Answers

AN—Sorry for the delay in posting, but I live in central Florida. The hurricanes have been keeping me busy! Thanks for the stars!

Chapter Six

--

The Paradoxans exist outside the constraints of time. There were few of them left. Once they numbered in the trillions. Now they were less than ten thousand.

The epidemic had spread overnight, killing families, communities, and whole continents. Few of their brightest scholars had survived to seek a solution to their impending extinction.

Something was wrong with the great machine. Mercifully, the first wave of the epidemic had stopped. For now the Paradoxans were granted a reprieve, and they used the time to send a scout ship to find help.

The scout ship found Enterprise. Upon scanning Enterprise, they found one who would fix the great machine and another to help him – the ship’s engineer and a gifted linguist. They would only borrow the humans for a short time.

--

Trip groaned, feeling weak and confused, as he opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him reminded him of a science fiction movie he'd seen as a kid.

Billowy creatures floated around him. They were different colors, ranging from transparent to midnight black. To him, they looked like a cross between ants and butterflies. The sounds they made wafted over him, like he was in church and the organist was trying to clean the organ.

Trip looked at the figure on the table next to him and gasped. A very pregnant Hoshi Sato lay there, seemingly oblivious to her delicate condition. He looked down at his stomach, fearful the aliens had impregnated him as well. Relieved to see no evidence of encroaching parenthood, Trip thought of the old earth stories of abductions by aliens and impregnations. Trip sat up quickly and the room std tod to spin.

One of the creatures clicked at him and administered medication. At least he hoped it was medication. He didn’t understand anything that was going on.

The next time Trip woke, Hoshi was awake. She was crying, holding her stomach. “Lieutenant?” Trip asked, his voice rough like sandpaper.

Hoshi wiped at the tears frantically as though they embarrassed her.

“Do you know what is g ong on?” Trip propped himself up on his elbow, feeling sorry about the violation she must have suffered. “Have you been able to establish communication with them?”

“Yes.”

“And?” Trip asked softly.

“They are the Paradoxans. They exist outside of time – some kind of subspace universe. I'm not too sure…it's not really my field of expertise. They have experienced some kind of catastrophic failure in a machine that controls their planet. They need you to fix it and me to translate fou. ou. T-They implanted me with a translator -- hardwired into my brain, to make it easier to communicate – kind of like the UT. We’ve been here for eight months. I…” Hoshi sobbed and buried faceface in her hands.

Somehow Trip got off of his bed and walked over to hers to offer her comfort. “Hush, darlin’. It must be rough waking up to find you had been violated and impregnated by aliens. Any idea why they did that?”

Hoshi started shaking uncontrollably and Trip held on to her tighter. He was surprised when he heard her snort with laughter. He pulled away, confused. “Uh, Hoshi, what’s going on?”

“They didn’t impregnate me, you idiot…Sir.” Hoshi wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “This is Jon’s baby.”

“Well, I’ll be damned! When did you two get back together?”

“We didn’t! Well, technically we did, but that is beside the point.” Hoshi started to cry again, sobbing between words. “I can’t…have…this baby.”

“Yok pok pretty healthy to me. Is something wrong with the baby?” Trip rubbed her back. Jon will be over the moon when he finds out about the baby – if we ever get back to Enterprise.

“I…can’t…don’t want to…have…children,” she sniffed, starting to rock back and forth.

Trip saw red. “Well, it’s a lil’ late to get an abortion now!” That would kill Jon. Trip hated her more now than ever. “What is it with you? Do you get your goddamn jollies off of hurting Jon? If you're worried about his reaction to the baby, don’t be. He will take care of it. He’s a man of honor and he'll love it and raise it. He doesn’t need you in his life tormenting him any more. After you have it, I’ll take Jon’s place until we can get back to Enterprise. The thi thing you have to do is give birth!” Trip yelled, by aby able to keep from hitting her.

Hoshi felt like she had been thrown into a cold shower, all of her heartbreak forgotten. “You fucking bastard!” Hoshi spat as she jumped up and pushed him to the floor. She straddled him and started to punch him. “You don’t know a god damn thing about me. I could kill you! I’m good at it. I’ve killed my father…and numerous others. An entire planet died by my hand! This baby is going to have a cold-hearted killer for a mother! And if you think you are going to take this baby away from me, I will kill you too!” Hoshi raged, hitting Trip's forearms as he defended himself.

Trip couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He was so stunned at her admission that he barely felt her fists. He caught her wrists and pushed her off of him. “Now that it’s established that we are keeping the baby, then I don’t see that we have a damn problem. Right, Lieutenant?”

Hoshi stared at him in disbelief as he got up and offered her his hand. She motioned for his other hand too. After all she was eight months along and huge and he would have a hard time helping her up. “So, I take it you aren’t going to cut me any slack, then?”

“Not a centimeter, Lieutenant,” Trip confirmed.

--

Trip and Hoshi settled into an uneasy truce. After all they were the only two humans in a world that essentially existed ode tde time.

