"The Fairest One of All." CHAPTER EIGHT




The next week passed quickly and Charlie grew to be the size of a small house. It wasn't going to be long before Enterprise would add another name to it's crew manifest. Knowing time was growing short, Archer asked the doctor to give him daily briefings on the engineer's progress. So far everything was looking good.

"Commander Tucker is doing just fine, Captain." Phlox gave Archer a synopsis of Tucker's condition while he puttered around his sickbay, putting things away. "The extra Xyrillian hormones have compensated for his male anatomy and have facilitated an opening in the commander's body which should allow for a near normal delivery."

"Really?" A part of Archer was curious as to how this all was exactly going to work, but then a burst of squeamishness hit him. He knew that he would have to learn all the gruesome details, after all he was going to be in here to offer his support while Charlie was giving birth, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

The captain took a deep breath and told himself to suck it up. He'd faced worse things in the past and he would make it through this one too. Archer forced himself to listen carefully to the doctor's briefing on the matter, but then the captain focused in on the most important point. "The baby is all right, then?"

"Oh yes. The commander's increased caloric intake and my growth enhancing injections have made up for his malnutrition during the early days of his pregnancy, and by all accounts the child is doing just fine. I'd say within a week on the outside the commander should give birth to a healthy baby girl."

Yes, Archer thought, but then what? The captain thanked the doctor for keeping him informed then left, determined to find Charlie and do something about his uncertain future right now.

Predictably, he tracked Tucker to the mess hall. The engineer had recently discovered ice cream and was determined to sample all five hundred flavors in the database. Archer was glad to see that Malcolm and Travis were with him. It would save the captain from having to send for the pair, and he wanted them to be in on this conference. "Hi fellas." Archer said. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, Captain." Malcolm gestured to a seat next to him.

"Thanks." Archer eyed Charlie's ice cream. "What flavor are you on?"

"Two hundred and thirty nine." The engineer answered, his mouth full. "It's called... Tutti... Tutti..."

"Tutti Frutti." Travis finished for him.

"Tutti Frutti, that's right." Charlie smiled, finishing a bite.

"Which one is your favorite?" Archer asked.

"I don't know." Charlie thought about it then shrugged. "I guess I like 'em all. I like everythin' about this place."

"I know that you do." The captain sighed, then dropped the conversation into a more serious mode. "Look, Charlie... about that..."

The engineer ducked away and fiddled with his spoon, unwilling to meet Archer's gaze. "I know, Cap'n. My time here is almost up." Tucker spread his fingers over the bulge that protected his unborn child and felt her tiny heart beat. His little girl was so close to entering this nice world, and Charlie knew he couldn't bear it if anything happened to her now. Tucker looked up at the captain with tear filled eyes. "I know you hafta send me home after the baby is born. You need your own Trip Tucker back, but couldn't you please let my daughter stay over here? She'll die back on that ship, I know she will. Please, Cap'n!"

Archer's heart started to break when he heard that wrenching plea. He wanted to accommodate Charlie, but... "You shouldn't be separated from your child."

Taking that for rejection, Tucker's heart fell. Rationally Charlie knew that his time on the good side was limited, and he was fortunate to be able to deliver his baby here at all. It was stupid to believe that he could have any more than that, but Tucker had come to pin his hopes, unreasonable as they may be, on this man sitting before him. Although Archer wasn't violating their original agreement, a part of Charlie couldn't quite believe that the captain was letting him down so severely.

Archer knew that Tucker was currently thinking the worst, so he didn't let the engineer fret for very long. "While you and your baby need to be together, I can't send you back to that ship the way it is now either."

Charlie looked up at Archer, and for the first time the captain saw real hope in his eyes. "You mean we can both stay?"

"As a last resort yes." Archer told him. "After we try something that I have in mind."

"Try what?" Tucker kicked himself for losing faith in this captain and vowed never to do it again. If Archer had some plan hatching in his mind, the engineer was willing to do whatever he could to help. "What are ya talkin' about, Cap'n?"

