Chapter Nine

NC-17

Silent anxiety surrounded the now defunct portal. The planet stood still on its axis; the only sounds were those from the fluid appendages of the newly arrived Paradoxans. The air was stale.

Hoshi knelt at the edge of the black scorch mark that had been swirling with life moments before. She wrapped her arms around her midsection, silently screaming in her head. There was no sign of Henry and the vortex was closed. Had she lost her son again? Part of her listened to Malcolm and Travis report no sign of anything other than �shiny flying things.� The numbness encroached on her as she heard Jon trying to reach Trip. Silence was the only response. Then a faint voice without a familiar southern drawl sounded over the communicator.

�Trip� no�� The voice sobbed.

Hoshi stood up and took the device from Jon. �H-Henry?�

Sobbing was the only reply. Hoshi paused, trying to access the Paradoxan implant. Slowly, she could hear the coherent thoughts of the surrounding Paradoxans as the matrix took hold. Hoshi focused on the voices coming through the communicator and the sobbing voice. �Henry? Henry are you there?� she asked as the matrix guided her vocal cords.

All Jon could hear were shrill whistles and clicks coming from Hoshi. The exchange took several minutes as Jon�s patience wore thin. He was elated to hear that Henry was at the northern dial with Trip. She was having a hard time understanding him. Alarm stabbed Jon as Hoshi gasped and started to weep.

The air swirled around them as Malcolm and Travis arrived, landing the shuttle next to them.

�Hoshi, what�s wrong?� Jon put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Would he ever be able to offer her solace, to protect her from harm and the demons that haunted her?

Hoshi squared her shoulders and shuddered, wiping at her moist eyes. Travis and Malcolm walked up, the Paradoxans clearing a path for them.

�Trip�Trip�Four had to stay behind.� Hoshi did her best to explain. �I-I�m so sorry Jon. Trip�s dead.�

Jon shook his head, refusing to believe what he was hearing.

Malcolm�s back stiffened and he bowed his head.

�How?� Travis asked, his eyes dark and moist.

Hoshi continued to listen to the strains of melodious clicks and pitches. Tears of grief streaked her cheeks. �The dials on the other side had to be activated to close the vortex� four dials� four sacrifices�Henry was one of the four. Henry came through�� Hoshi paused, sobbing uncontrollably. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. �Henry came through so he could touch me. Trip struck him once he found out that Henry had to return and take the place of one of the four. When Henry woke up the vortex was closed and Trip was gone.�

Jon started walking toward the shuttle, quickly wiping his sleeve across his face. His command persona took control. �Lieutenant, Ensigns. We need to go retrieve shuttle pod one.�

Hoshi looked out among the crowd of hovering Paradoxans. The angular movements of a man walking toward her disrupted their graceful, flowing actions. He was a beautiful sight to her eyes. She could feel Jon�s hand on her shoulder, as she held her breath.

Henry stood before his parents, his face stained with dirt and tears. He reached a trembling hand toward his mother, pausing mere inches from her face. He was afraid he was dreaming again. Surprise and warmth seized him as Hoshi clutched his hand to her face. �Mother,� he whispered.

�T�Pol to Captain Archer! Sensors have detected four Klingon battle cruisers in the vicinity. They are on an intercept course. �

Jon snapped out of the tenderness of the moment and handled his communicator to reply. �What is their ETA?�

�Ten minutes.�

�Sir, that isn�t enough time for us to get back to Enterprise safely,� Malcolm interjected.

Jon nodded in agreement. �T�Pol, take Enterprise away from the planet, maximum warp. See if you can hide behind one of the moons. Stay out of contact, unless attacked. We�ll do what we can down here.�

�Understood,� T�Pol stated, and cut communications.

�What is the matter?� Henry continued to stroke Hoshi�s face, refusing to break the spell of completeness around them.

�We�re in danger,� Hoshi replied, trying to ignore the threat. All she wanted was time with her son� or time period. She was tired of interruptions.

Malcolm came out of shuttle pod two with some weapons.

�We are going to have to defend ourselves. The Klingons are a violent species, always looking for a fight.� Hoshi communicated to her son trying to get him to understand that they would have to cut their reunion short.

