Enterprise Fic

Captain Archer was bringing in an Oceanographer for this newest assignment. Enterprise had discovered a planet that was ninety percent water and surface scans detected a great deal of unfamiliar life forms. The planet had no name that anyone knew of and did not seem to contain any intelligent life. The Oceanographer was said to be the best in her field and her expertise would be needed for the exploration of the planet.

When Archer contacted Starfleet about the planet, they had offered to send Dr. Alicia Silvers to them. There was a cargo ship heading in Enterprise's direction and if Enterprise moved at warp to meet the cargo ship half way, they could have Dr. Silvers aboard in a matter of hours. Now Enterprise was on its way to intercept the cargo vessel. Archer had asked Commander Tucker if he could modify a scanner so it could scan the deeper parts of the oceans that covered the planet. Once the Oceanographer was aboard he would take her down in a shuttle pod so they could skim the surface of the water and get better scanner readings.

Tucker actually found it very interesting and was looking forward to exploring the planet. What Tucker didn't know was that the woman coming aboard was an old friend. The days ahead would prove to be enlightening as they shared memories and secrets that would change their lives forever.

Alicia Silvers had gone through school with "Trip" and when he invited her to join Starfleet with him, she had declined. She'd wanted to pursue a career in Oceanography. That had been almost ten years ago and other than a few letters in the beginning; they had lost touch with each other. They had been good friends, but nothing more. Secretly they had both wanted more, but feared the other didn't and did not want to risk ruining the friendship they had. It was a missed opportunity they would both come to regret.

Tucker was just finishing the modifications to the sensor when Captain Archer came into engineering. "How's it coming Commander?"

"Just finishing, Captain. I believe this will give us the readings we want." Tucker held up the silver-gray device and smiled. It would attach to the bottom of the shuttle pod when they were ready to leave.

"Excellent work Trip. I want you to have the shuttle pod ready to go first thing in the morning. Ms. Silvers is going to need a good nights rest before you get started." The look on Trip's face was not missed by Archer.

"Did you say Ms. Silvers?" Tucker thought the odds of it being a different Ms. Silvers was unlikely.

"Yes I did, Dr. Alicia Silvers. Why, do you know her?" The last thing Archer needed was a conflict between his Chief Engineer and the specialist being brought aboard.

"Yes sir. We are old friends, but I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Just how good of friends were you?"

"We were not involved romantically, if that's what you're asking."

"I don't mean to pry Trip. I just want to be sure there are no problems." Trip was a good friend, but he still didn't like to pry into his personal life.

"Not at all, I am looking forward to seeing her again." Tucker was curious to see if she was still as beautiful as he remembered.

"Good. Report to the landing bay in an hour and you can greet her."

"Yes sir." Trip smiled as Archer nodded and left engineering. He decided to go to his quarters and clean up before he met Alicia. Once in his quarters, Trip changed into a clean uniform and splashed on a little cologne. On his way out the door he stopped and checked himself in the mirror. It surprised him to find that he was a little nervous about seeing Alicia again. He didn't think Alicia knew he was aboard Enterprise, so it was going to be a surprise for her to see him there. Hopefully it would be a pleasant surprise.

As Tucker made his way to the landing bay, Alicia's ship was coming in for a landing. She wasn't sure what to expect since she hadn't spent any time around Starfleet. From what she could see Enterprise looked like a beautiful and powerful ship. Her only thought was that it must take a lot of work to keep such a ship running smoothly. It amazed her that technology had come so far that humans actually moved through space faster and more easily than they did through the Earth's oceans. Alicia had a lot of admiration for the men and women that chose to venture into space not knowing what they might encounter or what dangers they might face. It made her think of "Trip" Tucker and what he might be doing now.

Tucker stood next to Archer in the landing bay. His nervousness was obvious as he stood erect with his hands clasped behind him. Archer knew Trip very well and had no trouble reading the nervousness in his Chief Engineer. He believed Trip when he said the two had not been romantically involved, but somehow he had a feeling that Trip hadn't wanted it that way.

As the door of the cargo ship opened, Alicia waited as two ensigns came aboard and began removing her equipment. Leaving them to unload the equipment she stepped off the ship and moved in the direction of the two men that stood waiting for her. It wasn't until she was closer that she realized who was standing there. "Trip?" Alicia moved quickly to Tucker and embraced him in a tight hug.

Tucker was a little embarrassed by the display of affection in front of Archer, but he hugged Alicia in return. "It's good to see you again Alicia." They ended the embrace and Tucker caught a glimpse of a big smile on Archer's face.

Archer had been taking in Dr. Silvers appearance as she and Tucker embraced. He couldn't understand how Trip would have a strictly platonic relationship with her. She was strikingly beautiful. Her blonde hair was swept back into a bun and she stood about five foot six. Her eyes were the color of jade and her skin was smooth and golden brown. It was not what he expected her to look like and so he had to compose himself before he spoke. "Welcome aboard Doctor Silvers. I'm Captain Jonathan Archer and of course you know my Chief Engineer and First Officer, Commander Charles Tucker."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Captain. I'm so proud of you Trip. First Officer and Chief Engineer." She smiled at Archer, but her attention was quickly returned to Tucker. He looked more handsome than ever and she felt the strong feelings for him stirring inside her again.

"I have to return to the bridge, but Trip will escort you to your quarters and make sure you get settled." Archer shook Dr. Silvers hand and was again amazed at how beautiful she was.

"Thank you Captain, for the warm welcome."

