Trip blinked, yawned and looked around.  He'd fallen asleep.  Again.  It seemed that he had done nothing but sleep for the last 10 days.  Both Phlox and Archer kept telling him that it was perfectly all right, that it was natural after what he had been through, that it was nothing to worry about.  Easy for them to say, he thought tiredly. 

Knowing that they were both right was of no help; he wanted to get past all of this.  But the memories kept reaching out to him, grabbing at him with their cold, cruel fingers, dragging him backward into fear and despair.

Slowly he sat up, looked around.  "Doc?"

Dr. Phlox started guiltily at this.  He looks like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Trip thought.

"Ah, Commander."  The doctor's voice was practically a squeak, and his guilty look deepened. 

Trip stared.  What the hell?  "Doc?  What's wrong?"

"Wrong?  Nothing, Commander, nothing at all.  I simply thought you would sleep longer, that's all."

You're lying, Trip thought with sudden certainty.  He swung his legs over the bed.  "Why don't I believe you?"

Phlox actually fidgeted.  He shot an anxious glance at the Captain's desk, where Archer's personal computer was still on.  The doctor's look told Trip more plainly than any words that whatever this was all about, the answer was on that screen, and that Phlox would do his best to keep Trip from finding out.

He stood, and moving as fast as his outraged legs would permit, stumbled over to Archer's desk.  Phlox also tried to get there, but he was too late. 

Trip read the screen, and then swung on Phlox, he expression one of mingled horror and fury.  "Is this a joke?"  Phlox shook his head.  "Goddamn it!"  He turned.

"Commander –"

Trip turned back.  "I'm going to sort this out right now!  Don't you try and stop me!"

"I have no intention of stopping you," Phlox replied.  "But," and he gestured.

Trip looked down, saw his rumpled pajamas.  "Right," he said grimly, and headed for his closet.

*  *  *

Captain Archer was seated before his computer in his ready room, his expression grim.  Looking equally forbidding, Admiral Forrest and Ambassador Soval were staring out at him from the viewscreen.  Her face carefully neutral, Subcommander T'Pol was standing behind the Captain.

"I'm sorry, Jon," Forrest was saying.  "But considering the contents of this report, this is something we can't ignore.  I'm afraid that – "

At this, the door opened, and a small hurricane, similar to those that come in off the Florida Keys, but in the form of an extremely angry Commander Tucker, blew into the room.  He was followed, more sedately, by Dr. Phlox.

"Just what in hell is going on here?" Trip demanded, loudly and furiously.

"Commander Tucker, please," Forrest said.  "You don't have to become involved in this."

"Really?  Seems to me like I'm already involved."

"Trip – " Archer began. 

At this, the engineer whirled on the Captain, his blue eyes flashing fire, and pointed an angry finger at Archer.  "You just shut up!"

Archer gaped.  He had never seen Trip quite like this before.

Ambassador Soval arched a disapproving brow.  "Is this typical of discipline aboard Enterprise?"

Trip turned back to him.  "That goes for you, too!"

He leaned on the desk, breathing heavily.  "Now would someone care to explain to me just what the hell you think you're doing here?"

Forrest looked pained.  "Commander.  We really don't wish to cause you any further distress.  So if you would just –"

" – I'm already pretty good and goddamned distressed right now," was the retort.  "What I want to know is where you get off sticking your noses in my private business!"

"I can understand why you might be averse to publicity, Commander," Forrest replied.  "And you have my assurances that we will do our best to keep a low profile on this.  But considering the report we've received from the Vulcan Security Directorate – "

"Which is bullshit!"

"Commander," said Forrest warningly, "I've given you a fair amount of latitude, considering your condition and everything you've been through.  But I have to tell you – "

"No, you don't get it, Admiral!  With all due respect, I'm telling you!  That Vulcan operative doesn't know his ass from his elbow!"

"Really?" Soval asked coolly.