She felt Jon tap her shoulder. �Hoshi, it�s time.� Jon looked at Henry and gave him a bittersweet smile. He placed his hand over Henry�s pressing it against Hoshi�s cheek. Here stood everything he had always wanted in life � a family. Now that family was threatened.

Henry could see the worry in his father. The only fear Henry had ever known was that of the great cascade, that which had claimed so much and so many. Surely the Klingons were not as dangerous as the great cascade.

Henry broke away from his parents, his robes of golden hues flowing about his form. They watched as he communicated with three of the beings surrounding him. He was forceful, yet serene.

A new flurry of activity radiated throughout the Paradoxans on the ground. Several took to the air, rising until they were out of view.

�Sir, I suggest we take to higher ground for our best tactical advantage,� the taciturn armory officer suggested to his captain.

�Henry, will you come with us?� Jon pleaded with his son. Five minutes with him was not long enough to replace what looked to have been a lifetime for his son. He was unsure as to how fate could be so cruel to him.

�Father�� Henry approached Jon. �No�worry�fear�no��

�What do you mean?� Jon was puzzled.

�Henry�love�Father.� Henry placed his palm against Jon�s face in the same manner as he had with Hoshi earlier. Henry would have his parents. He would protect them and his kind no matter the consequences.

Jon�s communicator chirped. �Sir, the Klingons are gone.� A serene Vulcan voice reported as though it were an everyday occurrence.

At first, Jon looked at the communicator as though he were hearing things. �What do you mean gone?�

�All but one of the battle cruisers have been destroyed. The other one has retreated. Sir, we are surrounded by Paradoxans and are on tactical alert.� T�Pol informed the Captain.

Jon stared at Henry, unbelieving what his son may have done. �Henry�did you destroy the Klingons?� He whispered. �Did the Paradoxans destroy them?�

Hoshi intervened at this point. She had been watching the interplay between father and son, not wanting to interlope on Jon�s limited time with their son, at least what had seemed like limited time. �Henry what has happened to the Klingons?� Hoshi vocalized in the language he truly knew.

Henry turned his gray-green eyes to her. They were brimming with tears. �I ordered the destruction of those who threatened us. One ship was left alive to warn their kind, never to trespass in Paradoxan space again. In giving the order, I have forfeit my life. I was responsible for their deaths. Death is unacceptable��

Hoshi grabbed Henry by his broad shoulders and shook him. �NO! Come with us. Instead of execution, can you enter exile? Come with us�� Hoshi repeated in desperation, tears of frustration shattered down her face.

Henry answered her by stroking her opaque hair. �Mother. I would taint your race. The Paradoxans would shun them��

�Then they can shun us. I don�t care. I�ve lost so much to them already! I don�t care!� Hoshi�s desperation to keep her son by her side made her dark eyes wild.

Jon was by her side trying to comfort her. He couldn�t understand what was being said but he knew it was causing Hoshi distress.

�Mother, the Paradoxans would make powerful allies for your Starfleet. You should not sacrifice that alliance on my behalf.� Henry tried half-heartedly to pry her fingers away from his hand.

�What�s going on? What are they saying?� Jon screamed among the flurry of noise coming from the Paradoxans.

�Mother, I have to go. My sentence will be swift. It is better this way. I will not survive long here anyway.� Henry turned his back to his mother and was quickly surrounded by his surrogate family, now his executioners.

Before Hoshi could stand and push her way past them, the Paradoxans were surrounding her and touching her. �If they kill you, they will kill me as well.� Hoshi whispered as she succumbed to the power entering her body.

�He is still with you.�

Just then, Hoshi came awake with a start as though she had been under water. Clutching Jon�s arm, she looked into his eyes and smiled. Without words, she wiped the signs of anguish away from his eyes.

�Hoshi�� He crushed her to his large frame, burying his face in her hair.

��I thought I lost you�again�� Jon pulled back and rained kisses over her face interspersed with his words. �Please don�t leave me again. I know�� He choked on his tears.

�Henry�s gone�� Jon sobbed at the loss of his son. �Please, oh God, please stay with me.� He chanted as he stroked her hair afraid that the loss of their son would send her back into the void she had just come from days before.