"Alicia, if you will come this way I'll show you to your quarters." Trip took the suitcase that one of the ensigns handed him and turned to Alicia. Together they walked down the corridor in the direction of the guest quarters. The idea of telling Alicia how he really felt about her surfaced in his mind, but the same concern that she would not feel the same way made him reluctant.

"Trip, we have so much to catch up on. I do hope we will have some time alone together to talk." Alicia had been studying Trip closely and had noticed how he seemed nervous. She hoped there was nothing wrong.

"I don't think that will be a problem. I am the one taking you down to the planet in the shuttle pod." Trip stopped in front of the door leading to Alicia's quarters while she was on board. "Here are your quarters. I'll leave you to get settled. I am on duty now, but I will return at eighteen hundred hours to take you to dinner." He smiled at Alicia and was a little stunned when she hugged him and gave him a warm kiss.

"I look forward to it Trip. I have missed you very much and need to tell you some things." She wiped the lipstick from Trip's face and smiled as she went into her quarters and closed the door.

Trip stood outside her door for several moments. The kiss she gave him had stunned him, but it had also felt very nice. Now he was wondering if he'd been wrong about how she felt about him all these years. The slight vibration under his feet told him that Enterprise had just gone to warp and that feeling brought him out of his thoughts. Taking a deep breath he composed himself and headed for engineering. It was going to be a very interesting week.

Alicia got herself settled in and the last thing she removed from her suitcase was a picture of Trip that was taken just before he left for the academy ten years ago. She took it wherever she went. Looking at the picture she thought Trip looked even more handsome now then he had back then. The decision to tell Trip how she really felt about him hadn't been easy, but she wasn't going to hide it any longer. They'd wasted too many years and missed too many opportunities. She wasn't going to do that any longer. To her, seeing Trip again was her second chance and she would not throw it away. If Trip felt the same way she would be very happy. Granted a relationship would be difficult with Trip out there in space all the time and her back on earth, but they would make it work somehow. If he didn't feel the same way then at least she would know and could move on.

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Malcolm was starting to worry about Commander Tucker. He seemed distracted and that was not like him. As long as he'd known Tucker the man always had his full attention on his work, but today was different and he didn't know why. "Are you okay Commander?"

"I'm fine Malcolm. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem distracted." Malcolm was beginning to think he'd overstepped by asking Tucker if he was okay.

"Sorry Malcolm. I have a few things on my mind including this upcoming mission." Trip didn't think it was anyone's business what went on in his personal life and the only person he might want to tell anything to would be Archer.

"I didn't mean to pry sir."

"You didn't Lieutenant." Trip put the panel back on as he finished the diagnostic on the shuttle pod. He wanted everything to be ready for tomorrow's mission. He and Alicia would be down scanning the planet for several days and wanted to be sure the shuttle pod was in perfect working order.

"So have you met this Doctor Silvers? Is she pretty?" Malcolm had been very curious about the woman, but so far hadn't seen her.

"Is that all you think about Malcolm? Actually she's quite beautiful." Trip saw no reason to be dishonest about it. Alicia was very beautiful and he couldn't wait to tell her that he thought so.

"How'd you get so lucky to be able to spend days alone with her?"

"Because I am Chief Engineer and I wanted to go." At the time Trip hadn't even known that Alicia would be his companion. The truth was he wanted to go because it seemed like an interesting mission. "Now if you will excuse me Malcolm, I am off duty and would like to go get some dinner."

"Yes sir."

"Run one more diagnostic on the shuttle pod. I want everything working perfectly." Malcolm still had several hours left of his shift so he would get him to do a second diagnostic in case Trip had missed anything.

"Yes sir, anything Else?"

"No, but report to the Captain when you're done." Trip left the landing bay and headed for Alicia's quarters. As much as he wanted to talk to her about everything, he was also very hungry.

Both Trip and Alicia were very anxious as they made their way to the mess hall. They needed to tell each other how they felt, but were also afraid of how the other would react. A public place was not where they wanted to be when they confessed their feelings, so it would have to wait until after dinner.

Dinner passed pleasantly as the two talked about old times and they told each other what they'd been doing since they last saw each other. Although they did not get into anything more personal, the way they looked at each other was obvious to one person in the mess hall. T'Pol was a very observant person and she had not missed the looks that Commander Tucker and Dr. Silvers gave each other all through dinner. She knew there was more to their relationship then the two let on. Of course it was none of her business, so she left when she finished eating and went about her duties.

As Trip and Alicia walked down the corridor together after dinner, she asked Trip a question. "Can we go to your quarters Trip? I need to talk to you about something very important."

"Sure. Is it serious?"

"I think it is, but I don't know if you will." There was no turning back now. Alicia had committed herself to telling Trip how she felt now and truthfully she was glad.

"Right this way then." Trip was puzzled. He didn't know what she could want to talk to him about that was so serious. The fact that he wanted to tell her that he loved her and always had, was important, but not really serious.

Once inside his quarters, Trip invited Alicia to sit down and offered her a drink. "Would you care for a cocktail?"

"No, thank you. Trip, if I don't say what I need to say now I'm afraid I won't be able to say it." Alicia was pacing. It was a habit she had when she was nervous.

Now Trip was very worried. "What is it Alicia? You've got me worried."

"Oh, there is no reason to be worried. This just isn't easy for me." Taking a deep breath she moved closer to Trip and smiled at him. "I need to confess something to you and I hope you will not be upset by it."