"Really!  And the proof is this damned report!"  He slammed a fist onto the desk top.  "That he would accuse Jonathon Archer of something like that?  And you're planning to charge him, based on that report?  That's nuts!"

"Are you saying the report is incorrect, Commander?"

"You're damned right I am."

"Then," Soval inquired, "you are denying that you were raped while on Tasumi?"

"Of course I'm not, you idiot," was the crisp response.  "I was raped more times than I can care to count."  At this, Forrest winced, and even Soval looked pained in a restrained, Vulcan fashion.  "But not by Captain Archer!"

"Commander – " Forrest began.

"I'm telling you!  Jonathon Archer did not rape me!"

"Are you denying the report?  The operative stated he saw you and the Captain engage in," and Soval coughed slightly, "sexual activity, including intercourse."

"No, I'm not denying the report as far as that goes.  But having sex and rape are two different things.  And I wasn't raped by the Captain."  He looked at Soval.  "Don't those operatives of yours tell you anything useful?  Don't they tell you how they do things down on Tasumi?  They're just a bit more open about stuff down there.  Let me tell you, 'after dinner entertainment' takes on a whole new meaning, if you get my drift."  He smiled at Soval.  "I can give you details, if you like.  Explicit details."

Soval glared at him.  "That will not be necessary."  He turned to Forrest.  "Obviously, he's protecting the Captain."

"Now where's the logic in that?"  Trip demanded.  "Why the hell would I protect my rapist?  Wouldn't I want to send him to the clink instead?"

"You are telling us that you willingly engaged in sexual activity with Captain Archer."

"Yes, I'm saying that."

"That it was consensual." 

"Yep.  I guess when your operative got his ears bobbed, he lost some of his hearing.  I told the Captain to go right ahead.  Whole room heard it."

"You weren't under duress?"

"I was under duress all right, but not from the Captain, if that's what you mean."

"Why would you do that?" Soval demanded.  "Engage in such behavior?"

"Why shouldn't I have sex with my lover?"

Stunned silence met this response.  Both Forrest and Soval looked pole-axed.  Archer's mouth fell open, and he shut it with a snap.  T'Pol looked down at the floor.  Only Phlox was unaffected; he beamed at the rest of the room, his blue eyes twinkling, as if Trip was a star pupil who had just successfully demonstrated a difficult theorem. 

"It was a little more public than is usually to my taste," Trip added meditatively, "but you know what they say:  When in Rome – or Tasumi – as the case may be ..."

He straightened up, surveyed Forrest and Soval.  "So?"

"I don't believe it!" Soval said in a strangled voice.

"You know, you're awful emotional for a Vulcan," Trip told him conversationally.  "But it's true.  Hell, the Captain and I have been living together in the same quarters for quite a while now.  Even sharing the same bed."

"Is that true?"

"It is," T'Pol replied calmly.  "I can verify that the Commander moved in with the Captain some time ago."

"And I," said Phlox stepping forward, "have been treating the Commander since his return from Tasumi.  There is only one bed in their quarters, and I know neither of them sleeps on the floor or the couch."

"Well, if that is indeed the case – " Forrest began.

"You don't accept this obvious attempt to – "

Trip leaned forward again.  "Obvious attempt?" He asked softly.  "Tell me, Ambassador – are you calling me a liar?"  His voice was even, but Soval flinched very slightly.

"Of course not," Forrest assured him.  "No one is doubting your word, Commander."

"Then I assume that's the last we're going to hear of this nonsense?"  Trip demanded.

"No charges will be pending," Forrest replied.

"Good."  Trip swayed very slightly, and Phlox bustled forward at this.

"The Commander is still not well," the doctor said severely.  "Are we finished here?"

"I believe so, Doctor," Forrest said.

"Good.  Then the Commander is going back to bed," Phlox said, "now."

He took Trip by the arm, and the engineer submitted to being led out of the room.  But when Trip got to the door, he turned, and fixed Archer with a steady stare.  "You ever keep something like this from me again," he told the Captain, "and there's gonna be hell to pay."

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