Hoshi cried as well � tears for Jon�s despair, but also tears of joy. Her past didn�t matter to him. Her past no longer mattered to her. Yes it would always be a part of her, but its influence over the decisions she would make over her life from this moment on would hold no sway. She took Jon�s hand in hers and gently placed it on her stomach.

�Henry isn�t gone Jon�He�s here.� She pressed Jon�s hand harder onto her stomach. �I don�t know how, or why, but Henry is��

Understanding dawned on Jon�s face. Hoshi was pregnant, as though she had never been removed from the Enterprise a week ago. �H-how?�

Humor sparked in her almond shaped eyes. �Well if you need to ask, I just may need to show you how.�

Jon answered her teasing with a gentle kiss, remembering where they were. �Later.� He whispered.

Professor Hoshi Sato-Archer walked into the foyer of her home, calling out to see if anyone were home. She tucked a streak of graying hair behind her ear as she called out again.

�We�re in here!� A squeal followed the voice.

�Gotcha!� Jon grasped his granddaughter, who he had been playing hide-n-seek with, around her waist. The toddler squirmed in fits of giggles and saw her grandmother walk into the room.

�MaeMaw!� Kamaria ran to her grandmother, her arms outstretched.

Jon embraced two of the three most important women in his life, giving them a big bear hug. �How was work, darling?�

�It was good. But, you know I would rather be here with you, and this little wiggle worm,� Hoshi replied and reached down to tickle her granddaughter.

Kamaria Archer had been born two years ago to proud parents, Henry and Marie Archer. She was an only grandchild and spoiled beyond measure.

Jon and Hoshi�s daughter, Josephine Rayne Archer, was a chief medical officer on the USS Enterprise NX-02. She was unattached and had an ambitious drive that rivaled that of her parents in their heyday. She looked exactly like her mother with silk-like raven hair and dark eyes, but she had her father�s smile.

Hoshi walked over to the console on the desk to set some of her PADDs down. �Did you know there is a message waiting on you?�

�No, I didn�t. It must have come in when I was outside with Kamaria.� Jon sidled up to the desk and sat down, groaning as he did. After all he was in his seventies. He activated the message and the screen filled with the familiar face of their long-time friend Captain Malcolm Reed, now captain of the USS Enterprise NX-02.

Malcolm�s eyes were wide and frustration marred his features, as he was unable to reach retired Admiral Jonathon Archer. �Admiral, it is imperative that you return this message ASAP.�

Hoshi�s curiosity was peaked, as were her maternal instincts.

�Yes, Admiral,� the young ensign answered his hail.

�Ensign Carters, could you please patch me through to Enterprise, priority blue.� Jon tapped his fingers on the desk as the screen displayed the Starfleet logo.

It wasn�t long before the logo was replaced with the memorable face of Jon�s former armory officer. Malcolm�s dark hair was peppered with the age of gray. His eyes were still a bright wild blue. �Admiral��

�Is Josephine okay?� Hoshi blurted.

Malcolm nodded his head anxiously. �Yes, Josephine is fine. I am sorry to have alarmed you, but I knew� I just knew you would want to know as soon as possible.�

Jon nodded, wondering what Malcolm was referring to.

�We are orbiting Marnos�� Malcolm paused unable to form his thoughts into complete sentences.

Marnos was a sight of an active archeological dig. It had been home to the Paradoxans, who were extinct. They remained a mystery to all races, adopting an isolationist policy. Within a decade they were gone.

For somebody who was normally very composed, Malcolm was having a hard time getting his message across. �It�s Trip��

�What?� Jon knew he was old, but he knew his hearing wasn�t gone.

Hoshi stood next to him; her hands over her mouth and her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Just then, Malcolm was gently pushed out of the way by Josephine. �Dad, Mom. What Captain Reed is trying to say is this� Trip Tucker is alive and well. While we were surveying the northern dial, we started getting some strange energy readings. One of the team started tinkering with the dial and before we knew it, a small opening appeared.� Josephine�s voice could barely contain her excitement. Her father had regaled her of stories of his best friend all through out her childhood.

