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"Frank and Speak" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG
Mr. Bubbles (7) “K’pan?” Archer heard Navta say. Archer decided not to acknowledge her as he stabbed another bite of ravioli. Acknowledging her would mean a conversation and he was too short tempered for that tonight. Across the table Trip was eating silently and looked as tired as Archer felt. “K’pan?” Navta questioned again. Archer sighed, looking around his arm at her. Navta was standing behind him in an oversized T-shirt someone had given her for a nightgown and holding her teddy bear by one of its arms. Archer was momentarily struck by the thought that she looked like she’d stepped out right of a Norman Rockwell painting and into the mess hall. Times like these made him forget she was not a human child. “Navta, it has to be after midnight. Why are you up?” Archer asked with a dark voice. “I had a nightmare and can’t go back to sleep,” Navta answered quietly. “Maybe you didn’t try,” Archer said, not noticing the biting tone he took with her. Trip did. He looked up at Archer and then at Navta. She was watching Archer, but her face didn’t reflecting any emotion the child might be feeling. Navta walked around to stand by Archer’s elbow. She leaned up on her toes and kissed Archer’s cheek. “I’m sorry you had a bad day, K’pan,” Navta said quietly. Archer sighed, looking at her. “Navta, it’s late. Go to bed.” “I can’t sleep, K’pan.” Archer sat back in his chair, fighting back sleep. “Navta...go to bed. Now.” “I just want to ask you a question and then I’ll go to bed. I promise.” Archer relented. “One question.” “What are bubbles?” Navta hugged her teddy bear to her chest. “You know what bubbles are, Navta.” Navta shook her head. “I was talking to Karen Monroe and she told me that when she was my age she blew bubbles and they floated into the air. I’ve never seen bubbles like that.” Archer’s anger eased back and he smiled. He reached out and pinched a bit of her nightgown between his fingers, tugging on it when he spoke. “I’ll make you a deal, okay?” Navta nodded. “You,” Archer poked her side, making Navta giggle and step away from his finger, “Go back to bed, and stay there, and after school you come find me. No matter what I’m doing I’ll stop and I’ll tell you all about the bubbles Lieutenant Monroe was talking about, okay?” “Promise?” Navta asked. Archer made an X over his heart with his index finger. “Cross my heart.” Navta smiled. “Okay, K’pan.” Navta gave him another peck on the cheek and jogged out of the mess hall. Archer looked at Trip. Trip wasn’t smiling as Archer had expected him to be. He was staring at his plate with a blank look on his face. “What’s wrong, Trip?” “Huh?” Trip looked up at Archer. “What’s wrong, Trip?” Trip smiled. “Just thinking. We used to make our own bubble solution when we were kids. And we’d make all sorts of things into bubble wands.” “I never was much into bubbles. I don’t even know how to make the bubble solution. So, do you care to accept a mission tomorrow?” Trip’s grin widened. “I’ll visit Doc and Chef in the morning and make sure we have the stuff.” “Doc and Chef? Are you going to make bubbles or a medicated cake?” Trip laughed as he began collecting PADDs. “Where you wanna meet?” “Loading bay one. Plan around sixteen hundred hours.” “See you there. Night Cap’n,” Trip said. He stood, picked up his tray and walked away. # “K’PAN!” Navta cried, running onto the bridge and falling into Archer’s lap. Archer sat the PADD he’d been reading aside so Navta could climb into his lap and sit down. “What are you so excited about?” Archer asked with a straight face. “You promised you’d tell me what bubbles were. Remember?” “I did? When did I promise that?” Navta giggled. “Last night! You said if I went to bed and stayed there, you’d tell me what bubbles were today.” Archer noticed Hoshi turn and lean on the railing, watching the two of them. To his right, Malcolm was watching them as well. “Oh. I can’t tell you about that. I just wanted you to go to bed.” “K’pan!” Navta laughed, hugging him. “I can’t tell you about bubbles, Navta,” Archer insisted. Navta sat up, looking serious. “You promised!” “I know, but I can’t tell you about them.” “Why not?” “No one can tell someone about bubbles. You can only show someone bubbles.” “Then show me,” Navta laughed. “I can’t.” “Why?” “I can’t move.” “What?” Navta looked concerned. “Why can’t you move?” “You’re sitting on my legs. I can’t get up,” Archer grinned when he heard Malcolm, Travis and Hoshi chuckle at the joke. Navta laughed, hugging Archer again. “You can too! I’m not that heavy!” Archer stood with Navta still latched onto his neck. “Piggy-back ride!” Navta cried. “Okay.” Navta let go and climbed onto the captain’s chair. She hopped up, wrapping her arms around Archer’s neck and her legs around his waist. “You have the bridge T’Pol,” Archer said as he started toward the lift. “Will you be returning, Captain?” T’Pol asked. Navta covered Archer’s eyes. “Blind men can’t fly ships,” Archer joked. “I’ll be down in loading bay one if you need me.” T’Pol left her station and sat down in the captain’s chair. Archer stepped onto the lift when the door opened, standing in front of the sensor to hold the door open. Archer didn’t move even when Navta moved her hands off his eyes. “Push the button K’pan,” Navta urged, squeezing her legs a little “My arms are broken,” Archer said, grinned. T’Pol looked back at the lift. She had witnessed many different human interactions including adults teasing and joking with one another, but this was the first time she’d ever seen Archer interact with Navta since she’d arrived. Navta laughed, laying her head on Archer’s shoulder. “You’re