Discovery of the Spirit

Title: Discovery of the Spirit

Chapter: 4/?

Author: Wesleys_Lady

E-mail: brutal_howell@hotmail.com

Rating: Starts PG13, soft R (just kissing, so far. Along with some mild fighting)

Category: Romance/Angst/Drama/General

Pairing: Archer/Original Character

Summary: Jon learns new things about his angel. And Trip wonders if he made the right decision. T’Pol expresses her concerns.

Disclaimer: Lieutenant Kathleen Kane is the only one I own. The rest of these beautiful people belong to Paramount – and to the actors that portray them (to a certain degree).

Archive: Only with a permission slip signed by me

Feedback: Do I have to beg?





Discovery of the Spirit

Chapter 4



By



Wesleys_Lady







The ship had been buzzing all day with anticipation of Malcolm and Kathleen’s match tonight. Pride was at stake, and Archer knew the losers wouldn’t hear the end of it for weeks. Kathleen had the Engineering staff organized to finish the repairs to Enterprise by 1800, so they could all make the match by 2000. The Captain had to admit; he was actually looking forward to it himself. He decided to swing by his quarters to change into his civvies and pick up Porthos before heading to the gym.



"Come on, boy. Let’s go see our girl kick Malcolm’s butt," he smiled as the dog followed him out. He ran into Trip on the way. He was curious as to which way his Captain would be cheering.



"I heard Katie did well her first day on the job. Got the repairs done, and even managed to impress the Vulcan in the meantime." He had already got the low-down from Hoshi and Malcolm. Trip was proud of her. "By the way, how did breakfast go?" He already knew some from what he heard. Jon practically glowed whenever someone mentioned her name.



"She wants to take it one day at a time. Said she couldn’t promise anything more than that," he explained.



"And gauging from that shit-eating grin you been wearin’ all day, you’re more than willin’ to accept that." Archer nodded.



"You’re damn right I am. So who’s going to win this thing anyways," he asked as they came to the gym doors. Trip gave him a beaming smile as they entered.



"Your girl is, of course. You’ve never seen her fight, you’re in for a treat." Jon hadn’t expected the crowd that had gathered around the fighters. There were at least fifty people crammed in the room. He picked up Porthos so he wouldn’t get stepped on. They made their way over to the front of the crowd. Kathleen came over to scratch the beagle behind the ears – and see Jon (not necessarily in that order).



"You stalling, Kat?" Malcolm antagonized. She put her mouthpiece in as she winked at Archer and Trip. She turned and touched fists with the Armory Officer. Phlox – who was adjudicating the match (being the only one not tied to either side) – signaled for them to begin. The cheering was coming from all sides; Archer could barely hear himself think. The fighters circled each other trying to size each other up. Kathleen scored the first blow with a right to the Brit’s head. He continued his momentum and planted a kick into her chest – putting her on her back. Jon was grinding his teeth. Every hit Malcolm scored on her, he wanted to rush in there and help. Trip noticed his dilemma.



"Don’t worry about Katie, she’s just toyin’ with him." He yelled to be heard over the crowd. Despite Trip’s assurances, he still had to fight the urge to put Malcolm on Septic Duty for the rest of the year. "Plug your ears," Tucker told him. He put two fingers in his mouth and let a screaming whistle. Kathleen looked at them while Reed delivered a kick to her mid-section. Trip gave her a ‘thumbs-down’ signal, and she nodded and smiled. "Watch this," he told Archer. As if on cue, Kathleen began blocking each one of Malcolm’s blows and delivering two of her own to him in return. Reed blocked as many as he could, but over a third were connecting. After taking nearly twenty continuous hits, Malcolm’s stance was wobbly. Trip knew a few more hits should do it. She suddenly landed a spinning heel kick to the Armory Officer’s head, and he crumbled to the ground. When he didn’t get back up, Phlox declared Kathleen the victor and a yell went up from the Engineers in the room – including Trip. As people started to filter out of the room, the Lieutenant went to her bag and removed a capsule. She waved the capsule under Reed’s nose and he regained consciousness. She extended a hand and helped him to his feet as Trip and Archer approached.