"Charlie, you told me that most of you crew were good people, and the officers were the ones causing all of the trouble."

"Yeah, that's right. It's Cap'n Archer's little terror click that's got everyone runnin' for cover."

"So, how many people are in this click?"

Charlie thought about it. "Well, you've got the Cap'n, Malcolm and Travis as the leaders, and each of them owns a set of body guards and enforcers. All in all about fifteen people I expect, but they all jump to Cap'n Archer's tune, a course."

Archer nodded. Fifteen. Not as bad as he feared. "What if those fifteen people were off of your ship. What would life be like for the rest of you then?"

"Well... it would be great, but..." Charlie's eyes opened wide as the implications of Archer's question sank in. "You can't be thinkin' about gettin' rid of the cap'n?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking."

"But no one has ever been able to do that!" The idea was inconceivable. "Oh a few idiots have tried the Captain's Challenge before, but nobody's been able to beat Cap'n Archer. It's impossible!"

Malcolm tapped Tucker on the arm to get his attention. "Charlie, look around you." The armory officer gestured to the room and the ship that surrounded them. "You know us, and you know what we're capable of. There's no reason why your crew can't live like this as well. Nothing is impossible."

"Well, yeah but..." Tucker thought about all of the wonders he'd discovered since he set foot on this Enterprise. All the things he'd learned about these people. At times he thought they could do anything. Tucker focused in on Archer. He knew how strong and determined this man could be, but... "Do you really think you can take on the Cap'n?"

In response Archer just hitched his chair closer. "Tell me more about this Captain's Challenge."

**********

On the other side, Trip was tinkering with the transporter controls. Nothing was really wrong with the unit, but it had been three long weeks since he came to visit this lovely ship. His only return ticket was the transporter pad right before him and he wanted to make damn sure that it was in working order. Besides, today was mail day.

Trip and Charlie had agreed on a communications schedule before the pregnant engineer headed over to the good side. Trip was to be near the transporter at 22:00 hours every three days in order to send or receive a message. The letters weren't long, just short notes on Trip's part to reassure his friends that he was still okay, and return postings on Archer's part to assure the engineer that he hadn't been forgotten. Not that the captain would ever leave him here, Trip knew, still it was good to get news from home. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept him going.

Trip checked his watch and began to fidget. Still three minutes to go. Archer's last message said that Charlie was due to deliver that baby any day now. Tucker had pictured giving birth when he was pregnant, and was more than a little relieved when he was spared that particular indignity, but still the engineer worried about his counterpart and hoped that everything was going okay.

Fighting the urge to pace, that would draw too much unwanted attention, Trip checked his watch for the umpteenth time. Finally the numerals flipped over to register twenty two hundred hours and the hum of the transporter kicked in. A few seconds later the small padd that Trip had put on the dais disappeared and another took it's place. Moving quickly, Tucker scooped it up and unlocked the message with his personal code. The engineer sighed with relief. It was indeed a letter from the captain. His captain.

Eagerly, Trip started to read. There was no word on the baby yet, but Archer laid out for Tucker a plan that he wanted to put into action shortly after the child was born. As Trip scrolled down the text a smile began to form on his face. Oh, he was gonna like this a whole lot.

**********

The next evening was Friday night at the movies and Charlie was having a great time. The engineer had quickly fallen in love with the medium and came to adore romance stories, especially those with happy endings.

Archer was sitting next to Charlie when a small gasp came from the engineer. The captain could sense that Tucker tightened up, stayed clenched for a moment, then relaxed. "Charlie?" Archer whispered the question and Tucker nodded. That was a contraction all right. The captain glanced at his watch, ready to time the next one when it arrived. Archer knew that it was early. They didn't need to go to sickbay just yet.

Then the contractions began to increase in increments and intensity. Although Charlie tried to be quiet, it wasn't long before those sitting around him became aware of what was going on. Attention began to shift from the screen to the audience, so no one was surprised, when after an hour or so, Charlie clutched up tight and let out a giant, pain filled heave.