"Alicia, would you please just tell me what is wrong?" Trip took Alicia gently by the arms to stop her pacing.

"I.............I love you Trip. I always have and I so wish I'd had the guts to tell you years ago." Alicia watched Trip's face closely for his reaction. First she saw shock, but then his features turned soft and he smiled.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that Alicia. I had planned to tell you that I love you and that I always have too." Pulling her closer to him he gazed deep into her jade eyes.

"I can't believe all the missed opportunities we've had because we were too afraid to tell each other how we felt." She caressed his cheek with her hand as they got even closer together. "At least now we know and can love each other the way we've always wanted to."

"Yes." Trip took her mouth in a gentle kiss and felt her sigh. She moved closer to him and brought her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He held her tight and wanted nothing more than to spend the night making up for lost time.

As the kiss ended Alicia thought it felt so wonderful to be in Trip's arms. She whispered in his ear. "Make love to me Trip, all night."

Trip said nothing. He looked deep into her eyes and picked her up in his arms. Carrying her to the bed he lowered her down kissing her deeply and their night of endless love making began.

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Trip was awakened by the sound of his comm. beeping. It took him a moment to realize where he was and who was with him. The memory made him smile as he eased out of bed and put on a robe. Moving to the comm. he pressed the button. "Tucker here."

"I didn't wake you did I Trip?"

"No Captain, not at all." He didn't want even Archer to know what was going on with Alicia and him yet.

"Have you seen Doctor Silvers? She is not in her quarters."

"Yes sir. She is here with me and we are going over a few last minute details before we depart." He hated lying to the Captain, but now was not the time to get into it. He also didn't want to embarrass Alicia.

"Very well. The shuttle pod is ready to go when you are. Contact me when you're ready to leave." Archer wasn't sure that Trip was being completely truthful with him, but he'd let it go for now. He'd known Trip a long time and he wouldn't keep anything from him without a good reason.

"Yes sir. Trip out." He turned to see Alicia propped up on her elbows under the sheet. He'd hoped not to wake her, but he had to admit she looked very beautiful there. Her long blonde hair cascaded down over her shoulders and he smiled as he remembered running his fingers through that hair the night before. The urge to just forget about the Captain and the mission and go back to making love to her was strong, but he resisted. Moving to the bed he sat on the edge next to Alicia and smiled at her. "Good morning, darling."

"Morning Trip. You aren't in any trouble are you?"

"Not at all. Now we best get moving so we can get this mission started." Putting his hand on the other side of her he leaned down and kissed Alicia deeply.

Alicia moved her arms to around Trip's neck and lay back down on the bed. She wanted him to make love to her again desperately. Last night had been the most wonderful night of her life and being loved by Trip was incredible.

Trip pulled away. "We don't have time for this. If we don't get moving the Captain is going to be down here looking for us." As much as he wanted to make love again, he also knew they didn't have time now. "We will have plenty of time for more, later."

"You promise?"

"Definitely." Trip smiled and there was a definite glint in his eye. Making love to Alicia could easily become a habit.

"Good, because last night was the most incredible night of my life." Alicia got up from the bed as Trip moved to his closet and got out a uniform. "I'm going to grab a shower."

"Okay, but leave me some water."

"You could always join me." Alicia smiled as she turned the water on and climbed into the shower stall.

Trip watched Alicia for several moments. She was very beautiful and the thought of having her for the rest of his life was appealing. As he continued to watch her his desire to join her grew, but he knew there wasn't time for more of that now and he had responsibilities to the ship and Captain Archer. "As much as I would love to....."

"I know, I know. We don't have time now." Alicia smiled as she spoke so Trip would know she understood, but deep down she was disappointed.

"You are too much Alicia. Aren't you at all excited about this mission?" Trip knew she was, but he wanted to tease her a little.

"Of course I am, but being with you has a great deal of appeal." As she reached to turn the water off she heard Trip speak.

"Leave it on. I'll get in as soon as you get out." Trip smiled as he moved to the shower with a towel in hand. As Alicia stepped out of the shower Trip wrapped the towel around her and pulled her close. Water dripped onto the floor from Alicia's body and hair. "I do love you Alicia."

"I love you too Trip." Leaning closer she kissed Trip tenderly, savoring the feel of him against her.

Trip ended the kiss, but didn't let go of her. "I need to get a shower sweetheart." As much as he loved being with Alicia, especially after all those years, the last thing he wanted to do was let Archer down by letting his desires get in the way of his duty. He'd never done that before and although this was very different, he wouldn't start now.

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"T'Pol? Are Commander Tucker and Doctor Silvers ready to depart yet?" Archer couldn't understand what was taking them so long.

"I'll check sir. The Commander and Doctor Silvers are on their way to the landing bay now sir."

"Thank you T'Pol. Let me know when they are ready to leave."

"Yes, sir."

While Trip showered and dressed, Alicia got her hair dried and also got dressed. Now that they were getting ready to leave and head down to the planet, she was getting excited about what they'd find there. The two maintained an air of professionalism as they walked down the corridors to the landing bay. Once they were alone on the shuttle they could be more relaxed.

"Tucker to the bridge." He and Alicia were all settled in the shuttle pod and the landing bay doors were opening.

"Archer here."

"We will see you in a few days Captain."

"Keep in touch Trip. I want regular reports on how things are going."

"Aye, Captain. We'll report in every eight hours unless something comes up." Trip didn't think they'd need to report in any more frequently than that. It wasn't like this was going to be a dangerous mission. At least he didn't think so.