"Malcolm, what happened?" Jon teased the Brit. Reed began to remove the tape from his fists.



"She’s bloody good, that’s what happened, sir." He explained. He turned to Kathleen, "With moves like that, I still don’t understand why you aren’t working for me on Security?" He was exasperated. Jon could tell this wasn’t the first time he had lost to the beautiful engineer.



"Cause she’s better than you, Malcolm," Kathleen and the Captain just rolled there eyes. Trip just had to throw salt on an open wound. She shook her head.



"I don’t mind helping you out if you need some extra muscle, but I’m an engineer. I’d rather be fixing the Warp Coils than beating some guy’s brains out," she corrected diplomatically. Reed rubbed his sore neck.



"Apparently, not enough," he replied dryly. Archer and Kathleen laughed at that.



"Don’t take it personally, Malcolm," she explained, "the kids in Engineering thing I’m a slave-driver. This is just my way of making it up to them." Porthos crawled from the Captain’s arms to Kathleen. She gladly accepted the squirming bundle. "Hey Porthos!" The beagle flipped over, exposing his belly for scratching. Jon looked over at his dog.



"I thought I told you to get your own date?" he scratched Porthos’ chest, and got his nose licked for his trouble. "Yuk! Dog Breath!" Kathleen loved this…it was moments like these, with Jon, that she treasured. He noticed her watching him. When their eyes met, he could swear his heart did a flip. There was no mistaking that look…she was happy. She set Porthos down on the ground and stepped closer to him. "Please, don’t ask me to watch that again." He begged. "I don’t find someone hurting you very entertaining." It hadn’t occurred to her that this would bother him that much.



"All right. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think how you would feel," she wrapped her arms around his waist. Archer kissed her forehead and hugged her to his chest. "He didn’t hurt me, Jon." They didn’t make any effort to move apart when they heard Malcolm clearing his throat.



"Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Reed?" the Brit felt as if he were intruding. But he felt it necessary to explain these little morale sessions, they had.



"Yes, Captain. I felt I should explain. Kat is correct, sir. We’ve had sixteen of these contests since we left Jupiter Station. And as much as it pains me to say it, the most I’ve managed to give her is a black eye and two bruised ribs. While she has knocked out 3 of my teeth, given me 18 black eyes – counting today – bruised my ribs on twelve separate occasions. As well as broken 8 of my ribs. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that your Armory Officer and head of Security is getting his clock cleaned by what seems to be your girlfriend." Jon liked the sound of that…’his girlfriend.’



"Girlfriend? Is that what I am?" she playfully whispered in his ear. Archer’s worry was gone – destroyed by Reed’s confession and Kathleen’s playfulness. "Malcolm, you have to stop being so hard on yourself," She turned to face the Brit, but stayed in Jon’s embrace. She leaned back into his chest, "I’ve been studying Martial Arts almost ten years longer than you have. It’s only natural that I would be better. Even in the eight months we’ve been out here, your skills have improved immensely. We’ll keep working on it, I promise." Kathleen really wanted to smooth things over with Lt. Reed. He was a good student, but a lot of times, he was way too serious. She knew he felt better when he flashed her one of his "million dollar" smiles.



"Thank you, Kat. Same time tomorrow for a work out?" she nodded. "You know Captain, it might not be a bad idea to practice your hand to hand with her." When Archer hugged her tighter, Reed re-evaluated his thinking. Then again, they probably had other exercises to practice. He mumbled something about going to sickbay and left gracefully.



"That was nicely done," Jon spoke into her ear. She just shrugged her shoulders.



"It was the truth. He has improved, and he will get even better with practice." She groaned when he began to massage the sore muscles in her shoulders and neck. She rolled her head forward to grant him easier access.



"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked, continuing his massage. She was pressing back into his hands. Archer smiled.



"My brothers," she mumbled. "Seven of them are Marines. After my parent’s died, my brothers taught me hand-to-hand combat skills. Been doing Martial Arts for almost twenty-eight years." She grunted when he had to press hard to bust up an especially hard knot in her shoulder. "That’s how I was able to fight those Vulcans," Archer stopped suddenly. He kissed the back of her neck, almost reverently.



