Chapter Text
"But you can call me Trip," I said to the alien.
"Greetings, Trip." He looked me over thoughtfully. " I don't believe I've ever seen your type around here before."
"Nope, probably not," I answered cheerfully. "We've come a long way. Maybe a hundred light-years."
"Then let me welcome you to this part of the galaxy," he said, sliding into the chair next to me. He waved the bartender over and offered to buy me another drink, but I shook my head. I didn't want to overdo it on our first night of shore leave. "And what do you do on board this Enterprise?" he asked.
"Chief Engineer," I said. It was nice to find a planet with friendly folks on it for once. I looked around for the Captain, but I couldn't find him—I supposed he was still trying to locate the lavatory. So I leaned in close and, with a great deal of pride, told my new friend, "Warp 5 engine, you know."
"Really?" He looked suitably impressed. He smiled and touched my arm briefly. "I know a little bit about warp engines myself."
He really was being friendly, and that was so nice—even if he was sitting kind of close to me, his knee bumping mine. I guess some species have a different concept of personal space. "So what do you do?" I asked in return.
"I develop warp field generators." He leaned his head in toward mine and said, "Come back to my place and I'd be happy to show you my specifications."
I was intrigued by the opportunity to study alien technology. "Well, that's mighty generous—" A heavy hand appeared on my shoulder, interrupting me. I looked up to see the Captain. For some reason, he looked really amused. "Hey, Cap'n," I said eagerly. "Meet Belthos. He's—"
"I heard," the Captain said, mouth twitching. "Sorry," he said directly to my new friend, "I don't think Commander Tucker is available." He squeezed my shoulder and leaned his body up against mine.
"Huh?" I frowned at the Captain, confused, even though I was really enjoying all the body contact.
The alien raised his eyebrows, or rather, he would have if he had any, and smiled contritely. "Oh, of course. I didn't realize—" He looked from the Captain, to me, and back to the Captain. "Of course," he repeated. "If you'll excuse me." With a nod, he got up and left.
The Captain slid into the seat vacated by the alien. "Cap'n," I started, a little mad. I was really interested in those specs.
But the Captain just shook his head and laughed. "Trip, really. 'Let me show you my specifications'? I don't think he was talking about warp engines."
I just stared at him. "You think he was tryin' to pick me up?" I asked in amazement. The Captain was obviously mistaken, but I decided to have some fun with it. "Oh, well, then—" I craned my head, trying to spot the man in the crowd, "Did you see where he went? He wasn't so bad-lookin', you know, if you just overlooked that thing on his forehead."
The captain put his hand on my shoulder again, grinning, and spun me around on my stool until I was facing the bar. "Oh, no, you don't. I know all too well how much trouble you get into when you're trying to get lucky."
I wanted to tell him there was one easy solution to that. But instead I protested, "But Cap'n you never know—he might have some real nice...specifications." I was rewarded by a hearty laugh, and I couldn't resist laughing myself.
I watched him signal to the bartender, then lean forward on his elbows to talk to her. He looked so damn handsome, I thought, admiring his profile. When I accepted the assignment to serve on the Enterprise I had been flattered and thrilled. I knew Jonathan had requested me specifically, which tickled me to no end. I looked forward to being with my friend, to spending time with a man I cared about, with a man I was attracted to in a pleasant, happy sort of way.
But that pleasant, happy attraction grew, and before I knew it, I was in love. This wasn't some silly little crush, either, but a mighty force of emotion like I had never felt before. And I had no idea what to do about it—if anything. I was playing it close to the vest for now. I knew Jonathan cared about me, but I didn't know how deep those feelings went. And Starfleet wasn't too keen on their captains having affairs with crew members. But we were light-years away from Earth now, weren't we? I remembered the way he'd leaned against me when he thought Belthos had gotten too interested. The way he had put his hand on my shoulder. It felt almost—well, proprietary. I'm sure he figured he was just protecting me, keeping me out of trouble. But it was nice. Real nice.
"Ready for another?" The Captain leaned in so I could hear him over the noise.
"Yeah, sure, Cap'n," I said. Maybe if I got drunk enough, I'd blurt out my feelings, and then we'd deal with the consequences, whatever they turned out to be.
Two tall glasses of sparkling liquid were placed in front of us. The stuff wasn't bad, very much like beer, although this was a little more bitter than I was used to. The Captain picked up his glass. "Here's to..." his voice trailed off, and he studied my face so intently I almost asked him what was the matter.
"Here's to good friends," I finished for him, raising my glass. "You know I'd rather spend my shore leave with you, don't you?"
For a second there I was afraid I had said too much, but his face softened, and he looked touched by my words. He clinked his glass against mine, nodding. "Me too, Trip. Me too."
Something in his tone made my insides get all twisty. I took a sip to cover my confusion. I gathered up my courage. "Captain," I started.
And his damn communicator beeped.
"Archer here."
I could barely hear Hoshi's voice through the device, but two words were clear: "Shran" and "meeting."
Damn it.