. Of course he was a complete contradiction to her as he was not afraid to express his emotions or opinions.

"Course laid in Commander." T'Pol had no such concerns. She had a mission to perform and it did not matter to her who was with her.

Trip watched Enterprise disappear from view as it went to warp. A sudden feeling of dread filled him and for some reason he didn't think he'd ever see Enterprise again. It was a feeling he couldn't explain and that made him nervous. No doubt T'Pol would think him irrational.

"Commander."

T'Pol's voice shook him from his thoughts and he turned to look at her. "What is it, Sub Commander?"

"Scans indicate that this area here." She indicated a rocky area on the northern continent. "Has the highest concentration of duratanium." Checking to make sure the readings were accurate, she continued. "I suggest we set down here. It's about a kilometer away, but it's the only safe place to land in the area."

"Sounds good to me. I could use a hike and the terrain doesn't look too bad." Trip loved exercise and a nice brisk walk on the surface of that planet would be just what he needed to get his blood flowing. He wasn't sure he wanted to call the place a planet. More like a rock orbiting the sun, but there was some plant life, breathable air, and a little water. Some of the mountain peaks were twice the altitude of Earth's highest mountains.

"We should reach our desired destination without much trouble." T'Pol did not see what Trip saw. All she saw was the mission and bringing back as much duratanium as possible.

Trip angled the shuttlepod down and skimmed along the tops of the mountains until he reached the landing site. He brought the shuttlepod to a stop and slowly lowered the craft down to the small patch of smooth, flat ground. "We're here."

"Indeed."

Trip sighed. T'Pol was no fun at all. "Well, lets get the gear together and get moving. We need to bring as much duratanium back as possible." Opening the hatch, Trip moved to the back of the shuttlepod and began removing several backpacks loaded with gear from a compartment. He handed one to T'Pol and began putting his own on. Shrugging on the backpack, Trip followed T'Pol out of the shuttlepod and closed the hatch behind them. "After you."

T'Pol took her tricorder out and scanned the area. She wanted to be sure they went in the correct direction. "This way, Commander."

"Great." Trip was beginning to think the mission wasn't going to be any fun at all. At least he could get in a good hike and keep his muscles in shape. It took them about a half hour to reach the area with the highest concentration of duratanium and neither of them spoke during the hike. Trip just took in the scenery while T'Pol kept her eyes on her tricorder.

"This is the location, Commander. How do you want to proceed?" She knew a lot, but she didn't really know how to go about getting the duratanium. That was why Commander Tucker was in charge of this mission.

As she spoke, Trip was getting his backpack off. He'd brought a laser drill with him and once he had it set up they could bring up as much duratanium as they wanted. "Let me get this drill set up and then we can start."

"Very well. I will set up camp in the meantime." T'Pol also shed her backpack and began unloading it. By the time Trip had the drill set up and ready to go, T'Pol had the camp set up and was putting her gear into her tent. "Everything is set up here Commander. How are things coming with the drill?"

"It's all set up and ready to go. It is going to take a while to get enough duratanium. We will probably be here until at least the day after tomorrow." He sat down on a rock near the camp and pushed buttons on the drills control panel. Setting it where he needed it to be for duratanium, Trip turned the drill on. "So now we wait."

"There is plenty to do while the drill does it's work." T'Pol was running scans with her tricorder again.

"Yep, I plan to do a little exploring and see if I find anything interesting."

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but if that is what you want to do with your time it's fine with me. Just be careful. It wouldn't do for you to go off and get hurt." T'Pol looked at Tucker with a raised eyebrow. The man could be so frivolous.

"Oh, I didn't know you cared Sub Commander." Trip smiled and winked at T'Pol.

"I only care Commander because then I would have to handle all of this by myself. Not that I couldn't." She turned her back on Tucker and continued to run scans with her tricorder.

"Gee, thanks." Trip was certain that T'Pol didn't like him at all. She'd certainly thought the worst of him in the past and things didn't seem any better now. "I'll be back before dark." With that he was off over the rocks and up the side of the hill. He spent the day hiking and found several different kinds of flowers that were quite beautiful. It wasn't possible to take any back with him so he took scans of them with his tricorder so they would have a record of them. True to his word he was back at camp just as the sun was going down. For a rock, the planet had some beautiful sunsets and as the stars came out, Trip lay on his back looking up at them. "Aren't the stars beautiful? That's what I love about being out in space."

"Humans, you're always getting caught up in unimportant things." Was all T'Pol said as she went about running her scans.

Trip just gave T'Pol a frustrated look and went back to gazing at the stars. "Sometimes you have to enjoy the beauty in life T'Pol."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back on Enterprise Captain Archer had finished seeing the diplomat off and granting some of the crew shore leave. The planet they were in orbit around was very beautiful and the crew deserved a break. He hoped that Trip and T'Pol were having success with their mission. The fact was he'd gotten a bad feeling as soon as Enterprise went into warp and left the two behind. There was no point in trying to contact them as they would not be on the shuttlepod again until they'd finished getting the duratanium. "Hoshi, how much of the crew have finished their shore leave?"

"Almost half, sir."

"Have you been?" He didn't think she had.

"No, sir."

"Then I want both you and Malcolm to go. We only have a few hours here before we have to head back to meet Trip and T'Pol." He'd already been down to the planet earlier and didn't plan to go again. It had taken them the better part of two days to get to Cirrus Prime. They would need to leave within the next eight hours if they were to rendezvous with Trip and T'Pol on time.

"Yes, sir. I have set the computer to run a diagnostic while I am gone." Hoshi wasn't sure she wanted to go, but the Captain had told her to go and she would. Typically she wasn't fond of leaving the ship and going to strange planets. The race on this planet did have some interesting languages and she wanted to learn more about them and see if she could get the universal translator to learn them.

"Malcolm, get going. This may be your only chance for a while to get some shore leave." Archer found it somewhat amusing that he had to order his crew to take shore leave, but it made him proud that his crew were so dedicated to their work.

"Aye, Captain." Malcolm followed Hoshi off the bridge and the two made their way to the landing bay to take a shuttlepod to the surface. They had to wait for some of the crew to come back as they were short one shuttlepod

A few hours later the entire crew of the Enterprise was back aboard and Archer was saying his farewells to the President of Cirrus Prime. "We very much appreciate your hospitality Mister President and look forward to visiting your beautiful planet again."