"I have to agree with my father. For purely selfish reasons, I’m glad you were there. But I would give anything to have kept that suffering from you." She held his face in her hands.



"Jonathan Archer, when I said one day at a time, I didn’t mean toward the past. San Francisco is over, let it go. I want to move forward from here. Can you do that for me?" when he nodded, she kissed him.



"Hey, you two! Get a room!" Trip yelled out from the corner. They had completely forgotten he was even there. ‘Well, at least they had the good graces to look embarrassed,’ Trip smirked. He came over and hugged Kathleen. "And you were worried!" he directed toward Archer. The Captain raised his hands in surrender.



"I concede, I was wrong," Kathleen smiled. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. She put one arm around Jon’s waist and the other around Trip’s.



"I was going to catch a shower, than grab some dinner in the mess hall. Would you gentleman care to join me?" She amended her statement when both men turned red, "For the dinner! Not the shower!" Archer checked his watch.



"I’ll be there. Thirty Minutes? Trip?" they all agreed to meet in the mess hall in a half an hour. Both men could not get the image of Kathleen Kane asking them to ‘join her’ in the shower, from their minds. The next thirty minutes were going to be murder.









MESS HALL



As they entered the Mess Hall, all conversations stopped. Twenty pairs of eyes were focused on the trio at the door. Kathleen noticed that most of the surprised glances were directed at Jon, and she froze like a deer in the headlights. The rest of the crew went back to their meals when Archer grabbed her hand and led her into the room. Message was delivered loud and clear, and they were officially a couple in the eyes of their crewmates. Trip was surprised. He hadn’t expected his friend to make a stand so soon.



"Looks like the Cap’n just told everyone where he stands," he whispered to Kathleen. She just nodded. In the back of her mind, she was still concerned. The word would be around the ship by morning. The most eligible bachelor on board was officially off the market. She didn’t care what they thought of her, but she wouldn’t let it reflect badly on Jon. Only Trip knew the level of disappointment that would be present with both the men and women on board Enterprise. He made a mental note to de-claw Ensign Cutler before she crossed paths with Katie in the morning. Then again, it might be fun to see how Katie handles it. Members of The Lt. Kane "Fan Club" were already casting dirty looks toward Archer – not that they would ever do anything about it. The trio collected their dinners and Trip led them to the same table he and Hoshi had occupied that morning. A group of Engineers entered the Mess Hall and began clapping when they noticed Kathleen. She blushed and waved.



"Thanks, guys," she only liked being the center of Jon’s attention.



"Hey Lieutenant, you gonna flatten Reed next time?" an Ensign called out.



"I should make you clean the trash receptacles for the next month for even asking that, Ensign Matthews!" Trip answered. "Sixteen matches, without a loss. What do you think?" It was a rhetorical question. Kathleen glared at him.



"I wish you would stop doing that, Trip!" she said.



"Why? We have the dang things for morale and braggin’ rights. As long as you keep winnin’, I’m gonna have fun." He replied, somewhat smugly. Kathleen gave him an evil smile.



"Maybe, I should let Malcolm win one," she winked at Archer. He laughed when Trip’s face fell.



"You wouldn’t!" That would ruin all his fun.



"Just take it easy on them, OK? For me?" Jon knew that did it. Trip belonged to the same club he did – as long as it was within their power, they would both do anything Kathleen asked them to do. The engineer hung his head.



"Alright, darlin’. For you, I’ll try." He answered meekly. He suddenly changed gears. "Katie, they’re showin’ AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER tonight. Would you like to go with me?" he asked. He had ulterior motives for asking for asking her. Tucker wanted to make sure she was OK with everything going on between her and Jon. Archer was kicking himself for not thinking of asking her.



"What time?" she had a report she had to get done by morning.



"2300, so how ‘bout it?" If she could make it, she would. Knowing the little details, helped. An Affair to Remember was one of her favorite movies. Tucker looked over at Jon. He had sandbagged his friend – and didn’t regret it one bit. He knew Archer was on his way to winning her heart, and he wanted time with her before things got too serious between them.



