Inspired by all of the "had to marry him" fics out there

Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 5: Unexpected

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Trip knew something was very, very wrong when they tried to enter the temple and their guide actually shoved herself between Jon and the temple door, barring their entry with her body, her face frantic. "You cannot enter the Temple of Joining without being Joined!" she said, her shock at their ignorance, or perhaps what she viewed as their idiocy, apparent from her expression. Her dark complexion went a shade darker.

Trip saw Malcolm's posture move from caution to wariness, one hand drifting slowly toward the weapon at his side. Jon stepped back, nearly crashing into Hoshi as he lifted his hands in supplication. "What do we need to do to be 'Joined'?" Jon asked.

And with that, Trip knew that they were in trouble. He loved Jon like a brother, but sometimes, the Captain acted before he thought. They didn't even know what Joining meant here, and if sticking your hand in a box full of rocks could get a man pregnant, what the hell could some weird alien Joining ceremony do to you?

Their guide, whose name sounded something like a mix between Fantasmagoria and the noise his mom made when she got really upset at him and lost her ability to speak coherently, stepped forward, seeming to relax slightly. "You would be willing to go through the Joining ceremony?" she asked cautiously. At Jon's nod, she smiled, revealing a row of sharply pointed teeth. "That would be…" and the rest of what she said was lost in translation. Hoshi looked concerned, then started fiddling with the translation device in her hands. The guide, Fanta… erm… maybe he'd just call her Fanta… started bouncing on her toes and chattering away at Jon and Hoshi, obviously excited.

As she waved them forward and continued her bubbly conversation, Jon and Hoshi following closely behind her, Trip slid in beside Malcolm, deliberately slowing his pace. "This doesn't seem like a very good idea," Trip said. He used to be as excited as Jon about first contacts, rushing into the new with nary a thought for what might happen, but his recent experiences had left him feeling kind of burnt. He'd found himself left with a better understanding of why Malcolm was always so cautious about this stuff.

"We need to convince the Captain not to go through with this ceremony, at least until we have a better understanding of what it entails," Malcolm replied, voice low, eyes tracking Hoshi and Jon.

Trip nodded his agreement. Yes, they needed parts that might help them repair the heating systems on Shuttle Pod Two, and yes, their sensors indicated that there might be technology in that temple that could help them with those repairs. But that didn't mean they couldn't find another source, if they kept looking, and they still had Pod One in the meantime. No need to rush into ceremonies they knew nothing about. He just needed to find a minute alone with the away team, get a chance to talk to the Captain before Jon got them promised to do something they really shouldn't be doing.

The guide stopped in front of a low, brightly painted wooden building. She waved them through the door ahead of her as the universal translator caught up with her mid-sentence. "…in here as we prepare for the ceremony." She smiled, her eyes bright. "Who is to be the lucky couple?"

Trip realized he wasn't going to get that minute when Jon opened his mouth to reply. Jon got as far as saying, "I wi –" when Malcolm stepped forward hastily and cut right across what Jon was saying with his own, "I will." After the briefest hesitation, too fast to even let Jon get the word in edgewise that he was obviously trying to interject, Malcolm added, "and Commander Tucker."

Trip's eyes widened, and he looked first at Malcolm – who was standing, back stiff, hands behind him, nearly at parade rest – then at Jon, whose face was a mix of confusion and consternation.

"Very good," Fanta said, obviously not picking up on the subtext. "I'll just go and handle the arrangements, you can make yourself at home inside. There's food and drink there you're welcome to," she added as she moved off.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Jon grabbed Malcolm's arm and tugged him inside the building. "What were you thinking?" Jon asked, at the same time as Hoshi said, "Why?", at the very same time that Malcolm said, "We don't know what this ceremony entails."

Trip let their argument buzz around him. He could understand why Malcolm had volunteered himself. As their Tactical Officer, Malcolm was concerned about risks that might come from a ceremony they didn't understand, as he should be. Jon hadn't left them time to discuss the situation, and was about to risk himself, the Captain of Earth's first Warp 5 starship, because he was too much of an eager puppy not to do so. Trip could hear Hoshi arguing for more time, so she could learn about the ceremony, Jon arguing that the ceremony probably was nothing and that as the Captain, he should be the one participating in it, while Malcolm argued back that now that they were committed, he needed to be the one to take the risk.