"Sounds good, Trip. Good luck to you and the doctor."

"Thanks Captain. Tucker out." Switching the comm. off, Trip looked at Alicia and smiled. "Here we go."

It didn't take long for the shuttle pod to reach the planet and Trip found himself amazed that a planet would be so much water. There were a few small land masses, but most of them were very small. Alicia wanted to begin her scans at the northern pole and circle the planet as they worked their way down to the southern pole. Trip held his breath as he flipped the switch to turn the scanner on. He was confident that it would work, but he always had that little doubt in his mind until he saw it working.

"Oh, Trip. This is great. I'm getting readings already." Alicia had a definite excitement in her voice as she watched the readings from the scanner.

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The next eight hours went by quickly as Trip piloted the shuttle and Alicia recorded and cataloged all the scanner readings. Trip had just finished reporting their progress to Enterprise. He let them know that they were having great success with the scans. They'd covered over a third of the planet so far and Alicia had cataloged over a million different species.

"We are going to get some dinner and sleep. We'll contact you before we get started in the morning. Tucker out." Trip finished his report to the Captain and turned to move into the main are of the shuttle. He was going to fix something to eat while Alicia finished cataloging what she had so far.

"Trip, look at this." It had amazed her that there were so many different species on the planet. "This creature here actually lives in the water or on land. They live along the rocky shores of what little land masses there are."

Trip had to smile at the excitement in Alicia's voice. He was very glad that the mission was a complete success so far. "That is quite fascinating darling. What would you like for dinner?"

"Anything is fine. You know what I like." She couldn't pull herself away from the readings. Soon she would have to though as Trip was fixing dinner and she was very hungry. There was also something she wanted to talk to Trip about.

"So, now this mission is more important than it had been last night." Trip winked at Alicia and laughed softly at the look on her face.

"Trip, stop that. You know what you mean to me. It's just some of these species are so fascinating. Look at this one." Since Trip was waiting for the first entree to finish heating, he had been watching her work.

"What's that?" Whatever it was looked huge.

"Well, I don't know what it's called. We will be the ones giving them names, but this thing is probably ten times the size of this shuttle Trip." It was larger than anything on Earth by a great deal and it made her very excited.

Trip whistled. "Better stay away from that one. Don't want that one to eat us now."

"Be serious Trip. This thing lives in the deepest parts of the ocean. I wonder what it does eat."

"Anything it wants?" Trip couldn't help teasing Alicia just a little.

Alicia laughed this time. "Okay, I'm finished cataloging these. I'll turn my attention to you now."

"Your dinner is served." Trip smiled as he handed the tray of food to Alicia.

"Thank you, Trip, for everything. You've made this mission very enjoyable and I really am glad that we finally confessed our feelings for each other." She looked at what Trip had prepared for her and laughed. "Meatloaf and potatoes?"

"That's not your favorite?"

"No, it's your favorite. After pan fried catfish. Now all we need is some pecan pie."

"Unfortunately they don't put that in these rations." While he waited for his meal to heat he moved closer to Alicia. "I'm very glad we are finally together Alicia. I've wanted that for so long now." He gave her a gentle, but deep kiss before turning back to his meal.

"So have I." There was something important she wanted to talk to Trip about. A day in their past that had changed things for her forever, but Trip didn't know anything about it. She would wait until he had his dinner heated and was seated next to her.

"It's still hard to believe we harbored these feelings for each other for so long and had no idea the other felt the same way. Circumstances steered us away from each other." Trip was remembering the same day that Alicia was, but there were things about that day he didn't know.

Alicia waited as Trip got settled next to her on the floor of the shuttle and took his first bite of meat loaf. "Trip? Do you remember that day fifteen years ago? We were sixteen and I came to you crying."

"Indeed I do. That was the day I knew without a doubt that I loved you with all my heart. Holding you as you cried broke my heart and I wanted nothing more than to take the pain away. It also made me believe that you didn't have feelings for me." Trip nervously moved his food around with his fork as he spoke.

"Why?"

"You didn't seem to want to talk about whatever was wrong. I assumed you were in love with some boy and he had rejected you. If you loved some other boy, then you obviously didn't love me." He'd remembered wanting to try and make her tell him what was wrong, but he would not force her.

"Oh, Trip. That couldn't be further from the truth. Not really, anyway." Alicia took a bite of her dinner before looking Trip in the eyes. "You see. The reason I was crying was because I had given myself to a boy for the first time and it hadn't been good. I regretted it the minute it was over and I realized that I didn't even really have feelings for the boy."

"Alicia.........." He was cut off by Alicia's finger on his lips.

"Please, Trip. I need to finish." She needed to be looking Trip in the eyes when she told him these things. "It was also that day, for me, that I realized I loved you with all my heart. The way you just held me and let me cry. You didn't judge me or push me away. Even though you had no idea why I was crying." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "God, Trip. I wanted to take it back and not have been with that boy. I wanted you to be the first." then in a soft whisper, "The only one."

Trip was momentarily stunned. If only he'd known all of that back then. He set his food aside and pulled Alicia close. "Darling, if only I'd known. I'm sorry for all the missed opportunities we had, but we are together now and that's all that matters." Taking her face in his hands he kissed her deeply.

Alicia sighed and melted against Trip. He was right. Nothing in the past really mattered now. She broke the kiss and with her face still very close to his, she looked deep into his blue eyes and whispered. "I love you Trip."

"I love you too Alicia. Now we best finish our dinners before they get cold." He'd showed her how much he loved her last night, but he intended to do so again that night.