"I have a report I have to finish for the Captain. He’s kind of a slave driver," she nudged Jon in the side, playfully. "But I think I can make it. Can I meet you there?"



"Absolutely. I’ll bring the popcorn."



"I think I could be persuaded to extend the deadline on that report…for the right price," Archer whispered in her ear. He was sitting close enough to feel the shudder that passed through her body. He had no idea how close she was to her taking him up on his offer. Trip clenched his fist under the table. Fair is fair, he supposed. He sandbagged Archer, so the man had to have his fun now. She was about to tell him no when Travis and Hoshi approached the table.



"That was a great fight, Lieutenant! Don’t you think so, Captain?" Travis could barely contain his excitement. Jon glanced at the woman that had captured his heart.



"Yes, I do, Travis." He looked up to see that the young ensign hadn’t taken his eyes off Kathleen once. He knew that look…he probably had it himself – Travis liked her.



"Can we join you?" Hoshi asked. ‘Why is she smiling at me like that?’ Jon wondered. As the ranking officer, they waited for him to give permission. He held out an arm toward the empty chairs, and the two young ensigns sat down. "I’m surprised to see you out here, Captain," she began.



"Why is that?"



"Usually, you just eat in there." She pointed at the dining room door. When he looked over at Kathleen, Hoshi smiled. The Captain would eat wherever the Lieutenant did.



"He likes you," she said to Kathleen in Vulcan. The older woman nodded.



"I like him," she answered back in Vulcan. Trip watched Jon to see what he thought of this surprise. The conversation continued in Vulcan.



"I’m happy for you. You look good together." (H)



"Thank You." (K)



"Trip said you’ve known the Captain for some time," (H)



"I worked with his father fifteen years ago," (K)



Archer had had enough. He put his hand on Kathleen’s arm.



"Whoa! Why didn’t you ever tell me you spoke Vulcan?!" he asked her. She just shrugged her shoulders.



"You never asked," she simply stated. Jon didn’t know what to think. "I like eating with Hoshi because she gives me a chance to practice." Archer put his head in his hands.



"Is there anything else I should know?" Trip was surprised his friend was taking this well. Kathleen shook her head.



"Uh-uh, you aren’t the only one who has some surprises." She touched the end of his nose. "You’ll find out everything in due time." Jon looked to Tucker for help, only to receive a ‘you’re on your own’ look from the engineer. He conceded the point. This was all going to be part of the ‘getting to know each other’ phase. When he didn’t push the issue, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. Travis gasped in surprise – sucking soup down his airway. As his coughing fit subsided, he kept looking from Archer to Kathleen. ‘What a way for him to find out,’ Hoshi thought. She was one of the few people who knew Travis had a crush on the Lieutenant. Tucker smacked the ensign on the back.



"Travis, you OK?" Mayweather nodded, still trying to draw in air.



"Fine…just went down the wrong pipe," he rasped out. Archer gave the young ensign a sad smile. He had always liked Travis…the Boomer was the best pilot he had ever seen, and was a decent young man to boot. Jon knew about the slight ‘Hero Worship’ the kid felt for him.



"Sorry, Travis. No hard feelings?" he tried to soften the blow. The Boomer’s eyes went wide in shock. ‘How did the Captain know?’ he wondered. He tried to play it down.



"For what, sir?" Hoshi and Archer weren’t buying it. The Captain didn’t want too press the issue. Trip felt sorry for the kid. ‘Tough break, kid. But you need a better poker face if you’re gonna bluff,’ the engineer thought. Kathleen looked at her watch. She had better get started on that report if she hoped to make the movie with Trip. The three men at the table stood when she did.



"Will you excuse me? I have an engineering report calling my name." She put her tray in the receptacle and returned to the table. "I’m glad you liked the fight, Travis." Travis’ heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. "Trip, I’ll see you in an hour," Tucker just threw her a mock salute. "Hoshi…"



"You’re going to the movie with Trip?" Hoshi asked in Vulcan. "Not the Captain?" Kathleen shrugged her shoulders.