"I'm sorry your stay couldn't have been longer Captain." The President had enjoyed getting to know the humans and wished they could have stayed.

"As do I Mister President, but we have a couple of crew members that we have to pick up that were on another mission."

"Goodbye then Captain and safe journey." The President ended the transmission with a slight bow.

"Prepare to leave orbit." Archer dropped into his chair and watched the planet fade away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those two days passed quickly for Trip and T'Pol. While T'Pol was only interested in the scientific aspects of the planet, Trip was enjoying some of the beauty that was there. Despite the planet being mostly rock, it did hold it's share of beauty. The drill had brought up more than enough duratanium and they were preparing to break camp.

Trip couldn't understand how T'Pol could ignore the beauty of a sunset. While he sat and watched the sun set she was trying to get the rest of her gear packed up. He'd finished packing his gear earlier and wanted to take in one last sunset before they left the planet. "I realize that Vulcan's don't have emotions, but I find it hard to believe that even you couldn't admire the beauty of that sunset."

"It's a sun dropping below the horizon. It happens every day on a thousand different planets. It's nothing special." That was something else about humans she didn't quite understand. They seemed to find fascination with everyday things.

"Never mind T'Pol. Are you ready to go?"

"I am ready." The backpack was much heavier now with her share of the duratanium in it. She knew that Commander Tucker had put more of the duratanium in his own pack, but she would not argue with him about it.

Trip got his backpack on and the two headed back to the shuttlepod. This time it took a little longer with the heavier packs, but they made it before it was completely dark. The packs were stowed in the back and Tucker was now preparing the shuttlepod for departure. "Ready for departure T'Pol?"

"I am ready Commander." She sat down in the chair just behind Tucker and prepared for the movement of the shuttlepod as it lifted off. The movement was smooth at first and she almost couldn't feel any movement at all. Commander Tucker was a good pilot and she had no worries about his abilities.

Suddenly the shuttlepod lurched and Trip scrambled to keep control. Pressing buttons on his console he discovered some sort of magnetic field that the shuttlepod was fighting against. It was strange because none of their previous scans of the planet had detected any magnetic fields. "There's some sort of magnetic field pulling on the shuttlepod. I'm trying to keep control."

T'Pol moved to another console and began doing her own scans. "I believe, Commander that the duratanium inside the shuttlepod is causing the magnetic field to form. We may not be able get the shuttlepod clear of the planet."

"We are going down T'Pol. I can't keep control of the ship. Get down on the floor it will keep you from being thrown around." He did not want T'Pol to be injured.

"You should as well Commander." T'Pol quickly got down on the floor of the shuttlepod.

"I'm going to try and contact Enterprise." As he reached for the comm. button the shuttlepod was pulled violently to the side and Trip was thrown against the console. His abdomen made hard contact with the edge of the console and all the air was forced from his body. Struggling to breathe he pushed the comm. button and tried to speak. The pain in his abdomen was sharp and intense. "Tucker to Enterprise."

Back on Enterprise, Hoshi pushed the ear piece against her head, her brow was furrowed as she listened more closely.

Archer did not miss the actions of his communications officer. "What is it, Hoshi?"

"I'm not sure, sir. It sounds like Commander Tucker is trying to contact us, but it's either a weak signal or something is wrong with the Commander." She was barely able to hear him as his voice was but a whisper.

"Put it on audio." Archer listened closely and heard the gasping whisper of Trip's voice calling to Enterprise. "We are here Trip. What's wrong?"

"Shuttlepod is......going down. Can't control......." At that moment the shuttlepod made hard impact with the planets rocky surface and everything went dead. Tucker was thrown violently backwards and the left side of his head struck the edge of the bench with a great deal of force. He dropped to the deck in a heap and everything went dark. The shuttlepod was still and there wasn't a sound except the loose rocks and dirt settling around the ship. Even T'Pol had been knocked out during the impact.

The bridge crew sat in stunned silence as they listened to the shuttlepod crash and then nothing. Not a single sound came over the comm. "Commander Tucker, can you read?"

"It's no use Captain. The connection has been lost. Their comm. may have been damaged in the crash." Hoshi was worried. The thought of any of her fellow crew members being hurt or killed bothered her, but she really liked Commander Tucker. He'd given her some great advice when she had wanted to quit and go back to Earth. Even though he was very much her superior, he never really made her feel that way.

"Keep trying Hoshi. Travis, set a course for their location, maximum warp." Archer was pacing now. He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to Trip. They'd been friends for a long time and Trip was the one person on board Enterprise that he could trust completely and seek advice from.

"Aye Captain. You do realize even at maximum warp it will still take two days to get there."

"I'm very well aware of that Mister Mayweather." Archer took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry Travis. I'm just worried."

"I understand sir. We are all worried." Travis felt the Captain's hand on his shoulder and knew he understood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T'Pol struggled to sit up. She'd had a moment of disorientation as she wasn't sure if she couldn't see, or if it was just dark in the shuttlepod. Once she realized that the lights were out she began to move around. The first thing she needed to do was see if she could get the emergency power on. It was too dark to see where Commander Tucker was, but she heard no other movement in the shuttlepod other than her own.

It took some time, but T'Pol managed to get emergency power restored. As soon as the lights came on in the shuttlepod she looked around for Commander Tucker. He was laying on his left side against the bulkhead and was completely motionless. "Commander?" No response.

Moving to the back of the shuttlepod she found the medical kit and moved to where the Commander was laying unconscious. Carefully she turned him onto his back and his head rolled to the right. Despite the fact that she had control over her emotions, she found herself somewhat shocked at the amount of blood around Tucker's head. "Hold on Commander."

Removing a bandage from the medical kit T'Pol pressed it firmly to the gash on the side of Tucker's head. The only response from Tucker was a soft moan. T'Pol knew the most important thing was to get the bleeding stopped. Once that was done she could check him for any other injuries. Getting the comm. working again was going to be another important task.

Trip had been unaware of anything until T'Pol applied pressure to the wound on his head. When she did that a wave of intense pain filled his head and he moaned. After that he slowly began to come to and the closer he got to consciousness the more pain he felt throughout his body. The pain he'd felt in his abdomen before was still there and it was getting worse. He'd never been hurt like that before and it scared him. Especially knowing that he did not have proper medical attention. He was in the hands of a Vulcan that he didn't think liked him and that also worried him.

