Chapter 3
T’Pol studied her son who had mercifully returned to sleep. His little hands were splayed out like aquamarine stars, his face, peaceful. He was more than aesthetically pleasing to her. She reached out and stroked his chubby cheek softly, he turned slightly towards the touch and puckered his lips, no doubt searching for a breast or bottle from which he could acquire nourishment. She briefly wondered if he was now dreaming of food but then shook it off, deeming it illogical to wonder what her son was dreaming. She pressed a hand to her bump and stroked it softly. It was odd, being pregnant, because of its Andorian blood the child already possessed heightened emotions and through its and her own telepathy she was directly affected by them. Her emotions had always been close to the surface but being pregnant made the suppression harder.
Ironically, it was Thy'lek who helped her control them despite that he himself was ruled by his emotions. He helped her concentrate in her meditations, which he did with her as often as he could find the time. He helped her to accept them as a part of her but, as was typical of him, he encouraged her to continue practising her people’s ways as best she could. The door opening and Thy’lek stepping inside interrupted her musing. He sighed in relief as he shut the door. She wondered what had happened in the control room as she had sensed his sudden excitement and his nervousness.
“You are back already.” she stated more than questioned. He shrugged, smiling slightly with his eyes and antenna, although his face was blank, a skill he’d learnt from both herself and their late friend Soval. “What was happening?”
“Can I tell you in eight hours?” he wondered half jokingly.
“Is it important?” she matched his tone slightly.
“Not for another eight hours.” he answered, sauntering over to her slowly, a lazy smirk on his face. She twitched an eyebrow at him.
“And just what did you have planned for those eight hours?” She hoped she was able to get her attraction to his obvious plans of intimacy of some form with her slight posture change and question. It was illogical, her mind told her, to want to act in such a suggestive manner. There was no need for copulation, procreation was already occurring, but the idea still held its appeal.
“Well as appealing as having you in my arms is,” he’d interpreted her correctly; she was concerned she hadn’t mastered the art of flirtation. Vulcans and other non-Terrans in general weren’t flirtatious unless they were naturally like that (Orion females). “I’m feeling too tired physically to do anything. I’d much rather touch your mind.”
“You wish to meld?” She was rather surprised, Thy'lek rarely wanted to meld. He was always left quite drained by the experience and he felt the normal bond was enough. They’d melded before several times. The first time was when T’Pol had been struggling with herself and wished for guidance when they’d arrived at the Resistance. Thy'lek had told her he couldn’t give her what she needed, but he could provide the one who could. He’d then let her meld with him so she could experience what he’d taken from a meld with their friend Soval. She’d been shocked that the two had melded, that would have meant they had fully trusted for each other, as Andorian telepathy and Vulcan telepathy didn’t mix well without some kind of bond between the two people. That first meld he’d guided her through his mind, away from his more private parts, like his family and moral beliefs, which he cherished, and to the part that carried what Soval had left behind. The remains of the Vulcan elder had been a great help for her and had showed her exactly what Soval had thought of her. He’d been proud of her, deep down. That had been somewhat comforting but the meld had caused Thy'lek to collapse and remain unconscious for several hours. She’d thought that he hadn’t trusted her enough and that caused his collapse. He’d told her no, it was she who hadn’t trusted him because of what had happened on the Defiant. She had struggled to put it well behind her. Now Thy'lek stood before her and reached out, gently touching her face in the places that were most common for a meld.
“Yes I want to meld.” he answered simply. She took in a slight breath and touched his hand wrapping her fingers around his and slowly tugging him towards the bed. They soon lay on it and she stroked her first two fingers down his neck as he caressed her face, his eyes filled with adoration. Slowly she leaned closer and gently kissed the tips of his antennas, then nibbling down each one. He groaned very softly and closed his eyes, his arms embracing her.
“T’Pol…” he whispered in warning. She slowly pulled away and moved so she lay on his chest, feeling his heart chambers pounding against her. She found it fascinating that Andorians only had one heart but the three chambers were separate in different parts of their torso. It caused an interesting sensation when one felt all three of them that wasn’t unpleasant. She slowly reached out and touched his face. His eyes stayed closed and he leaned into the touch. In a whisper she chanted,
“My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts,” His blue lips moved with her words, though not a sound escaped them. “Our minds are merging…” It was like a slowly opening door that flooded a dark room with light. “Our minds are one.” His eyes shot open to meet hers again and he drew in a sharp breath as they merged their minds completely, his chest and consequently T’Pol rising up.
‘Are you alright?’ she questioned.
‘I’m fine.’ he assured her. He then began to touch her mind gently searching for something. She enjoyed the feeling much more than she would admit, it was like he was kissing her mind so softly, caressing her thoughts to see them. She knew what he was looking for and helped him find it by mentally taking his hand and leading him to it.
Thy'lek was in a desert garden; it was full of beauty and life. Two suns shone down on him but it was only pleasantly warm. Trees and flowers of many kinds, kinds that would never have survived this kind of heat in reality flourished within her mind. These were all her ambitions, hopes and desires. In the centre of the garden was a blue plant surrounded by ice and snow. It was very beautiful and very strong growing taller than any other. This was him and her love for him, which she nurtured with great care. Beside his plant was another one. This wasn’t as large as his and it was surrounded by sand and icicles dangled from its branches. It had buds just sprouting from it and the whole plant was aquamarine. This was Soval’s. It was younger than his and smaller. His own grew over it, protecting it from the rays along with another plant. This was T’Pol’s own one and it was an interesting mix of many different colours, blue like Thy'lek’s blood, aquamarine like Soval’s, green like her own and there was a dash of crimson, like Terran blood. He traced over a line of the deep red, contemplating it. It was a part of her, Terrans were a part of her, they were a part of everyone because of their far-reaching empire. He noted that the branches of her plant reached out and mingled with his own, and as he watched they entwined much deeper, wrapping around each other even more.