"Jon didn’t ask." She replied (in Vulcan)



"Well, don’t forget to kiss him goodbye," she teased (still in Vulcan). Kathleen grinned and pulled Jon to his feet. She looked around and noticed the crowd in the Mess Hall had thinned out. She gave Archer a seductive grin, realizing that four Ensigns were about to get an eye full. She wrapped her arms around the Captain’s neck and pulled him into a heated kiss. Archer’s head was buzzing from the intensity of the kiss. Trip laughed when Hoshi began to clap. He was glad when Travis and the other two ensigns in the room joined in the applause. ‘The crew just might be OK with his,’ he thought. The real test would be T’Pol. And the Vulcan "Ice-Queen" should know about this by morning. Jon and Kathleen were oblivious to the wolf-calls that Trip had initiated. He looked at Hoshi and Travis,



"Plug your ears," when they did, he let loose with one of the screaming whistles he used in the gym. Kathleen broke the kiss. Archer, for his part couldn’t move. He was trying to regain control of his breathing.



"Wow!" he cleared his throat. "What was that for?" not that he was complaining.

Trip just shook his head.



"Cap’n, you’ve been hangin’ out with the Vulcan too long. A beautiful woman kisses you like that, and you ask why?" He laughed when the Captain looked at him sheepishly.



"You’re right." He replied. "Anytime you want to do that again, feel free," Kathleen started laughing. Archer took her hand, "I know you have to leave, will you meet me for breakfast in the morning?" He walked her to the door of the Mess Hall. She traced her finger along his jaw.



"Only if you promise not to go overboard like you did this morning."



"I promise. 0700?" She nodded and left him standing in the doorway. Trip and Travis walked past him.



"See you in the morning, Captain." Mayweather said.



"Goodnight, Travis." He turned to see Hoshi still waiting for him at the table. Good, he had a few things to ask her. "Hoshi," he sighed as he sat down, "do you have a few minutes?" She nodded. "If you don’t mind me asking, how well do you know Lieutenant Kane?"



"When I came on board, she asked me to help her with her Vulcan. In return, she helps me with my Irish Gaelic. We’ve gotten to know each other fairly well since then. Nothing to the degree of the friendship she has with Commander Tucker." She explained. "Or you."



"Actually, I don’t know her as well as I’d like to. But I’m working on it," he confessed. Hoshi was surprised at that. Trip had led her to believe that they had known each other for years.



"I don’t understand. I know she worked with your dad and Trip years ago. I just assumed…" Archer shook his head.



"I never got to know her back then. She was friends with my dad, but I just met her yesterday morning." She could tell there was something more to this. It wasn’t hard to read the sadness in his eyes when he admitted that. Maybe she’d ask Kathleen about it. That would explain why Trip beat him to the punch with taking her to the movie. The Captain was still learning what she liked. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that if he had known AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER was her favorite movie, he’d be the one taking her tonight. If Trip was going to play it that way, Hoshi was going to help Archer level the playing field.



"An Affair to Remember." She stated. He looked up, clearly confused. "An Affair to Remember is Kat’s favorite movie. Trip arranged for it to be shown for her birthday next week." The wave of emotions that crossed Archer’s face was fascinating for Hoshi. It started at anger and indignation, and ran the gambit all the way through downright panic. "You don’t know what to get her, do you?" she sighed when he shook his head.



"Help me?" he begged the linguist. She reached across the table and touched his arm.



"I will." An idea occurred to her, "Why don’t we arrange a party for her?" Archer agreed that this was a good idea. But didn’t know where to begin. "This is what we’ll need…"













Kathleen’s irritation at Trip had subsided somewhat when she learned he had requested ‘An Affair to Remember’ in honor of her birthday. She was still mad, and Tucker knew it.



"Don’t do that to me again!" she seethed. Trip had ambushed her into coming to the movie with him. The way he went about it, he purposely made Jonathan feel like an ass.



"Katie, I’m sorry! How many times do I have to apologize?!" If he had known she’d be this pissed at him, he would have skipped it. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright," he explained.



"What?!"



"Two days ago, you didn’t want the man to know you even existed. Now you’re swabbin’ his tonsils every time I look at ya! You have to admit, that’s a pretty big change. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting’ yourself into." Kathleen narrowed her eyes at him in anger.