T'Pol got the worst of the bleeding stopped, but from the look of the wound it would need more. Unfortunately she didn't have more. The medical kits on the shuttlepod's were not well equipped so she had to make do. Taking more bandages out of the medical kit she wrapped a bandage around Commander Tucker's head and secured it. She'd done what she could for his head wound and now she began to examine him for other injuries. It wasn't hard to tell that the Commander had a dislocated left shoulder and she put it back in place as gently as she could. A careful exam of the rest of him determined that he had several broken ribs and some kind of internal injury that she couldn't determine. What she did know was that he had some internal bleeding and without more advanced medical equipment there was nothing she could do about it.

As much as he didn't want to, Trip was beginning to come around. He knew that T'Pol was just trying to asses his injuries, but it was causing him more pain. Especially when she put his shoulder back in place. His eyes fluttered open, but everything was a blur. Squeezing them back shut for a moment, he opened them again and struggled to focus. It was a useless effort and he knew it had to be from the head wound. "T'Pol?"

T'Pol looked at Commander Tucker's face as she thought she heard him call her name. She was somewhat surprised to see him conscious. The head wound he had should have kept him unconscious for quite some time. "Commander Tucker, you have been seriously injured and you need to remain still." Upon closer examination of the Commander, she did notice that one of his pupils was a different size from the other and there seemed to be blood trickling from his nose. What those things meant she wasn't sure, but she knew it couldn't be good.

"You.....too?" Trip tried to reach up and touch T'Pol's forehead where there was a small contusion.

"I am fine Commander. You must remain still." She could see he was starting to lose consciousness again as he fought to keep his eyes open. "Just rest Commander. I will not let anything happen to you."

"Lost." Trip was losing coherent thought and it scared him. "Enterprise." Then he was unconscious again.

For the first time that she could remember, T'Pol felt great concern. Tucker had been incoherent before he lost consciousness and she knew that was bad. Right now there was nothing more she could do for Tucker. She needed to work on getting the comm. system working so she could contact Enterprise. Perhaps Doctor Phlox could tell her what was wrong and what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enterprise was traveling at maximum warp trying to get back to where Trip and T'Pol had crashed. Archer hadn't left the bridge for even a moment and spent most of his time pacing. He didn't want to lose any member of his crew and although T'Pol could irritate the hell out of him sometimes he didn't want any harm to come to her. His biggest concern was Trip. A man he considered the best friend he ever had. Right now he didn't know if Trip was alive or dead and it frustrated him. "Any luck Hoshi?"

"No sir, I am sorry." She hadn't left the bridge either. They'd been traveling for almost twelve hours now since the shuttlepod's last transmission.

"You should go get some rest Hoshi." He appreciated her hard work, but he wanted her fresh when they got closer to Trip and T'Pol's location.

"I'd really like to stay Captain."

"That's an order Ensign. I want you to get at least a couple hours sleep."

"Yes, sir." Hoshi turned her station over to the ensign from the second shift and left the bridge.

"Sir, how bad do you think it was?" Reed was worried about Tucker and T'Pol as well. He liked T'Pol and he'd started to become friends with Trip, so he didn't want to lose them.

"I really don't know Malcolm, but I hope it wasn't serious. I'm hoping there comm. system was just damaged and that's the only reason we haven't heard from them." Archer was pacing again. He hated feeling helpless.

"Yes, sir. I hope that's all it is too." Reed went back to monitoring his console. He was keeping an eye out for any other kind of signals or transmissions that might not be picked up by the communications equipment.

"I've alerted Doctor Phlox that he may have patents when we get there. I just hope there aren't, or at least that they don't have any serious injuries." Deep down he knew something was wrong. He'd gotten that feeling before and because he acted on that feeling he wound up saving Trip's life. He hoped it didn't come down to that again this time.

"Lets hope we don't need him." Reed added.

"Agreed."

A few hours later Hoshi returned to the bridge looking much better. She took her station back over and began listening for any kind of signal from the shuttlepod. There were a lot of different frequencies and she was scanning all of them in a cycle. So far there was still nothing. It was making her frustrated and even more worried than she was before. Even if the comm. system had been damaged in the crash she was sure Commander Tucker would have fixed it by now, if he was physically able to fix it. That's what worried her the most.

"Did you get some rest Ensign?" Archer was glad to have Hoshi back on the bridge.

"Yes, thank you Captain."

"Picking up anything at all?"

"No sir." Hoshi heard some strange static and listened for a moment, but it was nothing.

"Keep trying."

"I am sir."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T'Pol had spent hours working on the comm. system and so far it still wasn't working. Right now she really wished Commander Tucker was able to help her. She'd checked on him every now and then to make sure he was holding his own. His vitals were slowly getting weaker and she was afraid he wouldn't last until Enterprise arrived. At one point she checked the medical kit to see if there was anything in it that would help the Commander's condition stabilize. There were several hypo sprays in the kit, but she wasn't sure what any of them did and the last thing she wanted to do was make him worse by giving him the wrong thing.

Commander Tucker was again approaching consciousness and the pain was almost unbearable. He wanted nothing more than to return to the soothing darkness of unconsciousness. His thoughts were fragmented and fuzzy. How did he get like this? The memory of what had happened to put him in this condition would not come to him. All he wanted was for someone to chop his head off and end the intense pain he felt. Groaning weakly he opened his eyes and could not see anything clearly. A muffled voice came to his ears, but he couldn't hear what was being said clearly enough to make anything out.

"Commander? How do you feel?" She was a bit surprised to find him conscious. His vitals had been dropping slowly over the last few hours and the last thing she expected was for him to regain consciousness. He looked worse than she'd ever seen him. The bandage around his head still had blood on it even though she'd changed it several times now. His skin was pale and clammy and there were black and blue circles under his eyes. That was another thing that worried her, his eyes were dull and one was still more dilated than the other. "You need to go back to sleep Commander."

"Pol, wh....ere..........we?"

She could barely understand what he was trying to say, but tried to answer him. "We are still aboard the shuttlepod Commander. Just relax."

"The....pa...in."

"I'm sorry Commander. I don't know that it's safe to give you anything." She did not like the idea of the Commander suffering so much pain, but she was unsure about giving him anything. It didn't matter now, the Commander had lost consciousness again.