They finished their meal and got the shuttle secured for the night. The small island they'd set down on for the night was nothing but rocks and sand, but they didn't know much about the planet or the creatures that lived on it. Trip wanted to be sure that nothing would disturb them during the night. The pair spent the evening talking and going over some of the scanner reading they'd taken that day. Some of the species on the planet were quite fascinating, even to Trip. He was sitting on the floor while Alicia lay on the bench next to him. She was running her hand through his hair and it was beginning to drive him crazy. "Let's go to bed Trip."

"It is getting late." Trip smiled. He knew what she meant and was more than willing to oblige. Moving from the floor to the bench Trip lay down next to Alicia and took her in his arms. His tender kiss goodnight turned into more and the two made love again that night.

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The next day they continued their scans of the planet finding even more new species. They were receiving so much data that the shuttlepod's computers almost couldn't handle it all. It was late afternoon when the power in the shuttlepod suddenly went off and Trip had to scramble to get emergency systems on-line.

"I'm going to need to set down so I can do a systems diagnostic and find out what's wrong." He knew Alicia would be disappointed. They still had about a fourth of the planet left to scan.

"That's fine Trip. I can't really do anything like this anyway." Her scanners were off-line and the computer terminal she had been using was dark. Maybe she could check out some of those creatures that lived near the shore while they were on the ground.

"Hopefully it won't take too long." Trip quickly landed the shuttle on the nearest piece of land he could find. On emergency power the thrusters were cutting in and out and the last thing he wanted was for them to crash, especially into the water. As soon as they were down he began running diagnostics and pulling open panels trying to find the problem. "I'm afraid this may take several hours."

"Can you get the hatch open? I thought I'd look around outside and maybe try to examine those creatures that live along the shore a little more closely"

"Yes, I can get the hatch open." Pressing some buttons the side hatch opened and the smell of sea air filled the shuttle.

"Thanks, Trip." Alicia turned to leave, but felt Trip's gentle grip on her arm. Turning back to face him, she smiled.

"Be careful."

Alicia moved closer to him and kissed him gently. "I will, don't worry." With that she disappeared out the hatch.

Trip watched her go and for some reason got a very bad feeling. He wanted to jump up and go after her. Something told him not to let her go outside, but he shook it off and thought it was just his imagination. Turning back to his work he knew he wouldn't have the repairs done before night and figured they might as well just stay there for the night.

Alicia was sitting on a rock along the shore with a tricorder. She was scanning some of those creatures that lived along the rocks. The shuttle was about ten yards away from where she was sitting and her mind was only half on the tricorder. The rest of her mind was thinking about Trip and everything that had happened over the last couple of days. The creature crawling on her leg was unnoticed until it bit her on the thigh. "Ouch." Quickly she brushed the creature off and stood. The wound was bleeding some, but it didn't hurt a lot.

"Alicia? Are you all right?" Trip had heard her say ouch and became concerned. He moved quickly out of the shuttle to see if she was okay.

"I think so. One of those creatures bit me."

"What? We should get you back to Enterprise. Who knows if those things are poisonous or not." Trip put his arm around Alicia's waist and helped her back to the shuttle.

"It's not that bad Trip. It doesn't even hurt very much." Alicia sat down on the bench and watched as Trip used the medical kit to clean and bandage the wound. His touch was so gentle and she couldn't help smiling. He was such a special man and she was so glad to have him. "There were no indications from my scans that they were harmful. I really don't want to go back yet. We still have more of the planet to scan."

"Okay, but if you start to feel at all ill I want you to tell me and we will go back." Trip took her hands as he kneeled in front of her. The concern in his blue eyes was obvious. "Please promise me."

"I promise Trip." Leaning forward she kissed him deeply. "Now, did you get the problem with the shuttle fixed?"

"Just about. I should be finished in another hour, but I think we will stay put for the night as it's getting late." The truth was he wanted Alicia to rest. He wasn't totally sure that he believed her when she said she was fine.

"That sounds fine with me. We can finish the scans in the morning and be back aboard Enterprise in time for dinner." She was feeling rather tired and her leg did ache some. The last thing she wanted to do was worry Trip, but she also didn't want to leave until they'd finished scanning the whole planet.

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Good to his word, Trip had the shuttle in perfect working order within an hour. He glanced at Alicia now and again to make sure she was doing okay. So far she seemed fine and was currently cataloging the rest of the scans they'd taken on that second day. Trip sighed as he watched her. Why couldn't he tell her all those years ago how much he loved her? Why had he wasted so many years that could have been spent loving her? He didn't know the answers to those questions. "Ready for some dinner, darling?"

"Sure Trip. That sounds good." In truth she didn't feel very hungry, but she would eat so that Trip wouldn't worry. She didn't really feel bad; she just didn't quite feel herself.

While their dinners heated, Trip reported in to Enterprise and advised the Captain of Alicia being bitten. Archer was not pleased that she did not want to return to Enterprise, but if she felt okay then there was no need to head back. Archer also made Alicia promise to tell them if she felt ill and she made the promise.

"Trip. Keep an eye on her. If you see anything to indicate that she's getting sick I want you back here." Archer was very concerned about the turn of events and wished Dr. Silvers would agree to come back to Enterprise.

"Don't worry sir, I will watch her closely." Trip wasn't about to let anything slide. If Alicia looked or acted strangely he would head straight back to Enterprise.

