The First Years: Deleted Dream

Codes: A/T'P. Living through bad times and good times.

Rating: PG-13.

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Summary: Archer and T'Pol try to survive in the desert. T'Pol goes to great lengths to keep Archer alive.

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A/N: This dream was originally set in the Survival chapter during the first time T’Pol and Archer slept in the desert. I didn’t feel that it fit well with the feel of the chapter, but I decided to post it separately. Archer is “off” on purpose. I find sometimes when I’m dreaming that I act out of character in my dreams, so I took liberty with him here.

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T’Pol opened her eyes as she felt an odd sensation. She lay on her back with leafy foliage supporting her body. Through the corners of her eyes, she saw blades of grass surrounding her. She sat up and looked around. A field of grass spread out before her the same color of green as the dress she wore. Groves of trees bordered the grass on three sides. On the fourth side, a two-story sky blue house with a wraparound porch looked down on the sloping yard. Her eyes finally rested on the man lying beside her in the grass.

Jonathan wore a white shirt and white pants. He looked up at her and smiled.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” He asked as he stood up and offered her a hand. She accepted it, and he pulled her up to stand beside him. “I used to sit out here as a child and imagine I could paint the sky, the grass, and everything any color if I imagined it. Before you came here, I changed a few details of this place in my mind. I can’t do it all by myself. Would you help me paint them?”

T’Pol surmised she must be dreaming and decided to play along.

She raised her eyebrow. “How do I paint without a brush?” More importantly, how could she paint her surroundings?

He walked up to her and grabbed the scarf around her neck rubbing the fabric between his fingers. T’Pol noticed the white silk and golden embroidery in cursive Vulcan script. He slid it off her neck and let it fly away in the wind to land on the grass. Where it landed, dandelions sprung up from the grass and multiplied spreading across the field. Cottony white globe of dandelion seeds poked out among a sea of golden flower.

“Any way you can think of. After all, this is only a dream. ”

“What is this place?” T’Pol asked as Jonathan bent down and picked her a daisy. The smiling, happy man in front of her caught her off-guard. He reminded her of the man she glimpsed in their off-hours. The man who smiled at her over his cup of coffee as he talked of his homeworld and the stars. The man who didn’t know the word Xindi yet. At the same time, this happy man seemed a product of dreams or fantasies.

He placed it behind a pointed ear and answered, “This is my family’s vacation home. We came here shortly before my father became sick.” His smile turned sad.

“And why have you come here?” T’Pol asked assured she was really asking a character made by her subconscious these questions.

He looked around puzzled, “I don’t know, but I’m happy to be here with you," he said with a smile, “We don’t have much time. Clasp your hands together like you are holding something inside them. Yes, like that.”

He took her hands in his and pressed her fingertips to his lips blowing air inside of her hands. “Now hold your hands over your head and let go.” She let go and a fluffy cloud emerge from her hands to take its place in the sky. T’Pol watched the cloud with interest. Her outstretched hand swept back down to her side leaving a rainbow in its wake.

“See, you’re catching on.” Jonathan made more clouds, “I remember clover covering the ground, too. Would you like to help me make that?”

She nodded. Jonathan placed his hands on her hips and whispered, “Trust me.” He hovered close to her and smiled mischievously. T’Pol realized what he was doing too late. He pushed her back and she fell rolling down the hill. He followed her landing beside her. He smiled helping her up. She eyed him cautiously. This dream was turning out to be most unusual.

“Look at what we did,” he said pointing to the patch of clover at their feet and the other patches dotting the hillside. Clouds of dandelion seeds scattered through the air in their wake. “We make a great team.” He picked a blade of grass out of her mussed hair and smoothed it down as his hand moved to caress her cheek.

“There’s one last thing we need to do.”

He handed her a handful of loose dirt and instructed her to blow on it. Air from her parted lips propelled the dirt into the air. The dirt turned into hundreds of brown butterflies that flew through the rainbow and picked up its colors. T’Pol watched enchanted.

Jonathan whispered in her ear, “Now close your eyes.” His lips softly kissed her cheek. “If you ever need to find me, I’ll be here.”

Next Chapter: T'Pol discovers the depth of her connection with Archer while he recovers.

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