Going back to work on the comm. system, T'Pol bypassed a few circuits and thought that might have fixed the system. There was only one way to find out. "T'Pol to Enterprise, come in Enterprise."

"Captain! I am picking up a signal from T'Pol." Hoshi could barely contain her excitement. Maybe they were okay.

"Put it on audio." He watched Hoshi and when she nodded Archer replied. "This is Captain Archer. What is your situation Sub Commander?" It worried him that it was T'Pol on the comm. and not Trip.

"The shuttlepod is heavily damaged. It's taken me hours just to get the comm. system functioning. Commander Tucker is seriously injured and I am not sure what to do for him." T'Pol didn't really want to say she felt relief to finally reach Enterprise, but she didn't know what else to call it.

"How serious is it T'Pol?" Archer had known something was wrong and once again he was right. He did not want to be right this time.

"Serious head injury as well as some internal injuries. I was hoping to talk with the Doctor so he could tell me if there was anything I could do. There are some hypo sprays in the medical kit, but I don't know which ones would be safe to use on the Commander." She glanced over at the Commander and hoped that she could finally ease his pain at least.

"I'll get you through to the Doctor in a moment. Tell me how serious this is T'Pol, is the Commander going to die?" Archer wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that question. Even if the Doctor could tell her what to do, they were still almost a day away.

"It is very serious Captain. He has only been conscious a couple of times and only for a few minutes. Each time he is barely coherent and in obvious pain. His vitals have been dropping, but came back up slightly a short time ago. I truthfully do not know if he will survive another day until you arrive." She did not like telling that to the Captain. He and Commander Tucker were very good friends and she knew he would be grief stricken if anything happened to him.

"I understand T'Pol. Thank you for being truthful." He glanced at Hoshi and she nodded. "I have the Doctor for you now." Archer sat heavily in his chair and put his head in his hands. 'God, please don't let Trip die.' he prayed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sub Commander? I understand that Commander Tucker is seriously injured. Can you tell me what his injuries and symptoms are?" Phlox had a padd ready to input the information as Sub Commander T'Pol gave it to him.

"Yes, he has a severe head wound with a lot of blood loss. He's been unconscious most of the time and when he is conscious he is usually not coherent. One of his eyes appears to be more dilated than the other and there was some blood draining from his nose. He also has some broken ribs and appears to have some internal bleeding, but I can not be sure about that. He had a dislocated shoulder, but I put that back in place. I believe he is also feverish. I put blankets over him, but he still seems to have chills. What can I do to help him Doctor?" She waited for the Doctor to reply.

"This is very serious. From what you describe it sounds like the Commander has a skull fracture. Are there black and blue circles under his eyes?" Phlox was very worried. He knew they would not be arriving at their location for almost another day.

"Yes there are. His skin is also pale and clammy."

"I believe he is in shock. There should be several hypo sprays in the medical kit."

"Correct, I did not use them on him before because I did not know if it was safe." She took the sprays out of the medical kit and waited for the Doctor to tell her what to do with them.

"Understood, you did the right thing. Give him fifty milligrams of each spray now and do so again every eight hours. I need you to examine his abdomen and see if there is any sensitivity or black and blue areas." Phlox wished he could be there to examine Tucker himself. Things didn't sound too good. If he made it until Enterprise arrived then everything should be fine. He had the necessary equipment on board to heal the Commander's wounds, but he had to survive until then.

"I've examined his abdomen and there is tenderness in the upper right area and it's black and blue in that same area." She didn't know what it all meant, but she was sure the Doctor would tell her.

"That probably means a lacerated liver or kidney. There is nothing you can do about that now. If it was a severe laceration he would be dead by now. The medications in the sprays should ease his pain and shock. They should also help prevent any infections from occurring." That was all he could tell her. Until Enterprise arrived it would be a matter of giving the Commander the hypo sprays and the ability of Commander Tucker to fight to live.

"I will give him the sprays, anything else Doctor?" She injected the sprays into the Commander and covered him back up with the blankets.

"No, just keep him still and warm. I also want you to contact me every four hours with an update on his vitals."

"Affirmative. T'Pol out." She felt better now that she had actually done something for the Commander. It hadn't been much, but it was better than nothing.

"Archer to Phlox."

"Go ahead Captain." He knew what the Captain was contacting him about.

"What did you find out about Commander Tucker's condition?" Everyone on the bridge was waiting to hear the news.

"It's not good Captain, but if he survives until we get there then he should make it. I have all the necessary equipment aboard to treat his injuries. You two are good friends, is he a fighter?" Phlox knew the answer to that. He hadn't known Commander Tucker for that long, but he knew the man would not give up without a fight.

"Yes he is Doctor. I've never known Trip to give up without a fight." That thought brought a small smile to his face, but the worry was still evident.

"Then you have your answer. As long as he keeps fighting then he should make it."

"Thank you Doctor. Archer out." He glanced around the bridge and saw the stress and worry on the faces of every person there. "Lets just keep the faith people."

"Aye Captain." Reed said. He wasn't going to give up on Trip. Not as long as Trip wasn't giving up on himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T'Pol needed some fresh air. Thankfully Commander Tucker's scent was much more tolerable than most other humans she'd been around, but with the blood and perspiration it was becoming too much. Opening the hatch on the roof of the shuttlepod, T'Pol moved out and sat on top of the shuttlepod. The fresh air was a welcome relief, but she did not want to keep the hatch open too long. It was night and therefore colder and she did not want Commander Tucker getting cold.

Trip opened his eyes. His pain seemed to be less and he didn't know why. He could see nothing but darkness and what looked like stars. "Stars?"

T'Pol had been coming back inside the shuttlepod when she heard Commander Tucker speak. "I beg your pardon?" There was no way he could have seen the stars from where he was laying so she was confused.

"The stars, don't you see the stars?"

Now she was worried. Why was he asking her about the stars? She waved her hand over his eyes and he didn't seem to be aware of it. "Commander? What do you see?"

"Nothing but stars." His eyes drifted shut as he fell back into unconsciousness.

Moving to the comm. she pressed the button. "T'Pol to Phlox."

"Phlox here. What is it T'Pol?"

"Commander Tucker's vision seems to be going. He says all he can see is stars and he could not see my hand moving in front of his eyes."

"Do you have a functioning tricorder on board?" He needed to have information in front of him and the only thing he could think of was to have T'Pol run some scans of the Commander with her tricorder and transmit them to him. It wasn't a medical tricorder, but it would be better than nothing.