"Keep me informed Commander." He could hear the concern in Trip's voice and that worried him too. He had a feeling there was more going on between them than Trip let on.

"Aye, Captain. Tucker out."

"I wish you'd stop worrying Trip. I feel fine. Now let's eat." She handed him his meal as he sat down next to her on the bench.

"I only worry Alicia because I love you and I don't want anything to happen to you." Trip looked at his food with little interest. The strange feeling he'd gotten before was back and he couldn't help feeling that something was very wrong.

"I know Trip and I promise I will let you know if I feel ill or have any pain." Smiling, she finished eating her dinner. Noticing that Trip was finished with his dinner she took both of their trays and discarded them. "Now I'd like to finish cataloging today's scans before bed."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"No, not really." He was bored. She had no doubt about that.

"I'm going to run another diagnostic on the ship then and make sure I didn't miss anything." He needed something to do to stay busy and another diagnostic was all he could think of. Well, almost all, but anything else would take Alicia away from her work.

Both of them finished their work and went to bed for the night. Trip was wakened in the middle of the night by Alicia trembling in his arms. "Darling, are you cold?"

"Just a little."

"Would you like me to adjust the environmental controls?" He was worried about her again. She should not be cold as the temperature in the shuttle was the same as it always had been.

"No, just hold me closer." There was some pain in her abdomen, but she didn't think much of it. The pain wasn't bad and seemed to come and go, so she tried to ignore it.

Trip stroked her hair and caressed her cheek. "Your face feels warm darling. Are you sure you're not feverish?"

"I'm sure, Trip. Please just go back to sleep." If the pain was still there in the morning then she would tell Trip and he could take her back to Enterprise.

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

When Alicia woke in the morning she felt better. The pain in her abdomen was gone and she was no longer feverish. Her hope was that whatever was bothering her last night had passed and that she would be fine now. Gazing at Trip's sleeping face she realized that he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Moving her hand up, she stroked his hair and smiled as his blue eyes slowly opened. She could get used to waking up like that every morning. "Good morning, baby."

"Good morning, darling. How are you feeling?" He held her tighter and gazed into her jade eyes. She looked better than she had last night.

"I feel fine and I'm very ready to finish getting this planet scanned." Her face so close to his made it hard to resist kissing him until her lips were numb. Instead she kissed him on the nose.

It was Trip that took her mouth and kissed her deeply. At that moment all he wanted was to hold and kiss her forever. They lay there for some time just kissing each other until the comm. started beeping. Trip had to smile. He knew it was Captain Archer checking to see how they were doing. Particularly Alicia. That was okay because Trip could honestly tell the Captain that Alicia was just fine. "I'd better get that. You know how persistent the Captain can be."

Alicia laughed softly. "Yes that I do."

Trip rose from the bench and moved to the comm. panel. "Tucker here."

"Good morning, Commander. How is everything?" He was trying to be subtle, but didn't think it was working.

"Just fine, Captain. Doctor Silvers appears to be fine so we are going to finish scanning the planet and should be back aboard Enterprise in time for dinner." Trip was shaking his head. He'd known Jonathan Archer for many years and he could still be obvious sometimes.

"Very good Trip. We'll see you then. You and Doctor Silvers can join me for dinner in the Captain's dining room."

"Sounds good. Tucker out." Now that he was up he decided that he might as well get the shuttle ready for takeoff.

"Would you like some breakfast, Trip?" Alicia asked from the rear of the shuttle. She'd gotten up when Trip did and decided that she was hungry. "It's a good thing we are almost finished with this mission. These are the last of the rations."

"We can share if you want." Trip had the ship ready for departure by the time Alicia had breakfast ready. They ate it quickly and began their work once again. In some ways they were both anxious for the mission to be over. After a few days they'd begun to feel somewhat cooped up and were ready to be out of the small, cramped shuttle. Not to mention Trip was still worried about Alicia even though she seemed just fine.

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

A few hours later as she continued to catalog the incoming scans, Alicia had a sharp pain in her abdomen and she doubled over. "Oh, God."

"Alicia?" Trip turned in his chair at her cry.

"Trip. Oh, God it hurts. Please help me." She'd never experienced such tremendous pain before and all she could do was curl up on the floor and hold her stomach.

"Alicia. Hang on darling, hang on." Quickly putting the shuttle on auto-pilot he moved back to where Alicia lay curled up on the floor. "What is it? What's wrong?" He stroked her hair, but was afraid to move her for fear of hurting her more.

"I don't know. It hurts so badly."

"I'm getting you back to Enterprise. Just hold on." Trip was in a panic now as he moved back to the controls and headed the shuttle towards Enterprise. "Tucker to Enterprise. Medical emergency."

"What is it Trip?"

"It's Alicia. She's having severe abdominal pains. I need a medical team standing by. We are headed back to Enterprise now." He got the shuttle moving as fast as he could. If he had a choice he would have used warp, but they were too close to Enterprise for that.

"I'll alert Doctor Phlox. Try to stay calm Trip." Archer had never heard Trip so upset or panicked before. Granted Trip and the Doctor were close, but Trip was acting like they were more.

"Archer to Doctor Phlox. We've got a medical emergency aboard the shuttle pod. I need a medical team standing by in the landing bay."

"Acknowledge Captain. You do know they will have to go through decontamination first." That had the doctor worried. If it was very serious the time it took to go through the decontamination process could cost valuable time.

"I'm aware of that Doctor. If whatever is wrong with Doctor Silvers is contagious we can't risk spreading it to the entire crew." Archer didn't like it either, but there was no choice.