Eventually Hoshi was able to explain to Trip that the Paradoxans had not known she was pregnant. They never would have taken her if they had known. Hoshi and Trip would normally have been in stasis for one week, but Hoshi’s condition had complicated things. They could not phase Hoshi’s baby into their plane of existence until the gestational period was almost over. Trip was kept in stasis too as their alien abductors felt it would be easier on him because they would not be able to communicate with him until Hoshi was awake.

The machine that controlled the weather patterns for the entire planet was polluted. The toxins of eons of life had clogged the great cogs and needed to be purged. The Paradoxans had lived so long they had forgotten about the machine's existence. They didn't know how to fix it.

Purging and fixing the great machine would take a few months, so Trip got to work with Hoshi's help. Her translation skills were vital. One One day they were working on the western panel when Hoshi gasped, clutching her stomach.

Trip dropped his tools and rushed over to her. “Is everything ok? You’re not in labor are you?”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “He kicked me -- hard. Oh! There he is again!”

Grabbing Trip’s hand, Hoshi placed it on the bulge of her stomach.

Trip’s expression softened at the touch.

“You know, when we get back, you should give Jon the benefit of the doubt. He will be over the moon about this baby and I know he hasn’t ever stopped loving you,” Trip stated.

Hoshi pushed Trip's hand away. “I’ll only hurt him. He'll be better off without me.”

“That’s bullshit and ya know it!” Trip goaded her. “So you killed your father. I’m assuming it was an accident or something. And regarding the ‘others’… That was your job. You did what you had to do.”

Hoshi’s eyes turned black. “My father abused my mother and me, but that doesn’t justify me twisting the knife in his gut. The others…I didn’t know they were touch telepaths. We were told not to touch any of the Sarans, no matter what. We were walking up a rocky path when one of them, a girl, slipped and started to fall. I grabbed hold of her, trying to help her get her footing. It was so natural, trying to help her straighten. I didn’t think. Her party broke all contact with us then. Before we could hail them to find out what went wrong, everybody was dead – every man, woman and child.”

Realization dawned on Trip. “None of that was your fault. You’re going to have to stop beating yourself up over it sooner or later. It’s ‘bout time you accept Jon and the love he has for you. I’ve never seen him like this over any other woman.”

Instead of answering, Hoshi stood up and walked to the door. “You hurt the ones you love the most.” She walked out.

--

Trip and Hoshi were in the rafters high above the water-collecting dish when Hoshi gasped in pain. The color left her face and she cried out. Her labor had begun.

Two Paradoxans lifted Hoshi and Trip to their quarters, Hoshi trying to breathe through the contractions.

Trip held her hand throughout the night, coaching her and soothing her.

The Paradoxans did what they could to ease her discomfort but they did not know much about humans.

By morning’s light, Hoshi and Trip held Jonathan Henry Archer in their arms, cooing over him. He had a full head of hair and light-colored eyes.

“Jon’s going to be so proud when he finds out he’s a daddy,” Trip gushed as Henry’s hand clasped his finger.

The Paradoxans were gracious hosts, always apologizing for the trauma they had caused by abducting Trip and Hoshi. They were intent on returning the humans once they reclaimed their way of life. They would be sent back to the time they had been taken, or at least as close as they could maneuver.

Hoshi looked exhausted, yet content for the first time in her life. For once, she was part of life, not death. She felt as though…well…she felt like she could forgive herself for the first time since the death of her father.

--

Trip and Hoshi’s work was complete three months after the birth of Henry. They were anxious to return home and ready to pick up with their lives. There was just one problem.

Henry could not go with them. He would not survive the trip through the vortex according to the Paradoxans. Hoshi and Trip resigned themselves to staying with him the rest of their days. But the Paradoxans would not let them stay. They couldn’t let them stay. Their aging process would soon accelerate and they would die within a year.

After Trip realized the limitations of the Paradoxans powers and the consequences if the stayed, he dragged Hoshi through the vortex kicking and screaming, her wails over leaving her child deafening him.

--

Sickbay

It was a week before Trip and Hoshi woke from stasis. Doctor Phlox was at a loss to explain what they were going through, stating they seemed to be phasing in and out.

Trip was the first to be able to form any coherent thoughts. “Henry,” he kept muttering over and over again.

Jon held his friend’s hand assuring him, wondering what his father had to do with anything.

“Your son. Henry. Your son. I am so sorry we had to leave him,” Trip cried incoherently.

Hoshi woke and cried out for Henry. She was hysterical, cursing Trip for dragging her through the vortex.

“Trip, what are you talking about? I don’t have any children.” Jon tried to soothe his friend.

Phlox was busy taking scans of Hoshi and ended up sedating her.

“She gave you a son, Jon. Henry. He wouldn’t have survived the trip through the vortex. We had to leave him with the Paradoxans.

Phlox ran more scans over Hoshi. “He’s right, Captain. Lieutenant Sato has borne a child within the last three months. I don’t know how that is possible, but it is.”

*****