"Yes, but it is not a medical tricorder." Picking up her tricorder, she began to scan the Commander. T'Pol knew what the Doctor wanted.

"Use it on the Commander. It will at least give me some information on his condition." Checking his chronometer he saw they were still a good twelve hours away from their location.

"Understood. I will transmit the scans as soon as I finish."

"How is he doing otherwise, T'Pol?"

"He seems to be in less pain and I believe his fever has come down, but he is still not doing very well." She finished her scans of Tucker and prepared to transmit them to the Doctor. "The tricorder scans are on their way Doctor."

"Thank you, stand by." Phlox began receiving the information and his brow furrowed with concern. Commander Tucker was not in very good shape and from what he could tell from the scans, he had fluid building up in his head and it was putting pressure on his brain. That was probably why his vision was impaired. The scans also showed that Tucker not only had a lacerated liver, but also a contused kidney. It was amazing to him that Tucker was hanging on. Any one of his injuries could be life threatening, but the Commander had several of them and was still alive. "Okay T'Pol, these scans have told me a great deal. There is nothing else you can do for him except to continue giving him the hypo sprays. The reason for his vision problems is a buildup of fluids in his head that is causing pressure on his brain. We will be there as soon as we can." To himself he said, 'Keep fighting Commander.'

"Thank you Doctor. T'Pol out." So there was nothing she could do and she hated it. She'd never experienced the feeling of helplessness before and she hoped she never experienced it again because it was not pleasant. "Just hold on a little longer Commander. Enterprise is almost here."

T'Pol decided to lie down and try to get some sleep. As much as she was concerned about leaving Commander Tucker unattended, she also needed some rest. Hopefully he would be all right while she got some sleep. Maybe she would sleep long enough that Enterprise would be there when she woke, or at least almost there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time T'Pol woke from her sleep Enterprise was only a matter of two to three hours away. The first thing she did was check on Commander Tucker's condition. His vitals were very weak and he was in a deep state of unconsciousness. However, he was still alive and that was the important thing. "T'Pol to Phlox."

"Go ahead T'Pol." He had been hoping that she would check in soon and give him an update on Tucker's condition.

"The Commander is still with us, but his vitals are very weak."

"Can you send me another tricorder scan? I need to see how he's doing. Also, is his head wound still bleeding?" Phlox hoped that Commander Tucker hadn't lost too much blood.

"I am taking another scan Doctor and the Commander's head wound is still bleeding, but not heavily." Running the tricorder over the Commander, T'Pol quickly transmitted the results to the doctor.

Phlox took a moment to look over the information before speaking again. "The fact that his head wound is still bleeding is probably saving his life. It's allowing some of the fluid to drain from his head. That is keeping the pressure on his brain from becoming too great. Enterprise should be at your location in a few more hours." He still wasn't sure that Commander Tucker would last that long. However, it amazed him that Tucker had lasted as long as he had. Although his head wound was really the only life threatening injury he had. The internal bleeding and damage to his liver and kidney were very treatable. "When did you last give him the hypo sprays?"

"I need to give him more. I last gave him some before I got some sleep."

"Hang in there T'Pol. We are almost there and then you can rest." Phlox knew how difficult all of this was for T'Pol, especially being shut up in that shuttlepod with Commander Tucker. Her sensitivity to the human odor must be making it difficult. "How is the odor?"

"I am managing Doctor. Fortunately Commander Tucker's scent is less offensive than most humans. I spent some time outside and left the hatch open so the shuttlepod could ventilate some." Glancing at Tucker she couldn't help thinking that her sensitivity to the odor was of no consequence compared to what he was going through.

"Very well. We'll contact you when we arrive."

"Understood. T'Pol out." Moving back to the rear area of the shuttlepod, T'Pol knelt down next to Tucker and put her hand on his forehead. His fever seemed to be returning and she knew it would be important to give him the hypo sprays. As she injected each hypo spray into the Commander, she watched his face. His features were completely slack and she found herself thinking that he was a very handsome man, for a human.

Now that she'd taken care of the Commander, she needed to get the backpacks with the duratanium in them out of storage. The only way she could see getting it up to Enterprise was to beam it aboard with the transporters. Taking it up on a shuttlepod was not going to work. She moved around quietly, but there was no need to be quiet. Commander Tucker was in too deep a state of unconsciousness for anything to wake him now. Once they had him back aboard Enterprise and the Doctor treated him, then he'd be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Archer to T'Pol." The moment that Archer started to think would never arrive, finally did. They were in orbit around the planet and a shuttlepod was on it's way down to retrieve T'Pol and Trip.

"T'Pol here. Go ahead Captain."

"We have a shuttlepod on it's way down. They will bring you and Commander Tucker back and drop off an engineering team to see if they can repair the shuttlepod." He would be waiting in the landing bay for the shuttlepod to return. It was very important that he be there for Trip.

"Acknowledged, I will be waiting. Captain, you will not be able to bring the duratanium up by shuttlepod. We believe that is what caused our shuttlepod to crash."

"Understood, we'll see if we can transport it up." Archer looked to Reed who nodded and left the bridge. "How is the Commander?"

"Still holding on Captain. I'm glad you have arrived."

"You've done a great job T'Pol. Trip is probably still alive thanks to you." He knew she wouldn't like taking credit for keeping Trip alive, but it was true.

"I really did not do much Captain. Commander Tucker is a fighter." That had to be about the first compliment she'd ever given him and she realized she hadn't been very fair with the Commander.

"Don't let Trip hear you complimenting him. We'll never live with him if he does." Archer felt relief at finally being able to get to Trip and get him the medical attention he needed.

"I will remember that Captain. The shuttlepod has arrived. I will talk to you again when we are on board. T'Pol out." She ended the transmission and opened the hatch to the shuttlepod. Waiting outside were several of Commander Tucker's engineering staff and two medical assistants. The members of the engineering staff looked at Tucker with great concern as the medical assistants gently got him onto a stretcher and removed him from the shuttlepod. "Where is Doctor Phlox?"

"He felt it was best to stay aboard Enterprise and get sickbay prepped for treating the Commander." Ensign Roberts commented as they moved Tucker out of the wrecked shuttlepod.