"I'm on my way Captain." Phlox gathered together what he thought he would need. If nothing else he could at least begin to examine Dr. Silvers while she was in decontamination. That was about all he could do. Hopefully the process would be quick. If what was wrong with her wasn't a virus then it might go more quickly.

By the time Trip got the shuttle back aboard Enterprise Alicia was unconscious. As soon as he had the engines shut down and the hatch opened he moved to Alicia. His fear and panic increased as he saw the blood seeping from her mouth. "Don't die on me, please?" Quickly he picked her up and carried her out of the shuttle. Moving in the direction of the corridor that lead to sickbay, he was quickly cut off by Dr. Phlox.

"I'm sorry Commander, but you both have to go through decontamination first."

"Damn it Doctor, there isn't time for that." Trip tried to force his way past, but some interns prevented it.

"Please Commander. You can't risk contaminating the entire crew if she's got some sort of contagious virus. I will begin examining her while you go through decontamination." Gently he guided Trip toward the chamber. His eyes studied the woman in the Commanders arms in hopes of finding out something.

Trip gently lowered Alicia to the bench in the chamber and made room for the doctor. "Please help her."

"I will do everything I can Commander." He began running some scans on Dr. Silvers, but he wasn't sure he believed what the scans were telling him. It didn't seem possible, even though he'd seen many things that didn't seem possible before. He would wait to make any kind of diagnosis until he could do a more thorough examination in sick bay. One thing was certain and that was that Dr. Silvers did not have a virus. Therefore the decontamination process only took a short time and then Dr. Phlox had her rushed to sick bay. "Commander, I know you are close to Doctor Silvers, but I will need you to wait outside while I examine her."

"Can't you tell me anything?"

"I don't want to say anything until I know for sure. Just know that I am going to do everything I can for her." With that he went into sickbay and left Trip standing in the hall. "Phlox to Captain Archer."

"Archer here. How is Doctor Silvers?"

"Not good Captain. I need to run more scans, but I do not believe she is going to make it. You might want to come down and keep the Commander company. He seems quite upset." Phlox was beginning to wonder if he would need to examine the Commander as well.

"I'll be right down Doctor." Archer rose from his chair and headed for the turbo lift. "T'Pol, you have the bridge."

"Yes sir."

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

When Archer reached the corridor outside sickbay he found Trip leaning against the wall with his head down and arms crossed. He knew what that meant and it worried him. Trip was worried and scared. "Trip."

Trip straightened to attention at the sound of his Captain's voice. "Yes, Captain?"

"At ease. How is she?" He put his hand on Trip's shoulder in an effort to give him some comfort.

"I don't know. The Doctor hasn't said anything." Trip sighed heavily and looked down.

"Trip, something happened between the two of you since she came aboard, didn't it?" He turned Trip to face him and put a hand on each shoulder.

"Yes sir. We were finally able to admit how we feel about each other." He couldn't look at Archer. If he did he was sure he'd break down and he couldn't do that.

"You two are in love." It wasn't a question.

"I've been in love with her for fifteen years sir. We have both been in love with each other for that long, but were afraid to admit it for fear of losing our friendship. Seeing each other again after all those years felt like a second chance and we didn't throw it away." Finally he looked Archer in the eye. "I can't lose her now John."

"I'm sure the Doctor is doing everything he possibly can for her." Archer wished there was more he could do for Trip, but right now the best he could do was be there for him and let him know he had someone to talk to.

"I want to see her."

As if the Doctor had heard his last statement, the door to sickbay slid open. "Captain, Commander. I need to ask you a few questions Commander."

"Certainly. Can I see her?" Trip followed the Doctor into sickbay with Archer right behind him.

"In a moment. I have her sedated because she is in too much pain otherwise. Captain, if you could give the Commander and me a moment." He nodded to the Captain and he moved away.

"How is she Doctor?"

"I won't lie to you Commander, she is not good. I need to ask you a very personal question. You and Doctor Silvers are in love, correct?"

"Yes."

"Were the two of you.......intimate after she was bitten by the creature?"

"No, not after. Unless you count kissing." Trip was a little embarrassed by the question, but knew the Doctor was asking it for a reason. "Why?"

"Captain, you may want to join us for this." He waited for Archer to join them and then continued. "This creature that bit Doctor Silvers left a type of parasite in her body. At least that's the best description I can come up with. These parasites began to eat her insides and that is what caused the pain and bleeding from the mouth. The reason I asked if you'd been intimate was because I don't know if these parasites can be transferred by that type of contact."

"My God." Archer whispered.

"Can't you remove them?" Tucker asked.

"No. You see the parasites began multiplying almost immediately. Even if you'd come straight back to Enterprise there wouldn't have been anything I could do. These parasites have eaten most of her insides and are working their way up. Soon they will have eaten her lungs and heart. Right now I am keeping her alive the best I can, but once her heart is gone it will be over."

Archer reached out and grabbed Trip as he swayed. The Doctor also reached for him. "How long?"

"An hour, maybe." Phlox felt so bad for the Commander. The woman he loved was about to die and there was nothing anyone could do about it. "I'm sorry Commander."

"Trip? Maybe you should lie down." Archer was afraid to let go of him for fear he'd fall down..

"I need to see her. Will she be able to hear me?" He had to say goodbye.

"I can bring her around so you can talk."

"Will that cause her to be in pain? I don't want that." The last thing he wanted was for Alicia to be in pain.

