The BLTS Archive - Priceless
by kira66

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Published: 11-24-07

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The first thing Jonathan Archer noticed when he woke was that the room
looked and smelled different. First of all it was bigger than it
should have been. Secondly, the bed was twice the size of a standard
Starfleet issue bed. And thirdly, it smelled of sunshine and fresh
air. The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. Turning his
head to the side, he focused on the strange, cherub like face just
inches from his own. "Who are you?" It was the first thing that popped
into his mind to say.

"Silly daddy!" The cherub said with a giggle and backed-up slightly so
that she could sit Indian style on the bed. "You don't 'member me,"
she said with a frown which promptly turned into a smile. "That's
okay!" Pointing to herself she made her introduction. "My name is
T'Laya." It was almost like she thought this was a game of some sorts.

Jon sat up, slowly, never taking his eyes off the child. He hadn't
missed the fact that she had called him /daddy/. It also didn't escape
him that she has tiny pointed ears sticking out through her sandy
brown hair. "It's a pleasure to be meet you, T'Laya. Can you tell me
where I am?" He was so confused, but forced himself to stay calm so he
didn't scare the little girl.

"What did I tell you about being in here in the mornings, T'Laya?" A
woman, obviously the child's mother, questioned as she stepped into
the bedroom carrying a tray containing a plate of food. Her long brown
hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.

T'Laya looked over her shoulder at her mother, then down at her lap.
"That I had to wait for you." The little girl mumbled her standard
answer.

It was obvious to Jon that the little girl's answer was rehearsed and
well used. If she had been in here, wherever here was, before why
couldn't he remember her? Looking away from the child, he brought his
eyes up to her mother and froze. He was surprised to see a familiar 
face. "T'Pol?" He questioned, even more confused than before.

T'Pol moved around the bed and sat the tray on his lap. "After you
eat, I'll explain," she assured him, then focused on the child. "Your
lessons are laid out on the table." It was a subtle dismissal but a
dismissal all the same.

"Yes, mother," T'Laya acknowledged, then slid from the bed and left
the room without another word.

Jon opened and closed his mouth not once but twice, unable to form
words. "You have a daughter?" he finally managed to ask.

"/We/ have a daughter, Jonathan," T'Pol corrected him, then moved to
the small window and pulled the crude curtain aside to let in the
morning light.

Having taken a bit of the brownish-grey patty on his plate, Jon choked
at her revelation. "I beg your pardon?" he asked after taking a sip of
water to wash down the /food/, a term he would use lightly.

T'Pol turned, her back to the window. "What is the last thing you
remember?" she wanted to know.

Jon blinked. Even though he found the question odd, he decided to
humor her with an answer. "We were talking about Rosemary's Baby."

"An anomaly hit the Enterprise that day. Do you remember?" T'Pol asked
as she moved away from the window and sat down on the edge of the bed,
near his feet.

Searching his memories, Jon nodded. "Yes, your leg was trapped
underneath a beam." He struggled to remember what happened next.

T'Pol folded her hands on her lap and started her explanation where he
left off. "You freed me, but were hit by the anomaly. Spatial
parasites attached themselves to your hippocampus, preventing you from
retaining long-term memories. On a good day your memory will last
until you go to sleep. On a bad day it will last for only a few
hours."

Jon struggled to accept her explanation, but it was hard. "A few
hours?" He felt a headache blossom behind his eyes. "What happened to
Enterprise?" Was it destroyed and he just couldn't remember? Why else
would they be on a planet?

"It is in orbit. It just got back from patrolling this system." T'Pol
explained, then waited for the other questions that she knew he would
ask. He basically asked the same ones each day.

"The mission? Earth?" Jon almost didn't want to know the answer. He
knew they weren't on Earth and that /couldn't/ be a good sign.

T'Pol hesitated, knowing that the next part would upset him. So before
she answered, she removed the tray from his lap and sat it on the bed.
"We could not stop the Xindi. Earth was destroyed." She made a vow
long ago that she would never lie to him about what happened to his
Homeworld.

Jon stumbled from the bed, falling to his knees after becoming tangled
in the sheet that had been covering him. "What happened to my people?"
he asked, not bothering to gather himself off the floor.

"All that is left is here on Ceti Alpha V." T'Pol could feel his pain
through the bond that they shared. A bond that he knew nothing about.
Yet.

"How many...how many are left?" Jon looked up at her from the floor,
begging her to tell him that it was all a bad dream, that he had to
wake up now.

T'Pol swallowed and dropped to her knees beside him. "About six
thousand," she answered in a soft, tight voice. It was obvious that
she was struggling to contain her pain as well.

Jon felt sick to his stomach. Only about six thousand survivors? So
few, out of how many billions? Only six thousand men, women, and
children survived the Xindi attack on Earth and made it to the remote
planet that they now occupied. It was enough, he knew, to begin again.
The human race would prevail, it had to. He didn't want to break down
in front of his first officer but something in his mind told him that
it was alright. So he didn't protest when gentle hands pulled his head
down.

Cradling Jonathan's head in her lap, T'Pol gently stroked his silver
hair, a feature she thought made him look distinguished. "Enterprise
left us here with the other humans at my request," she continued to
speak, quietly, soothingly.

"Why?" Jon knew he could always count on T'Pol; she was the only
constant in his life. She stayed with him for some reason, loyalty
perhaps? It did run deep with her. But that didn't explain the
presence of /their/ child, now did it? "Why, T'Pol?" he asked again,
his voice thick with emotion.

