Over the next several weeks, the rest of the bridge crew noticed a gradual change in the behaviour of Sub-Commander T'Pol and Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker.
True, they had their differences of opinion on a good many topics, ranging from the composition of landing parties, to dealing with first contact situations - and these differences of opinion were usually accompanied by the usual raised voices, raised eyebrows, and exaggerated sighs. In short, the two would seem as fractious as ever, *but*...
More and more often, they seemed to be in accord. Their day-to-day behaviour in regard to each other no longer caused T'Pol to assume an even more rigidly formal posture, or display the Arched Eyebrow of Contempt, while Trip seemed to be more and more of the "Southern Gentleman" in his behaviour towards her.
Even though the Enterprise was, in essence, a small town - and a place where everyone knew what everyone else was doing, it seemed that no one could explain their appreciably more amicable relationship. In fact, no one even seemed to realize that what they were seeing *was*, in fact, a couple in a relationship.
All they knew was that Commander Tucker, whose dislike (and distrust) of Vulcans was second only to the Captain's, was gradually becoming more open to input from the ship's Science Officer. That they were glad, was obvious. Bridge duty was no longer a place where reporting crewmembers had to be wary of laserbeam stares and not-so-subtle digs. The tension level on the bridge had dropped more than enough to make it an almost comfortable place to be (it would never truly be comfortable - there was too much going on for that, but at least the tension was now mission-centric - a very good thing for all concerned).
Three months after their first "liason", Trip was sitting, yoga-style, on a cushion in T'Pol's cabin as she read a recently decrypted message from home.
A soft rumbling in the back of her throat caught his attention.
"What's up, T'Pol?"
"My mother writes that there is an historic event coming up, that I think you will find interesting."
"I'm all ears," he replied, enjoying, as always, the Raised Eyebrow of Reproval that T'Pol flashed him whenever he used the expression.
"I cannot believe that I have developed an affection for you," she replied evenly, the corners of her mouth moving just enough to suggest the phantom of a ghost of the beginning of a smile.
"Go on."
"It was announced this morning, that a mid-level diplomat named Sarek has announced his intention to marry a human female - one Amanda Grayson.
"There is a brief account of his career highlights, and her background - both of which are most impressive."
"Well, m'dear, I have to agree about the unlikihood of our "developing an affection" for each other. That said, I'm willing to let them bask in the glory of their historic actions. How about you?"
"All things considered, it does seem the logical thing to do."
Trip rose and stepped over to his most unexpected lover, looking deep into the phantom of a ghost of a smile that was hiding behind her perfect eyes...
The End
Author's Notes: Most Trek fans are convinced that Vulcans can only have sex every seven years. The fact is that, barring unusual situations, they *must* have sex every seven years, which is not the same thing at all.
My source? The Great Bird of the Galaxy, himself.
In the early '70s, he gave a lecture at the local university. When it came time for the Q&A session, one fellow asked how he thought a species could survive if they only had sex every seven years.
His response was that pon farr occurred every seven years, but that he'd never said that that was the *only* time Vulcans could have sex. In fact, there was no *biological* reason why Vulcans couldn't have sex any time they thought it logical.
Which would go a long way to explaining how Amanda Grayson survived Sarek's lovemaking. If it had happened in the throes of pon farr, she would have been sqaushed like a bug as a result of Sarek's much greater and uncontrollable strength.
On another note, I have obviously fudged the timeline, a bit, to fit Sarek and Amanda's betrothal into this fic. It isn't by much, though - maybe two decades at worst. "Enterprise" was originally announced as being set about 75 years before Kirk takes command of the Enterprise, and Spock was close to the same age as T'Pol, here, when he first served with Kirk. That the series is now officially set 112 years before Kirk takes command is a hiccough that I'm ignoring for the purposes of this fic.
What can I say, I'm just a slave to the ironic...