"No. I gave her a spinal block a short time ago. She can't feel anything from the neck down." He'd known that Commander Tucker would want to talk to Dr. Silvers before she died, so he'd given her the spinal block.

"So if I take her hand she won't feel it?"

"No, but if you touch her face she will feel that." Phlox picked up the necessary hypo spray and moved to inject it into the Doctor so she would come around.

"Trip, would you like me to stay with you?" Archer was almost afraid to leave Trip alone, but he also knew that saying goodbye to Dr. Silvers should be private.

"No, thank you Captain." Trip moved beside the bio-bed and took Alicia's hand. He knew she couldn't feel it, but he could.

Archer and Dr. Phlox quietly left sickbay.

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

Alicia was beginning to wake. She couldn't feel anything and that scared her. As her eyes opened and her vision cleared she saw Trip leaning over her. He was so handsome, but the pain and grief in his blue eyes broke her heart. "Trip."

"I'm here darling." Since he knew she couldn't feel him holding her hand, he reached out with his other hand and caressed her cheek. "I'm here."

"I'm sorry." A single tear fell from her cheek and she felt Trip brush it away with his thumb.

"For what?"

"For everything. For not telling you all those years ago that I loved you. For not letting you bring me back to Enterprise right after I was bit. For leaving you so soon." She couldn't stop the tears now. What she hated the most was that Trip was the one that was going to suffer the most for all this. She would be dead, but he would still be here.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I was as much to blame for not confessing my feelings all those years ago and according to the Doctor it wouldn't have made any difference if I had brought you back immediately. As for leaving me so soon, that was out of your control." He wanted to hold her in his arms, but knew he couldn't.

"I could have stayed inside the shuttle. If I hadn't gone out to look at those creatures this would never have happened."

"You can't look at it that way Alicia. If you look at it that way then why do any of us even get out of bed every morning? We wouldn't be out here exploring space if we looked at things that way." He refused to let her feel responsible for any of this. It just happened and no one was to blame.

"I love you Trip and I don't want you to mourn me. Get on with your life and be happy. Please? For me?" She wanted to reach up and brush his tears away, but she couldn't move her arms.

"I will do my best darling, but I will love you always." Leaning down he kissed her gently. The tears came as he felt her become limp. She was gone now and he felt such incredible emptiness inside. It was something he'd never felt before and he prayed he never felt it again. Burying his face in her neck he let his tears flow. "Goodbye, my love."

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

Dr. Phlox and the Captain had been monitoring Dr. Silvers vitals from out in the hall and so they knew when she was gone. The Doctor just nodded to Archer and indicated that he should go in alone. Right now Commander Tucker needed a friend and the Captain was the best friend that he had on the ship, maybe anywhere.

What Archer saw when he walked into sickbay broke his heart. In the eight years he'd known Trip, he'd never seen him so distraught. He needed to get Trip out of sickbay and back to his quarters where they could talk in private and Trip could lay down. "Trip."

"Leave me alone, Captain."

"I can't do that Trip. Let me take you back to your quarters." Archer was very worried. He moved up behind Trip and put his hands on his shoulders. The feel of Trip shaking was a shock. The man was tough and he'd never seen him like that before. "Come on Trip. There's nothing more for you to do here. Alicia is gone and she wouldn't want you to do this to yourself."

"I understand you are angry and hurting Trip. I am here for you and I will be here for you as long as you need." Turning Trip around he hugged him and was a little surprised to feel Trip return the hug.

Trip held on to Archer like a lifeline. Burying his face in John's shoulder, he let his tears and frustration flow out of him. "It's just not fair."

"I know, Trip. I know." Archer just held on to Trip and rubbed his back. It was important for Trip to know he wasn't alone right then. Gently he began to guide Trip towards the door to sickbay. The next few weeks were going to be the most difficult weeks of Trip's life, but Archer and everyone else would be there for him.

Once inside Trip's quarters he seemed to avoid the bed. Instead he sat down in a chair and closed his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this Captain." Looking at the bed made his eyes fill with tears. "We made love for the first time right here."

"I can assign you new quarters if you would like." Deep down he knew that wouldn't solve anything, but he needed to make the offer.

"No, that wouldn't change anything." Trip decided that no matter how much it hurt, he needed his memories of Alicia. Needed to remember those precious few days they had together, loving each other like they'd always wanted to. Like they'd never loved anyone else. Trip wondered if he would ever love anyone like that again. "Can I be alone for a while?"

"Certainly, Trip. I am going to check in on you later though. Trip?"

"Yes?"

"Please look at me." He wanted Trip's attention for what he was about to say.

Trip looked up at the Captain and waited for him to speak.

The sorrow in Trip's blue eyes was profound and it made Archer's heart ache. "I am here for you Trip. There isn't anyone on this ship that wouldn't be willing to help you if you need it. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you." He watched as Archer left his quarters. Moving to the bed, he lay down and wrapped his arms around a pillow. As he closed his eyes he remembered everything that happened that first night that Alicia was on board. He remembered the way he felt the first time they made love and how he never wanted to let go of her. More than anything he wanted to make love to her one last time. "Alicia." Was all he whispered before he fell into a deep sleep.

Everyone aboard was very considerate of the Commander and after a few weeks he seemed to return to his normal self. There were many nights that he cried and wished Alicia was there with him. It took a long time for him to get over the fact that the future he thought he had was now gone. The biggest side effect to the tragedy was that Trip now believed that he was destined to live his life alone.

THE END

Enid Smith