Malcolm interrupted at this point. �He�s in stable condition, but still unconscious. The strangest thing is, sir�he hasn�t aged a day.�

Jon could tell Hoshi was a bit pensive after she heard the news. Years earlier she had confided with him that Trip had been one of her lovers. She hadn�t known who he was. She hadn�t known who had been until shortly after his �death� when they were cleaning his things out for his family. She was going through his journal because Jon just couldn�t bring himself to do it. They wanted to make sure there was nothing incrementing in it before it was sent to his family. There were several journal entries about the sad raven-haired lover and his search for her. Hoshi sat there with tears streaming down her face when Jon walked in. He had been so engrossed with his own grief he hadn�t thought of hers.

Hoshi didn�t have to tell Jon details as he read over her shoulder his friend�s anguish and guilt and love for her. Hoshi apologized to Jon through her tears, even apologizing to Trip�s journal, but Jon was there to set her straight. None of this was her fault. None of it was anybody�s fault.

It was fate. Just as Trip being alive after all these years was fate.

�Admiral, Commander, welcome aboard.� Malcolm greeted Jon and Hoshi as the airlock door opened.

�Malcolm, please. We�re retired.� Hoshi reminded the staunch Brit. �How are Pamela and the kids?�

�Collin and Matthew are doing well. Both passed their entrance exams into Starfleet, much to their mother�s chagrin.� Malcolm fell into step with his two friends and easily extended an arm to Hoshi.

�You know she is secretly thrilled.� Hoshi grinned to him.

�She is a mother though, already wanting to marry them off. She worries about them not finding suitable matches in Starfleet.� Malcolm rolled his eyes as he relayed her comment verbatim.

�She found you, didn�t she?� Hoshi patted his arm. �Even though she had to drag you kicking and screaming to the altar, and bash you upside the head regarding the whole rank issue.� She smiled as she remembered him drunk, knocking on her and Jon�s cabin door. He was tanked telling Jon how he would resign his commission to be with the woman he loved.

Jon could hardly contain his amusement because he already knew about the blossoming romance between his armory officer and his junior officer. Luckily for himself and Hoshi, Starfleet had relaxed their fraternization rules on long-term missions. Eventually Hoshi had to leave Enterprise to give birth to their son, Henry. Starfleet hadn�t relaxed that much.

�He was a bit disoriented at first. He woke up shivering and crying out for Henry. He doesn�t really remember much about his time away. When he saw Josephine, he started crying. He thought she was Hoshi and that Henry had succeeded in going back to close the gate. Now� well, he is still disoriented.� Malcolm gave Jon a brief summary.

They walked into sickbay. Their daughter was hovering over Trip wiping his brow. He was still chilled, but lucent and aware of everything. She leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his forehead in the manner a mother would a child. She hadn�t heard the doors to her domain open.

�Eh hmm.� Jon cleared his throat for attention from his only daughter.

�Daddy!� Josephine squealed in delight and ran to her father, stopping short and composing herself. �I mean� Admiral.�

�Don�t Admiral me. Get over here and give your old man a hug.� Jon walked toward his daughter expecting nothing less.

He glanced at his friend over her shoulder. It was amazing. He looked exactly like he had left him. His face was pensive as he shuddered with chill.

�What�s wrong with him. Why is he shuddering?� Jon walked over with concern on his face.

�I can�t figure it out. His body temperature is 98.6. I think his chills may be psychosomatic.� His shivering stopped as Josephine approached him.

�Is he aware of�well�everything? Does he know how much time has passed?� Hoshi asked as she leaned forward to kiss her daughter.

�Yes.� Josephine leaned over Trip�s bed, adjusting the scanner. Trip�s shuddering stopped as her hair brushed over his face.

�We�ll come back when he�s lucid and awake.� Jon said and patted his friend on the shoulder. He leaned down and whispered into Trip�s ear. �It�s good to have you back, buddy.�

Wait a minute! That isn�t right. Hoshi loves Jon. Hoshi didn�t have a brother. Hoshi had a son. Jon and Hoshi had a son, and now they have a daughter � Josephine. He sighed as a tried to digest all the information.