"Okay, that's it." Archer said. "Time for you to go to sickbay." Tucker just kept his jaw clamped shut and allowed the captain to help him up. After a few steps Archer turned back to the crew who were staring at them, the movie forgotten. "We're having a baby." The crowed ooohed and offered Charlie encouragement as Archer guided him out the door.

**********

How long is this bloody thing supposed to take?" Reed's frustration was evident as he paced the mess hall floor. The crew had abandoned the film, and were clustered in little groups, waiting for news. "It's been bloody hours."

"Two hours, twenty six minutes and fifteen seconds." T'Pol pointed out with her usual Vulcan efficiency.

"Thanks." Reed said, letting a trace of sarcasm into his voice. How could she be so damn calm at a time like this?

"Will you relax." Hoshi admonished. "People have been having babies for thousands of years. It takes as long as it takes."

"Women have had babies for thousands of years." Reed corrected. "This is the first time that this has happened to a man. Who knows what kinds of complications there might be."

"Or there may be none." The calm Vulcan voice of reason pointed out. "It does no good to worry about scenarios that may not occur. It would be more prudent, and less stressful for you to assume that all is going well, until facts present themselves to the contrary."

"Yeah Malcolm." Travis added. "You know. No news is good news."

"I suppose." Reed sighed and dropped into a chair. "It's just so hard to wait."

"Charlie will be fine." Mayweather predicted, trying to make his voice sound confident, despite the butterflies that continued to assail the helmsman's nerves. "He's got both the doctor and the captain with him. They'll make sure that everything turns out all right."

"I know they will." Reed admitted. "Thank God he's here instead of on the other side." They all shuddered collectively, not even wanting to picture it.

Fortunately at that moment the intercom clicked on. "Attention all hands, this is the Captain." Archer's tinny voice sounded over the speaker. "If you'll turn your monitors to channel B there's something here you might want to see."

Hoshi all but ran to the controls of the projector and within moments the picture of a smiling Charlie holding a small, squirming baby was projected onto the screen. A collective sigh gushed out of the crew. People started jockeying for position, each fighting to get a closer look at the child, while Archer's voice continued in the background.

"Our new crew member arrived at 19:41 hours. She weighs eight pounds and ten ounces and both father and daughter are doing just fine." In sickbay Archer cut the microphone, but left the picture on so the crew could continue to get a good look.

Tired but happy, Tucker was staring with amazement and wonder at his new daughter as she squirmed in his arms. The tiny baby was rust colored and had scales all over her body, but she was beautiful to him. Finally, after all these years, Tucker had a family again. "Thank you, Cap'n." The engineer's voice trembled a bit. "My little girl wouldn't be alive without you."

"You're entirely welcome, Charlie." Archer reached down and brushed the baby's cheek. He could feel the rough scales vibrate under his fingers instead of smooth skin. The sensation was odd, but oddly comforting. "Have you come up with a name yet?"

"I've been thinkin' about it. My momma's name, an' Trip's too I expect, was Belle."

"Belle is a lovely name." The captain agreed.

"Well, actually..." Charlie hesitated. He knew that just saying thanks to Archer for making such a miracle happen wasn't enough to pay the cap'n back for all he had done for Tucker and his daughter, so the engineer had thought up another way to honor the cap'n, and to give Archer a tiny idea of how much he meant to them. "I thought I'd call her Annabelle."

Archer froze. His fingers stopped their motion, lightly resting on the baby's chin. The captain was shocked to his very core by that one word. "My mother's name is Ann."

Charlie looked him straight in the eye and smiled. He had wanted to name his daughter after the captain somehow, and was happy that Archer understood. "I know."

Archer was overwhelmed with the gesture. If he ever needed confirmation that helping Charlie and this baby was the right thing to do, this was it. Still, the captain knew that the coming days weren't going to be easy. They were going to have to fight to win Annabelle a safe haven to grow up in, and as Archer glanced down at the baby again he knew it was a fight that they were going to have to win.





To be continued.....

 

 

 

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