Child of Dreams
In my head there's only you now, This world falls on me. In this world there's real and make believe And this seems real to me
Let Me Go by Three Doors Down
Chapter 6
Laying quietly on the bio-bed, Archer ignored the conversation going on around him. His head was spinning and his stomach was sick. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the terror in Meyah’s face. Had she made it back to the temple before the storm had hit full force, or had she stayed there in the rain, crying for him? How long before he could go back to her and the others? He laid his arm over his eyes. He could hear them, all of them crying. The storms frightened them so. He started as a hand touched his arm. Looking up, he met T’Pol’s sympathetic eyes. He had found her, but at what cost.
“What do you remember, Ca...Jonathan?”
He blinked slowly, then sat up. “Three things... my three constants. You, my children, and my name, Archer. I think you know more.”
T’Pol shared a concerned look with the doctor before focusing on him once more. “Dr. Phlox is going to scan you and check the extent of your injuries.” She took a deep breath as if in preparation of what to say. “Your name is indeed Archer. Jonathan Archer. You are Captain of this starship. I am your first officer.”
“My wife?” At her surprised look, he tried again. “My mate? Lover? Mother of my children?”
“I... I am not what you think I am. We are friends, Jonathan, not more intimate companions.”
“But...” He shook his head. How could she be the mother of his children if they weren’t mates of some sort? He didn’t even want to consider it. “My children?”
She paced away from him, before returning. “Three weeks ago we entered Hahnai space. While touring the planet, our party was attacked, and we were separated. We have been searching for you since.”
He frowned, trying to process it all. “Did we know there was a civil war going on down there?”
“No. The Hahnai mentioned nothing of a conflict when they contacted us. They were interested in trade and in meeting new species. Since they have warp capability, there was no reason not to interact with them.”
Archer closed his eyes and tipped his head back, rolling it slowly from side to side, stretching muscles suddenly gone tense. “So we thought it would be safe to take the children? It doesn’t seem right.”
When he opened his eyes, she was giving him that look again. “What is it, T’Pol? The children? You are worried about them too? How could you have grabbed me without asking about them? Didn’t you wonder where they were?”
She tucked her hands behind her back. “There is no easy way to tell you this, Sir, but you are a single man. While you have a dog, you do not have children. There are no children aboard Enterprise.”
His mind reeled as if struck. “No children? Surely you jest. I have four children. Four beautiful little children.” His hands came up and he caught her shoulders, as if he could convince her with his will alone. “Meyah, my sunshine... Luna, my little moon... Gabriel, my angel boy... and Henry, my joy. Surely you remember them? If I’ve only been gone three weeks, then they would have been on this ship with me.” Panic began to settle in his stomach at the look in her eyes. There was something there, something akin to compassion as he pleaded with her. The nauseua rose in his throat and a blackness formed around his eyes. “I have to get back to the children!” He wasn’t certain if it was thought or speech as the darkness surrounded him.