Trip hummed a simple tune, nothing special, a tune his Aunt had sung to him when he visited her.
"Fare thee well, trade in all our words for tea and sympathy,
Wonder why we try for things could never be
Play our hearts lament,
Like an unrehearsed symphony"
He remembered it well, she sang it to him whenever he did things that made her sad, she sang it simply because deep in his heart it made him feel better. Today he needed to feel better, he felt as though his world was fading into darkness so indescribable.
He had screwed up again, he shouted at T’pol, practically embarrassed her, and for the love of him he couldn’t remember why.
"Why did I shout at her?" He muttered practically under his breath. A crewman walked by, he acknowledged her, and walked on. The inside of him was eating him; more of the lyrics came,
"Not intend,
To leave this castle full of empty rooms
Our love the captive in the tower never rescued
And all the victory songs
Seem to be playing out of tune"
He felt like it, nothing was coming out in tune, he entered the recreation room, fortunately it was deserted. His anger came out; he kicked a wall, and flopped on an exercise mat, beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.
"You begin
All your words fall to the floor and break like china cups
And the waitress grabs the broom and tries to sweep them up
I reach for my tea, slowly drink in"
His words had dropped, it was he who was to blame, he wanted to throw himself into a ravine and die. No he couldn’t, he had to apologize. The words he said came back, the morning fight had come back.
"Your anger is simply a reason why you humans should not be in space." She almost screamed, holding back her emotions.
"I did the best I could, was it my fault that lil Charlie got into your scanner and messed it up!" Trip was furious, it wasn’t his fault that she had left it on the floor. They had been married for two years, lil Charlie was seven months, and curious, but what he had said next was no excuse. "If ya can’t put your toys away, than why did you marry a curious lil human?" He was the little child now, not she.
He thought hard about who to ask for advice, the only person on the ship who had been married was Phlox, and sickbay was only seven meters away. As he entered sickbay Phlox looked up and smiled, "What can I do for you Commander?" The eager voice sounded willing to help.
"Well, ya see, T’pol and I got in a fight, and I don’t know what ta do."
"I see Commander, I think the answer to your problem is simple. Apologize." Those words stung him, apologizing was going to be hard, but he grunted his reply,
"Thank you doc."
He knew what the inevitable meant, he felt his feet dragging as the door came closer, his lips dried, his throat choked. He knew what he had to do; the door swished, he felt the air chill, and an icy glare followed him, a squeal of delight.
He gulped, "T’pol," He paused. "What I said this morn’in, well I didn’t mean it."
Her stare lightened, Trip relaxed, she was obviously deep in thought. "You insulted me, you know I love you." Her tone was even, but he knew his words had cut deep. "I too have been thinking, I wish to ask for your forgiveness as well, but you….." She stopped, more like stuttering. He knew how hard it was for her to ask for forgivness.
"I forgive ya, if you only forgive me." It was a step he knew he had to take. More words flooded into his head
"Fare thee well
The words, the bag of leaves that fill my head
I can taste the bitterness and call the waitress instead
She has the answer, smiles and asks one teaspoon or two."
Trip turned to leave,
"Wait!" She cried out. "I forgive you." In a less emotional tone. Trip smiled and turned, he pulled her in and kissed her, lil Charlie clapped with glee.
The most perfect end, to the most imperfect of days.