The two medics got Commander Tucker aboard the shuttlepod and headed back to Enterprise. Both he and T'Pol would have to go through decontamination once back aboard and she hoped it didn't take too long. Her fear was that Commander Tucker would not last much longer without proper medical attention. Tucker and T'Pol were quickly moved into the decontamination chamber. Dr. Phlox and Archer waited outside the chamber for them to come out. The process took about an hour and T'Pol closely watched Tucker's condition during the process.

Archer was at the chamber door the minute it opened. He needed to see how his friend was doing. It shocked him to see Trip in the condition he was in. The bloody bandage around his head, the pale complexion with deep, dark circles under his eyes. He'd never seen him like that and it scared him. "Hang on my friend. Hang on." Gently he squeezed Trip's right shoulder as he was wheeled passed on the stretcher.

"I'll take good care of him Captain." Phlox followed the stretcher down the corridor to sickbay. Seeing the Commander made him realize just how serious the situation was. He was confident that he would be able to save the Commander, but it was going to take some time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since there was nothing Archer could do until the Doctor finished working on Trip, he decided to have a debriefing with T'Pol. There wasn't a lot to go over as the mission had been a complete success up until the shuttlepod crashed. Lieutenant Reed managed to get the duratanium beamed aboard successfully. The only negative thing was the crash and the injuries suffered by Commander Tucker in the crash. "I want to thank you for keeping Trip alive."

"It would not have been logical to let him die, sir. He is a valued member of this crew."

"I know that T'Pol, but it still couldn't have been easy." He knew she would have at least had a problem with the odors, but he knew she also had to deal with some feelings.

"It was somewhat uncomfortable, but I do care what happens to Commander Tucker." That was the truth. She cared about most of her fellow crewmen.

"I'm glad to hear that T'Pol. I know you and Trip haven't always gotten along very well." He was remembering several occasions. Like the time Trip got pregnant. She immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had not been professional during his time on the alien vessel. There was also the time when Trip accidentally read her very personal letter. That had been somewhat T'Pol's fault for having it encrypted, and Tucker had apologized profusely.

"We have had our disagreements, but I feel that we both learned from those differences of opinion." She was remembering those same events and now realized that she'd been too harsh on the Commander.

"That's good to hear T'Pol. Why don't you go and get some rest."

"Thank you Captain. You will inform me when you have an update on the Commander?"

She found not knowing how he was, bothered her.

"I will let you know. I am headed to sickbay now." He and T'Pol left his quarters together, but went separate directions once out in the corridor. Archer made his way to sickbay lost in thought. What would he do if Trip died? He'd need a new Chief Engineer and First Officer. Men like Trip were not easy to come by and he prayed that he wouldn't have to find one. Most especially he did not want to lose the best friend he ever had. They'd been friends for eight years of their lives and although that wasn't all that much of his life, Trip was younger and so it had been a good part of his life.

Phlox heard someone enter sickbay and figured it was probably the Captain. He'd spent the last two hours working on Commander Tucker. The Commander's vitals were more stable now and he'd replaced most of the blood he'd lost. His main concern was Tucker's head injury. It had been quite severe and it would take some time before he knew if the Commander had suffered any kind of permanent brain damage. "Captain."

"How's the Commander?" Archer had moved straight to the bio-bed that Trip was currently laying on. His eyes took in the readings on the monitors above the bed and he wasn't sure he liked what he saw.

"He's still very weak Captain, but he is improving. My main concern is his head injury." Phlox joined Archer beside Trip and he too examined the readings on the monitors.

"Tell me everything Doctor." He wanted to know exactly what was wrong with Trip and what his chances were.

"I won't lie to you Captain. I am fairly certain he will survive, but I can't say what kind of brain damage he may have suffered, if any." Phlox entered some information into his padd before continuing. "I have drained the fluid from his head and that has relieved the pressure on his brain. However, there is some swelling on the right side of his brain from it being bounced around inside his skull. I believe the fracture to his skull will heal with a little time and I have the wound closed. As far as his other injuries, I am treating them all with medications. The laceration to his liver was not severe and the bruising to his kidney and other organs will also heal." He added more information to his padd.

"So he will live, but you aren't sure if he will be a vegetable or not?" Archer was very worried about that. Trip was an extremely intelligent man and would not want to live that way.

"In a nutshell, yes. However I don't think it would be that extreme. I could be wrong, but we won't know anything until the Commander regains consciousness."

"When will that be?"

"I can't say for sure Captain. His brain and body have suffered a great deal of trauma and he may not wake for days." Putting his hand on Tucker's forehead, he checked for fever. The Commander still had a slight fever and that wasn't surprising to Phlox. Not after what the Commander had been through over the last several days.

"Keep me informed Doctor. I want to know when he wakes." Archer was the one that needed some rest now. He'd been on the bridge from the moment the shuttle had crashed.

"Certainly Captain. I do hope you are going to get some rest." He could see the Captain was very tired and he knew he'd been on the bridge the entire two days it took to get to T'Pol and Tucker.

"Yes Doctor, I am."

"Sleep well." He watched the Captain go and hoped the man could get some sleep.

"Thank you Doctor." Archer wasn't sure if he would or not. He knew he was going to be worrying about Trip until he woke. All he could do was pray that his friend hadn't suffered any permanent or severe brain damage. "Archer to the bridge."

"Go ahead Captain." Reed replied.

"I'm going to get some sleep. Contact me if anything comes up." Pressing the button the door to his quarters opened. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Aye, Captain. How is Trip?"

"He's improving, but the Doctor won't know much until he wakes."

"Thanks Captain. Sleep well, sir." Reed could tell the Captain was tired and worried. He was worried too.

"Thank you Malcolm." With that the Captain drifted into a deep sleep. He wasn't even aware of Porthos climbing onto the bed next to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Archer woke again it was almost ten hours later and Porthos was still curled up next to him. Getting up, he changed into a fresh uniform, shaved, and combed his hair. He felt very refreshed and decided to stop by and check on Trip before going to the bridge. While he slept he'd thought of a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson and he wanted to tell it to Trip. "Archer to Phlox."

"Phlox here, go ahead Captain."

"I wondered if it would be okay for me to come by and see Trip."

"Certainly Captain. Even though he is in a deep state of unconsciousness, I believe he knows when people are there and can hear them." It was something he'd always believed and there was no reason that people shouldn't visit the Commander and let him know they care.