T'Pol raised both eyebrows and stroked his hair as if that answered
his question. After a moment, she untangled the sheet and helped off
the floor and onto the bed. She sat back at his feet, this time facing
him.

Jon swallowed. "And us?" That was the one thing he just couldn't get
his mind wrapped around.

"We have been friends for many years. Our intimacy didn't start until
seven years ago." T'Pol fidgeted, this part of the explanation always
made her uncomfortable. "That's when I entered Pon Farr."

"Pon what?" Jon waited for her to continue.

T'Pol sighed, something she picked up from her time living amongst
humans. "It is the time of mating for Vulcans." She could see him grow
defensive. This was not a surprise since she knew him so well. She
always knew what his reaction would be and yet she had illogically
assumed that he would remember his consent all those years ago. It was
obvious he would never remember that agreement, their bonding
ceremony, or even the birth of their children. But she still hoped,
something else she picked up from the humans.

Jon looked at her with stunned silence. A range of emotions were
overtaking him, but it was guilt and confusion that was warring for
dominance. He could remember having an attraction to her and a deep
caring, but she deserved more. She deserved someone who could remember
yesterday, the day before, last month or even a year ago. "It seems I
owe you my life, T'Pol," he said hoarsely as he stared into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry for all the sacrifices you've made for me. It must've
been difficult for you." What else could he say?

"You sacrificed yourself for me in the corridor that day. It seemed a
debt I should repay," T'Pol told him.

Guilt won and Jon looked away. He didn't want to be anyone's debt nor
did he want her to think that she had to stay because of it. "How long
have we been here? Together?"

T'Pol frowned at the emotions she was getting from him. They seemed
bleaker than usual. She'd have to change that. "We've been here for
approximately twelve years. And we have been mates for five."

Jon pushed the guilt away, he still had questions that needed
answered. "Where does T'Laya fit into all of this?"

"T'Laya was the result of a successful Pon Farr. When a Vulcan woman
finds her mate and her Katra is satisfied, a bond and a child is the
result. Her...conception...was a surprise to both of us. But Phlox
assured us that with his help, I could carry her to term without
problem or complication. He was, of course, correct. She was born
healthy, eleven months later. After her birth I started on a regimen
of vitamins and supplements that Doctor Phlox assured us would make
conception and delivery of any other children possible," T'Pol
explained.

"And did it? Make it possible, I mean?" Jon felt his head reeling. To
him, just a few hours ago, he was talking to his First Officer about a
horror movie. Now he was talking to his mate about their children. If
he was understanding her correctly, they had more than one.

T'Pol nodded and her lips twitched as she thought about their
children. "T'Laya is the oldest at four. I was uncertain if you wanted
more but then Henry was born two years later. You were pleased to have
a son, even though T'Laya has you wrapped around her little finger."
She paused for a moment to let him absorb what she was saying. "And
currently I am with child." She picked up his hand and placed it on
her bump, then covered it with hers. "We do not know the sex of this
baby; you said you want it to be a surprise."

Jon was surprised to feel a flutter under his palm and he grinned. He
was a /dad!/ Who would have thought? Certainly not him. That's when he
noticed the ring adorning her ring finger. "We're married?"

"Like I said, we had a successful Pon Farr. By Vulcan law we were
joined the moment T'Laya was conceived. You wanted to make it official
so you asked Phlox to do the honor. We were married two days after we
found out about the baby." T'Pol removed her hand from over his and
reached up to touched his cheek. "I know this must be difficult for
you to go through everyday, but know that you will always have your
family here to care for you," she promised.

"Think I could see them before I forget everything you just told me?"
Jon quipped. It was the only way for him to get past the ache he felt
at knowing he was going to forget his family at the end of the day.

T'Pol stood and offered him her hand. Once he took it, she pulled him
off the bed and led him out of their bedroom and into the small living
area. She released his hand. "Go ahead and pick him up." She knew,
without looking, that his eyes were glued to the sandy haired little
boy playing in the middle of the space.

Jon felt himself tear up as he moved forward, reached down, and picked
the toddler up. Afraid that he was going to scare him, he moved
slowly, turning him in his arms. He almost gasped when he saw that the
boy had /his /green eyes, the /Archer/ green eyes. "Hello there."

Two year old Henry Archer giggled and grabbed his father's nose. He
was oblivious to his father's hesitation. "Daddy!" he squealed. Vulcan
children, even hybrids, were advanced for their ages.

Using his free hand, Jon brushed back the hair that hung over the
boy's ears and grinned when he saw little points. Feeling a tug on his
pant leg, he looked down. "Good morning, T'Laya," he greeted.

T'Laya smiled. "Morning daddy!" she gushed, then wrapped her arms
around his leg. "Will you help me with my lessons?" she asked,
sounding just like her mother.

Jon looked to T'Pol for permission, then chuckled when she raised an
eyebrow at him. "Sure I'll help you, sweetpea." He followed her over
to the table where her things were laid out. Sitting down, he adjusted
Henry on his lap and leaned over to see what she was doing.

Knowing that Jon would be fine with the kids, T'Pol decided to read
over some padds that had been sent by Enterprise. Hearing a rumble of
laugher followed by a high pitched squeal, she looked up from the
science report to find Jonathan holding Henry in the air, pretending
to be a shuttle. T'Laya was giggling and twirling around under his
feet. A small, microscopic, piece of her dreaded having to tell this
same story again tomorrow, but she would because moments like these
were priceless.

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The End