"I know what I’m doing, Trip!" she lied. But she was too angry with him to let him know that. "I’m a big girl, capable of making my own decisions. As for me ‘swabbing his tonsils’ as you so aptly put it, that’s my choice too. If you don’t want to see it, look away. Because I plan to go on kissing Jon as long as he lets me!" She had no idea why she was saying all this…the obstacles her and Jon would face scared the hell out of her. She had to fight those fears everyday. "What’s gotten into you, Trip?" Tucker had been questioning his own judgment since his conversation with Archer in his quarters. He didn’t understand it himself. As long as he’d known Katie, she had had feelings for Jonathan Archer. He’d even insisted she confront those feelings. So why was he feeling like someone had just shot his dog? Then, as sure as if someone had flipped a switch in his brain, he figured it out – he was jealous.



"Awwww….Katie. I am the worst possible friend." He was ashamed.



"Why? What did you do?" now she was suspicious. Trip took a step back when she clenched her fist. He organized his thoughts before answering her.



"I have had the best of both worlds for the last twelve years – the benefit of my friendships with both you AND Jon. Knowin’ you both has made me a better man," he paused, here came the hard part. "I always knew you cared for him. And I knew you both well enough to realize that once you met, you’d be drawn to each other. You’re kindred spirits. I guess all this hullabaloo tonight is me figuring out that if you had each other…where does that leave me?" Now that it was out, Trip hung his head in shame. Kathleen’s heart dropped and her anger completely dissipated.



"Oh, Trip. Where does that leave you? The same place you’ve always been…my best friend. You have always been there for me when I needed you. And I will love you for that until the day I die. You actually believe that we don’t need you anymore?" Trip just kept looking at the floor. Kathleen picked his head up so that he was looking right into her eyes. "Listen to me, Charles Tucker III, because I’m only going to say it once. I love you, Trip. You are my brother, my best friend, and my confidante. I can’t think of living my life without you in it." Trip’s heart soared at her words. "You will have to be patient with Jon and I, though. We are just getting to know each other. Until we begin to feel comfortable, we’re probably going to want to spend a lot of time together." He shook his head at his own stupidity. He had made one friend angry by shanghaiing his girl, and ticked the other one off by being an insecure moron.



"I can wait as long as it takes…now that I know you won’t forget about me." She arched an eyebrow at him and laughed.



"Trip, I don’t think anyone who meets you can forget about you," she teased.



"I should probably go apologize to Jon," he scuffed his shoe on the carpet – looking very much like a two year old that got busted with his hand in the cookie jar.



"I’ll talk to him in the morning," she hugged him, "trust me, he’ll understand. Goodnight, Trip."



"Goodnight. Sweet Dreams, darlin.’" She turned and went into her quarters.









MESS HALL



Kathleen found Jonathan waiting for her when she came in. And he did not look happy. She began choosing her breakfast when he came over.



"Jon, what’s the matter?" He had the same look on his face that he had after their dealings with the Vulcans. "T’Pol?" Archer was stunned…was he that obvious? He nodded.



"How did you know?" she gave him an enigmatic smile.



"Because you’re wearing your ‘Vulcan Face.’ Which isn’t quite as bad as your ‘We have to Jettison the Warp Core Face.’ But it ranks right up there with the ‘Porthos peed on my Official Starfleet Report Face.’" Five people looked at them when Archer laughed out loud. "I thought you two were developing a working understanding? So what did T’Pol want that has you so irritated?"



"She wanted to talk to me about you," Kathleen whistled in appreciation.



"Wow, word travels fast around here."



"Yes, it does. I just wanted to warn you, T’Pol is waiting in there to give you the same speech she gave me. If you want to back out of breakfast now, I understand." His heart skipped a beat when she shook her head.



"Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world." As they got closer to the door, Kathleen whispered to him, "Besides, it’s going to take more than a walking logic machine to chase me away from you," she winked at him. His strength to face the upcoming argument was renewed. She went to set her plate down on the other side of Archer.



"Lieutenant, this dining room is for Senior Staff," T’Pol began.