"I'm on my way then Doctor." Archer made his way to sickbay and when he arrived there was a stool waiting for him next to Trip's bed. He saw the Doctor on the other side of sickbay and they nodded to each other. Sitting down on the stool, Archer took in Trip's appearance. Trip did seem to look better. The black and blue circles under his eyes were almost gone, but he still looked feverish. "Hey there Trip. You keep fighting to live, you hear me?"

Trip was aware of a familiar voice, but he couldn't seem to understand what that voice was saying. Deep in his subconscious mind however, the words were being registered. It made him fight harder to wake so he could see and talk to that voice. His slightly damaged mind was having trouble putting a face to the voice, but he knew it was someone very important to him.

"I thought of a poem that you might like." Focusing him mind, he brought the words to the poem forward and began to speak it to Trip. "What care I, so they stand the same. Things of the heavenly mind, how long the power to give them name tarries yet behind? Thus far today your favors reach, O fair, appeasing presences. Ye taught my lips a single speech, and a thousand silences. Space grants beyond his fated road, no inch to the God of day; And copious language still bestowed, one word, no more, to say." Archer sat without saying anything for several moments. He just held Tucker's hand and prayed that he'd hear that smooth southern accent of Trip's again. Hoped he'd have Trip around to seek advice from and give him strength. "I'm here for you my friend and I am not going to let you slip away."

Phlox watched Archer from across sickbay. It was plain on his face how much he cared for Commander Tucker and he hoped that Archer would not lose him. He was certainly doing all he could to bring the Commander back to them, but there were no guarantees. Archer suddenly got up and left sickbay and Phlox had a feeling the man was fighting back tears. "I'm sorry Captain." He said to no one. There was nothing more for him to do but wait. Time and Tucker's strength would tell if he survived without damage.

Archer couldn't sit and watch Trip laying there any longer. He was always so active and vocal, but now he didn't even move much less speak. So Archer had left sickbay quickly as he fought off his tears of worry and frustration. By the time he reached the bridge, he'd gained his composure and took over command. "What's our status Mister Reed?"

"Everything is running smoothly and we are back on our original heading."

"If Commander Tucker doesn't improve in the next few days we may need to head home." Archer didn't want to go back to Earth yet, especially not for the reason they would be. However, if Trip was going to be bed ridden for a long time, then it should be at home where his loved ones could take care of him.

"Is it really that serious, sir?" Hoshi asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. If he does not wake soon then he may have suffered brain damage." As much as Archer hated talking like that about Trip, he needed to tell the rest of his bridge crew what was going on.

"Can we go and see him?" Travis asked.

"Certainly. I just came from seeing him. The Doctor says that he should still know you are there and be able to hear you. It could make a difference." He sighed as he sat in his chair. All he wanted right then was for Trip to be okay. It was hard to concentrate on running the ship when his First Officer, and more importantly, his Chief Engineer was clinging to life by a thread.

"I'll go and see him after my shift then." Hoshi wanted to do whatever she could to help Commander Tucker.

"Thank you Hoshi. I appreciate it and I know Trip will too."

"I'll go as well Captain. Unless he shouldn't have too many visitors." Reed wanted to see Trip too. The two of them were becoming good friends and the fact that Trip had tried to sacrifice himself to save Reed when the shuttlepod had been adrift and they thought Enterprise had been destroyed had shocked him. It was hard to believe that Commander Tucker would do something like that for him, so he owed him a lot.

"I suggest you check with the Doctor before going." He appreciated his crews dedication to each other. Not that it was difficult to like Trip, he was just one of those likable types.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T'Pol had slept for six hours after meditating for four. Now she felt a strong need to see how Commander Tucker was doing. She hoped that everything the two of them had gone through had not been for nothing. Walking into sickbay she found Doctor Phlox working on the Commander and thought maybe she should come back later.

"Come in Sub Commander. Commander Tucker needs all the visitors he can get right now." Turning around he scrutinized T'Pol and noticed she had some cuts and bruises. "Are you all right T'Pol?"

She reached up and touched the cut on her forehead. "I am fine. It is a minor cut. How is the Commander?" Moving closer she could see he seemed to look better, but was still unconscious.

"I've done everything I can for him. He may have suffered some brain damage, but I won't know until he regains consciousness. You did a good job of tending him T'Pol." Phlox moved closer to her and looked more closely at the cut on her forehead. It didn't appear to be anything serious and as long as she said she was fine, he'd take her word for it.

"I will leave you to tend him then. I would like to know when he wakes up though." It was important to her that she talk to Commander Tucker when he was able. There were some things she needed to tell him. Things that she'd come to realize when they were alone together in that shuttlepod.

"As you wish, but you are welcome to stay and speak to him. I believe that he can hear you."

"No, thank you Doctor. I will come back when he's awake." She didn't want to say what she had to say to an unconscious man.

"Just be aware that there is no guarantee that he will wake." Phlox saw the brief shock that crossed her face before she regained control.

"You are saying that the Commander may be like this forever?" T'Pol refused to believe that would happen. Not to Commander Tucker. He was too tough and he'd already fought hard to get to this point, he would not give up now.

"I'm saying it's possible."

"He will not give up Doctor." With that she turned and walked out of sickbay.

"I hope you are right T'Pol."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next several days passed and Trip's condition did not seem to improve. The swelling in his head had come down some, but he remained in a deep state of unconsciousness. Archer was going to turn Enterprise around and head home if Trip didn't wake within the next two days. On Earth he could get better medical care and his family could be around him for support.

As the days passed, Trip slowly became more aware and that included the pain he was in. Despite the medication that Doctor Phlox gave him on a regular basis, he was still in pain. Most of that pain was from the head injury. The internal injuries he'd suffered were healing nicely and caused him little discomfort. What scared him the most was that he didn't know why he was in the condition he was in. Everything was fuzzy when he tried to remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered clearly was Archer telling him he was going down to a planet with T'Pol to bring back some duratanium, but he didn't remember actually going.

Archer was visiting Trip again. He'd lost count of the amount of hours he'd spent at his friends bedside. Each time he prayed that Trip would wake. So far it hadn't happened and the longer it took, the more concerned he became. "Come on my old friend, don't you quit on me."