And Malcolm was right. Jon had moved too hastily, promising they'd participate in this ceremony before they understood it. That excitement about exploring the unknown, combined with his willingness to take risks, had made him the man he was, and a good friend as well. But in this particular case, and so soon after what happened to Trip on the Xyrillian ship, Trip knew that Malcolm and Hoshi were right. They should have better understood what this ceremony was all about before committing to it. Since it was too late for that, it was simply too risky to let the Captain do it. If T'Pol was here, she'd agree – it was only logical.

Trip found himself reassessing Malcolm yet again. When they'd started this mission not that long ago, he'd got the impression that Malcolm was stiff, officious, and someone who avoided risk at all cost – basically, a buzz kill along on a mission that was supposed to be about exploring strange new worlds and meeting strange new people. But the man kept surprising him, as he'd done here. Stopping your commanding officer like that took real guts. Putting yourself forward to take part in a Joining ceremony when you had no idea what a Joining ceremony was took guts. Trip totally understood why Malcolm had felt he'd needed to do what he'd done. What he didn't understand was…

"Why me?" Trip asked, his question stopping the conversation around him.

Jon, Hoshi and Malcolm all turned to him, but Malcolm was the one who spoke first. "You were the only one who made sense, Commander."

"So, kind of accidental?" Trip said with a shrug, trying to lighten the mood.

Malcolm's lip turned up a bit at that, and his eyes softened. "Somewhat," he explained. "Without knowing more about this ceremony, the Captain's participation is far too risky."

As he saw Jon was about to speak, likely to disagree, Trip spoke up. "True." He shared a look with the Captain, seeing the surprise there, but he didn't back down. "And who would you 'join' with, anyway, Cap'n?" Trip asked. "Hoshi?" He met Hoshi's eye and gave her a wink in apology. "What if the ceremony really means something, or somehow links you to the person you join with?" Trip added, emphasizing the word 'links' so that Jon would catch his meaning, and know he was thinking of his situation with the Xyrillians.

Jon looked thoughtful as Hoshi added, "We don't know what this 'Joining' means, Captain. The translation device is telling me what the word means on its surface, but isn't giving insight beyond that. We'd need to spend more time, learn a bit more about the culture, in order to understand the nuances."

True again, thought Trip. What if the ceremony wasn't just a ceremony, but had some sort of physical or mental effects? Hoshi was in some ways like a daughter to Jon, and very much his junior. The only others on this mission were Malcolm – Malcolm who could barely get through the social aspects of a breakfast with the captain, never mind how the poor guy would react to being forced into a Joining ceremony with him, even if such a ceremony ended up meaning nothing. And Trip, who was Jon's friend and didn't want some wacked out ceremony's after effects to destroy that – and also his subordinate, rank-wise.

Malcolm picking him made sense. He and Malcolm were of similar ranks, and although Trip was ostensibly Malcolm's superior, he really wasn't acting in that capacity, not really. And so long as the ceremony was just that – a ceremony - neither of them would feel like this thing committed them to each other. They were coworkers, not friends, so even if there were after-effects, they should be able to weather them without damaging their ability to work together. It was obvious that it should be them. "Yeah, okay," Trip said. "We're the only ones who make sense to do this thing." He wandered over to a nearby table, grabbing a deeply purple drink and scanning it. Seeing that it was okay for consumption, he picked up two glasses. Walking one over to Malcolm, he handed it to him, and with the best smile he could muster under the circumstances, raised his glass. "Mazel tov?"

As Hoshi tried to stifle a smile, Trip noticed Fanta poking her head through the doorway. "If I may have the happy couple, please?"

Trip plastered his best, most diplomatic smile onto his face and, taking a sniff then a sip from the glass – the stuff really wasn't bad, tasted a bit like grape soda, bubbles and all – he waved Malcolm ahead of him and through the door.

"Good luck, Commander," Hoshi whispered as Trip followed behind Malcolm. He turned to face her as he went by, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"Trip," Jon said, tugging his arm gently, getting Trip to stop. Jon looked at Trip with concern. "Be careful," he said.

Trip nodded, all seriousness. Then, leading with his glass, he stepped through the door and into the sunlight.