"And I told you, Sub-Commander, being Chief Engineer allows her to use it. After Trip comes back, she will be welcome at my invitation," She felt a bit of pride at Jon coming to her defense so fast. ‘Not necessary, dear,’ she thought.



"Sub-Commander, do you just want to give me the ‘Cliff’s Notes’ of this lecture," Kathleen asked, digging into her breakfast.



"I am not familiar with the ‘Cliff’s Notes,’" T’Pol replied.



"The condensed version. Please, get right to the point so that we can resolve this. And I can finish my breakfast with minimal aggravation," she clarified.



"Very well. I do not believe you should be seeing the Captain, romantically." She stated, plainly. "It is illogical that Captain Archer allow himself to carry on a liaison with a junior officer under his command." Archer flinched at the word liaison. He started to get up from the table, but Kathleen stopped him. She turned to T’Pol with a sly grin.



"First of all, Sub-Commander, if you would do your research before you object…you would know that I have been committed to Captain Archer’s family for over fifteen years. Hardly what one could call a liaison? Secondly, if you were my mother, I might actually care whether you approved of my relationship with the Captain, or not." Archer choked on the Orange Juice he was drinking at her bluntness. She glanced at him to make sure he was OK. Jon was loving this. T’Pol was being told off, politely, by human standards. "And last, but not least, since the Captain is the most Senior Officer on board, his options are limited. Either date a junior officer, or be alone. Personally, I’m flattered he chose me." T’pol just arched an eyebrow at this. Jon, for his part, was proud of Kathleen. He thought she was being unfair to herself saying he ‘chose her.’ He felt it was the other way around. And he considered himself blessed every day she allowed him to get closer. T’Pol got up saying something in Vulcan:



("It has been a fact that anytime a Captain gets involved with a junior officer, the ship suffers. The Captain’s work suffers due to his attention being divided…thus affecting everyone.") Archer waited for the other shoe to drop. He didn’t know what she said – but Kathleen did. And he wasn’t surprised when she answered her in Vulcan.



"The Captain and I have been seeing each other merely days. I challenge you to find fault with either of our work. We know where our priorities lie. And I will always consider the needs of this crew first – just as he does." Kathleen was proud of herself; she had just managed to surprise a Vulcan.



"You speak my language, Lieutenant." T’Pol stated.



"I had a clash with your culture several years ago. I thought I should learn all I could…just in case it happened, again," she explained. The Sub-Commander seemed to consider this woman in front of her. Only Archer noticed that she was looking at her with a bit more…respect?



"That was wise. You need to work on your accent," she finished. Kathleen decided to extend an olive branch, for Jon’s sake.



"I would be honored if you could help me practice," she asked. Jon was stunned. T’Pol thought about her request. Maybe she was wrong about this woman? She decided to leave to allow the Captain some time alone with his choice for a mate.



"I shall consider your request," she said. "If you’ll excuse me Captain, Lieutenant." When she left, Jon released the breath he had been holding.



"What did she say to you? What did you say to her?" he wanted to ask a million questions. She got up and stood behind his chair…knowing full well that he would be tense. She began to massage his shoulders as she explained.



"She just did what I expected any Vulcan to do. She just assumed the worst-case scenario, because it happened in the past. She said that a ship suffers because the Captain’s attentions are divided between his duties and his liaison. I told her that we knew where our priorities were. And that I held the needs of this crew first – just like you did. And I challenged her to find fault with either of our work. That’s when she seemed to lightened up." She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I’ll be ready for her, when she organizes her next argument for us." Archer smiled and looked up at her.



"I don’t know. You handled her wonderfully, this time." She kissed his upturned face. "You’re wrong, you know. I didn’t ‘choose you.’ You allow me to be here. And there is no place I would rather be." She kissed him again, before she snuck a glance at the clock on the wall.



"Well, you and I have to be on the bridge in ten minutes," She smiled.



"Do you have any plans, tonight?" he wanted to implement some of the things he had discussed with Hoshi.



"My work is ahead of schedule. So I’m hoping to spend a few hours with a very handsome Captain. Know anyone like that?" she teased.



"I’m sure I could find someone." They both headed for the door to begin their shift. This would be a good day, Archer was sure of it.