�Is everything okay Commander?� Josephine rushed to his side and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Trip looked up at her, feeling warmth spread through his arm and to his heart. �I�m doin� better. I was just kinda digestin� everything so far. I can�t believe I pulled a Rip Van Winkle for the last,� he paused, trying to do the math in his head. �About thirty years right?�

�Yes sir.� Josephine affirmed, looking away from his crystalline blue eyes.

�So that would make your daddy in his seventies, your mama in her fifties and your brother in his 50�s as well.� Trip said more to himself than to Josephine. �I hope they weren�t too mad at me for clocking their boy.�

�You punched my brother? Why did you do that?� Her mother had told her about Trip and what he had done, but hadn�t mentioned anything about Henry being hurt. Trip also had the math on Henry�s age wrong.

�My brother is thirty-one, sir.�

�He was pretty insistent about going through that portal thing and sacrificin� himself. He was a strong cuss too, so I clocked him. And the rest is history� thirty-one?� Trip said in disbelief.

�Yes sir. Shortly after the vortex closed, Klingons arrived. Henry gave the order to defend against them and the Klingons were killed instantly. Paradoxans don�t kill as a rule and one of their guiding principles was a life for a life. Since Henry was the one who gave the order�well, he was the one held accountable. He was sentenced to death. My mother and father don�t exactly know how or why, but Henry wasn�t put to death. Instead his zygote form was placed into my mother as though she had never made the trek to Paradoxan space with you. Henry was born forty weeks later.� Josephine relayed all of the information that she had been told as a child all the while subconsciously petting Trip on his arm.

�And when did you come along?� Trip smiled up to Josephine and put his hand over hers causing her to pull away.

�Sir.� Embarrassment flooded Josephine. �I was born two years later.�

�Trip,� he corrected her. �My name is Trip.� He felt a chill go through him as she walked toward a cage to feed its inhabitant.

Josephine could feel the heat pooling in her stomach as she overfed the Denobulan bat. Breathe Josephine. It isn�t like he�s the only smooth talker you�ve come across in your time. She turned back to him after she had gotten her hormones under control. He was sitting there with his arms crossed over his chest shivering with his teeth chattering.

Josephine ran over to him, hugging his shuddering mass to her.

�I don�t know why I get so cold.� He managed to say as he noticed Josephine�s rose-like scent encase his sense of smell. Warmth surrounded every fiber of his being and he raised his arm to clasp her to him.

The clearing of a throat tore them apart. Jon looked annoyed and Hoshi looked bemused.

�Trip�I�� Jon was at a loss for words at the sight of his friend alive and well after all these years. Always a man of action, Jon gathered his friend in a giant bear hug.

Hoshi hugged both of them as tears poured from her eyes.

Josephine bore witness to the reunion as the old friends laughed and cried. Eventually they entered a dialogue between them as though thirty years had never passed. They stayed that way for several hours. They even took their meals in sickbay.

Occasionally, Trip would shiver, stopping only when Josephine was near. She could see the fatigue on his face and reluctantly decided to put a stop to the reunion. �Admiral, Commander,� she addressed her parents by rank knowing they would put up a fight. But she was the chief medical officer on board, and she would not be undermined. �It is my medical opinion, our guest needs his rest. Both of you can come back tomorrow.�

Jon and Hoshi both knew better than to argue with their daughter especially when she was pulling her medical rank on them.

Hoshi leaned forward and whispered something into Trip�s ear, which made him blanche. Then she turned to lead her husband out the door.

Jon was laughing the entire way out, but suddenly turned with a serious expression on his face. �Oh, and Trip��

�Yes.�

�Stay away from my daughter.� Jon warned halfheartedly. He knew his friend�s reputation. He wasn�t a bad man and it wasn�t his fault that he drew women to him like bees to honey.

Josephine rolled her eyes and shooed her parents out the door. �Sorry about the threat, Commander.� Josephine was utterly humiliated and trying to compensate by establishing her status as his doctor.

�Think nothin� of it, Commander.� Trip volleyed back. �It isn�t your father�s warning I am worried about. It�s your mother�s.�

Josephine stood there unable to reply, wondering what her mother could have said to the man.

A few years later as she nestled up to her husband�s chest, he told her verbatim. �If you break my daughter�s heart, I will break your face.�

FIN

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