Subconsciously Trip heard Archer's words, but they seemed to drift as if on clouds. He'd never felt anything like what he was feeling now. Disconnected was the only word he could come up with for how he felt. All he wanted was for that feeling to go away so he could wake and tell John that he was okay. He hated the thought of John and the rest of his friends worried about him. 'John, I'm here and I'm fighting to come back. Please don't give up on me.' Trip pleaded in his mind.

Archer got a strange feeling that somehow Trip was trying to tell him something. Trying to tell him not to give up on him. He wasn't sure where the feeling was coming from, but he knew without a doubt not to question it. "I'm here Trip and I am not going to give up on you." Taking Trip's hand, Archer held it tight and continued talking to him. "Trip, we have so many fond memories together. When I was giving command of Enterprise I knew without a doubt that you would be my Chief Engineer. You're the best Engineer Starfleet has and you being my best friend was an added bonus." Archer sighed, but continued. "I had a lot of concerns about T'Pol being a part of the crew. Could I trust her? At least having you here gave me someone to talk to that I knew I could trust without a doubt."

Archer stood to leave, but turned back to Trip. "Come back to us my friend." With that he turned and left sickbay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning when Doctor Phlox came into sickbay he found Commander Tucker semi-conscious. However, he was not lucid and his eyes remained closed. It was a good sign that he was going to come out of it, but Phlox wasn't going to get too excited yet. He still had no idea what kind, if any, brain damage the Commander had. "Phlox to Archer."

"Archer here. What can I do for you Doctor?" He'd just taken his seat on the bridge and was about to give the order to turn Enterprise around and head home.

"I came into sickbay this morning to find Commander Tucker semi-conscious. I thought I should let you know."

Archer could almost feel the tension leave everyone on the bridge with that news. "That's wonderful news Doctor. Does this mean he will be okay?"

"It's too soon to tell Captain. He's only semi-conscious and not yet lucid." Phlox was standing by Trip's bed observing him as he struggled to become fully conscious. It surprised him that he was anxious. Perhaps he was more fond of Commander Tucker than he realized because it was important to him that Tucker suffered no damage.

"I'll be right down Doctor." For the first time in almost a week Archer felt hope welling up inside him. He felt it was definitely a good sign that Trip was waking up.

"Sir, will you let us know how he's doing?" Reed asked from his station. He knew everyone on the bridge was anxious to know if Trip was okay.

"Certainly. As soon as I know something I will contact you." Archer left the bridge and smiled. It was nice to know that they all cared so much for Trip, but then again Trip was just that type of person. You just liked him without much trouble.

Doctor Phlox watched Tucker closely as he came closer to full consciousness. He was a little concerned about his eyes. The last he knew the man couldn't see anything but spots in front of his eyes. At least that was what T'Pol had told him. It wouldn't be hard to find out if he could see or not. Even if he couldn't right now, his vision would probably return as soon as all the swelling was gone. "Commander? Can you hear me?"

Trip moaned as he became acutely aware of the pain in his body, especially his head. He knew someone was talking to him, but his mind was not putting the words together. It was an effort to open his eyes and that small act seemed to drain all of his strength. Now he thought his eyes were open, but everything was still dark. "I can't see."

Those three words were the first things Archer heard as he walked into sickbay. There was no mistaking Trip's southern accent. His voice was weak and shaky, but he had heard what Trip said and it worried Archer. "Doctor?"

"I really wasn't too surprised. T'Pol had said he was having vision problems. His sight should return once all the swelling on his brain has gone away." Phlox was running a medical tricorder over Tucker to check on his current condition.

"Trip, I am here my friend. You will see again." Archer took Trip's hand and held it tight. It felt so good to feel Trip squeeze his hand in return. Even if it was very weak and he fell back into unconsciousness after that. "Rest easy."

"I think it's safe to say that Commander Tucker will pull through, but unfortunately I still can't say what damage he may have. To be honest Captain, I'm not sure if he will see again." Phlox had every hope in the world that Tucker would see again, but the human brain was a complex organ and there were no guarantees.

"I have faith Doctor. How is he doing otherwise?" He turned his head and watched Trip sleeping.

"The injuries to his liver and kidney are healing nicely and the broken ribs are also healing. There is still some swelling on his brain and until that goes away completely, I can't tell if he will have any permanent damage." Phlox was also looking at Tucker. He'd done everything he could for him medically. The rest was now up to the Commander.

"Keep me posted. I need to get back to the bridge and tell the crew how Trip is doing."

"I will let you know if anything changes Captain." Phlox watched the Captain leave and knew he had more hope than he did before, but some things were still a question mark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later Trip was struggling to wake again. This time as his eyes opened he could see a little more, but everything was a blur. He could tell that someone was standing next to the bed, but couldn't tell who. "Who's there?"

"It's T'Pol, Commander. I came to see how you were doing." She could tell he was still rather out of it and his vision apparently hadn't improved much.

"T'Pol?" Taking a deep breath, he continued. "What can I do for you?" He wasn't sure why she was there. He had no memories of their time on the planet at all.

"I....I owe you an apology Commander."

"For what?" Now he was really puzzled.

"After our experience on the planet and the crash, I've come to realize that I have judged you too harshly. I jumped to conclusions about you simply because you are an attractive human male and that was wrong." There, she'd said it. It surprised her how nervous she was about the whole thing, but it wasn't easy for her to admit when she was wrong.

"You........find me......attractive?" Trip was shocked. That was the last thing he ever expected her to say to him.

"It is not what I think Commander. It is a fact that most females find you attractive. Our experiences down on the planet have shown me that you are a man of courage, strength, and.....honor." It was true. She'd seen him fight to stay alive and the strength and courage it took for him to go on.

"I don't know what to say T'Pol." Trip was having trouble staying awake. He became weak and tired so easily. Blinking his eyes he tried to clear his vision so he could see T'Pol's face, but it wasn't working. Everything was still just a blur.

"You do not need to say anything Commander. Just get some rest." With that she turned and left sickbay.

"Well, what do you know?" Trip smiled slightly as he drifted back to sleep. In another few days Trip's vision would clear. He wound up with no memory of the trip to the planet or the shuttlepod crash. The reports of the mission made by T'Pol were all he had to try and put the pieces together. Soon he would be back on duty, but the Doctor would only allow light duty for the next month. Everyone was relieved and happy to see Trip make a full recovery, except for the memories he'd lost. Things went a little more smoothly between T'Pol and him after the little talk in sickbay.

THE END

Enid