arms aren’t broken!” “They must be because I can’t move them to press the button.” “I’ll press it.” Navta reached out toward the panel. Archer leaned toward the panel and just as Navta was about to reach it he jumped back, gasping, “Oh no! Did you see that?” Navta giggled. “See what?” “I’m growing an arm out of my shoulder! That can’t be good! We’re going to have to go straight to Sickbay, Navta!” “That’s my arm, K’pan! Now you move over there and you let me press that button,” Navta ordered between giggles. “I can’t. I’m scared. I might grow an arm again.” “K’pan!” Navta laughed and began wiggling to be let down. Archer slowly moved toward the panel again. Navta reached out to press the button and Archer leapt back again. Navta laughed, hugging him. Archer chuckled warmly, pressing the button. “Wave good-bye,” Archer said, waving to the bridge crew as the door started to close. “GRIFTLINA!” Navta called out, waving good-bye to them. Malcolm and Travis turned, waving and wishing them good-bye. Archer leaned to the side until the door closed so they could continue waving good-bye. The doors closed and Navta kissed Archer’s cheek. “I love you K’pan,” Navta murmured warmly as she hugged him. Archer looked back at her. “You’re kinda special to me too, half-pint.” The door opened and Archer started walking, doing a hop-skip every few steps that made Navta laughed. The two turned into loading bay one and were met by a gentle shower of bubbles. Navta smiled, looking up. Trip was sitting on the edge of the catwalk above them, his arms draped over the middle guardrail. He dipped a bubble wand he’d made out of electrical wire into the bowl of bubble solution and blew a stream of bubbles that caught on the air currents of the loading bay and floated around them like snow flakes. “Are these bubbles?” Navta asked Archer. “These are bubbles,” Archer answered. He lifted his hand to catch a bubble and it burst on his fingertips, showering his face with a cool mist of bubble solution. Navta imitated him and when the mist showered her face she giggled. Archer let her slide off his back and watched Navta try to catch the bubbles and laugh every time one burst on her face. “Hey. Get up here, kid-lit,” Trip called down to her. Navta ran over to the stairs leading to the catwalk and raced up them to Trip’s side. “Sit down.” Trip patted the catwalk beside him. Navta sat down beside him. Trip handed her a bowl of bubble solution and a wand. “Got one for me?” Archer asked as he came to the top of the stairs. “As a matter of fact...” Trip turned and picked up a third bowl and wire wand, handing them up to Archer. Archer sat down on Navta’s other side, hanging his arms over the middle guardrail. Archer smiled, watching Navta turn the wand one-way and then the other. “Watch, Navta,” Trip told her. Navta looked at him. Trip dipped the wand in the bowl and held it up. He blew on the bubble solution clinging to the center of the wand and bubbles floated out of the wand into the loading bay. Navta dipped her wand in the solution and blew as gentle as Trip had. She giggled when bubbles floated out of her wand into the space beyond. She looked up at Archer, watching him blow some bubbles. Navta grinned and blew more bubbles and hum a song while she did. The three didn’t hear the loading bay door open or see T’Pol walk into the bay. T’Pol watched the bubbles floating around her before looking up at the three. Trip was showing Navta how to blow a big bubble by blowing slowly into the center. Navta watched him with intense interest. Archer was idly blowing bubbles from his wand, adding to the shower of bubbles already in the loading bay. T’Pol walked under the catwalk and slowly climbed the stairs, watching the three as she approached them. Archer looked up, smiling at her. “There a problem?” Archer asked. “No, Captain. I was curious,” T’Pol replied. “About?” “What it was you were doing in loading bay one.” “Blowing bubbles!” Navta answered. T’Pol looked out into the space beyond the catwalk where bubbles were floating and popping. “What allows the bubbles to hold their form?” T’Pol asked. “Trip, the woman’s gotta question for you,” Archer said before blowing more bubbles. “Yeah?” Trip asked, looking up at T’Pol T’Pol looked down at Trip, whose grin was as large as Navta’s. T’Pol repeated her question to Trip. “What allows the bubbles to hold their form?” “I dunno. All I know is you mix some water, dish soap and glycerin together and voila! You get bubbles.” Trip’s eyes widened as he leaned toward Navta and she giggled, bumping shoulders with him. “Glycerin?” Archer heard T’Pol say at the same time he did. “Yeah. Glycerin.” “What does that do?” Archer asked. “I dunno. It’s my mom’s recipe.” Archer laughed as he stood up, “I have to go back to work, Navta. Trip’ll stay with you while you blow bubbles,” Archer handed T’Pol his bowl and wand. “Try it, T’Pol.” T’Pol didn’t take either. “Oh come on, try it T’Pol. Then you can tell all your Vulcan friends just how childish and immature your Captain really is.” T’Pol raised an eyebrow. She took the bowl and wand and watched Archer leave the loading bay. T’Pol sat down cross-legged beside Navta, looking curiously at the bubble solution in the bowl. She dipped the wand into the solution and blew on it. Bubbles floated out of the wand into the air. “YEA!” Navta cried. “T’Pol’s blowing bubbles too!” “Yeah she is,” Trip said in a soft voice. Navta looked at him, finding Trip’s gaze fixed on T’Pol. Navta looked at T’Pol, watching her blow more bubbles. “Let me see you make a really big one, kid-lit,” Trip said. Navta grinned and returned to blowing bubbles with Trip and T’Pol.
Back to Chapter 6
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