‘This is different than the last time.’ he whispered as he stepped back and surveyed the garden again. It was true, there had been no garden the last time they’d melded, it had been space the last time, different planets and stars to represent her soul. That’s what this all was, T’Pol’s soul, her very centre.
‘It is, but I find it pleasant.’ She was standing beside his plant, the blue reflecting off her glowing skin. Dressed in an elegant Andorian styled gown of light blue silk, with bare feet and her hair down and the front parts pulled back, she looked beautiful. He suddenly looked down at himself and saw he was wearing green clothes, much nicer than anything he’d ever owned. The shirt wrapped around him and tied at the side and his trousers were nice and loose, his blue feet were also bare. He noted that his clothes were similar to the Vulcan style. He smiled as he looked back at her and she raised an eyebrow playfully at him, then turned and ran away. He grinned openly and gave chase. She twisted in and around the trees and plants with grace and managed to get well ahead of him. He wasn’t quite as fast as her, though he was as nimble; ironically years of fighting had given him grace of a dancer. He ducked under hanging vines that attempted to snare him and hopped over the snaking roots that wished to trip him. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him. If he wanted her, he’d have to catch her himself no matter what. He pushed his legs to their limits and caught up with her sharply, catching her around the waist and they both fell over. They rolled down a gentle hill and finally came to a stop beside a river that flowed gently through the sand. T’Pol rolled them over again so she was above him and her eyes danced with humour and light.
‘You have torn my dress.’ she stated, her lips never moving, her voice all around them, pulling at the hem to reveal a tear like a slit. It went all the way up to her knee. He fingered it and chuckled, knowing that if she wanted to she could repair it. He gentle stroked the bare skin; it felt as silky as the dress’ material. She let out the tiniest of sighs, one of contentment he noted, and her eyes seemed to smile at him. Over their heads rolled large clouds of pink against a red sky. He wondered if Vulcan was truly this beautiful or if it was just that T’Pol’s soul was extraordinarily beautiful. As she rose to her feet again he decided she was just beautiful. She raised an eyebrow at him in amusement and he remembered that she could hear everything he thought. He was only hearing what she wanted him to hear; she always was the better one at this.
‘No fair!’ he pouted, his lips unmoving as he stood up, ‘Let me hear you!’ She gave the smallest gesture of agreement and then he was pummelled by her deepest thoughts and feelings and of course her logic. He reeled back, taken by surprise, then became accustom to it. He grinned suddenly
‘You think I look good in this outfit.’
‘It does suit your complexion.’ she stated dryly, he felt her amusement in waves.
‘Well I’ll have to agree with you on that. I do look good.’ He pretended to admire himself, putting on a real show until he felt a bubbling from her. She was laughing. He laughed too, and after a moment realised that she was openly laughing with him, he wasn’t just feeling it… he was seeing it. She smiled and laughed even more at his shocked expression. He’d never heard her laugh before, felt it, yes, but heard it? Never. It was a lovely sound but he was quite shocked to hear it. Vulcans didn’t smile and they sure as hell didn’t laugh.
‘Vulcans don’t always do what they are supposed to.’ she smirked at him her face suddenly alight with emotions. ‘More to the point, I do not mind showing you how happy you make me within my own soul. I do not mind showing you my feelings like an Andorian here.’ He smiled softly, touched, and held his hand out for hers and when she took it he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, his lips moving this time,
“I love you.”
“I love you as well.” she answered back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and before he realised it, they were dancing to a music that was all their own. Some species, when they married, swore that their love would remain unchanged to their betrothed, but his didn’t because they knew that love changed. Between lifemates it was eternal and never-ending but it changed. Theirs had just changed; she’d just showed her love in a very special way for him. His people cherished emotions; they had built their entire culture around them. That was part of the reasons Andorians and Vulcans hadn’t gotten along in the beginning before Terrans had shown up. For T’Pol, even in the most private part of her, to show her emotions to him like this meant much more to him than anyone could appreciate. He decided to reciprocate and show her his feelings in a way Vulcans did, in a way that he had always avoided. He stroked her cheek softly and then gently brushed his lips against hers, determinedly ignoring the tremor of fear and foreboding that the very idea conjured within his own soul. She gently gripped the back of his head and pressed their lips more firmly together. It wasn’t unpleasant, in fact it was very nice and he responded a little more, unsure what he was actually meant to do.
‘Just follow my lead.’ Her voice whispered to him. He acquiesced and followed her lead, letting his teeth nip her lower lip like she did to him. ‘You are enjoying this.’
‘Don’t make it sound like a bad thing.’ If she wanted to be dry then he’d be a drought to match. Her skin felt as cool as it ever did, and he mused that it was ironic that Vulcans lived on a desert and yet they were like ice, and Andoria was ice covered and Andorians were like fire. As Gral had said before, putting the two together was asking for trouble. The tip of her tongue brushed against his lips and gently sought entrance, entrance that he hesitantly gave. He heard her chuckle softly obviously amused by his uncertainty. He let her enjoy herself, it was a rare thing. He felt a twinge of sadness as he thought of their pretty sad situation. She pulled away and gave him a stern gaze.
‘Will you stop thinking about all that!’ her voice then softened and she stroked his face gently, ‘This is our sanctuary and no one can harm us here. Focus on here and me, on us being together, nothing else.’ He smiled softly and nodded. She gently kissed him again and he pushed away all doubts and worries… for now.