Ok, I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, sorry it took me so long to update. Really. I got caught up in other projects and my college work, and I lost track of time. I'll update more now, I promise.

Anywhoo, this is the long awaited third chapter, produced by much poking by my Beta, G.Eliot. (She literally poked me with a stick until I got it done.) Not really. Please don't kill me! No!!! 'Runs in fear'

By the way, thanks G.Eliot. and I'm sorry I gave you so many heart attacks with this chapter. But I wrote it at 12.30 at night, and was tired. So typos were to be expected. However, YOU HAVE A FILTHY MIND!!!!

So, on with the fic.

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"Your daughter!!" Admiral Forrest choked out as he stared at Jonathan Archer on the computer screen. "What do you mean your daughter was on that ship? Starfleet has no record of any human, civilian child on a Vulcan science vessel."

"That's because she isn't human sir. At least not fully human," Jon answered calmly. "Tessa is half Vulcan."

Forrest's face was suffused with colour and Jon could see him make a concentrated effort to control his temper, and stop another outburst.

"I think Captain," Forrest bit out, stressing the word Captain, "that you should start explaining yourself. Begin with how this happened, and why I was not informed!!! There is a note on your file that you have a daughter who you rarely see because of complications with her mother. But it says nothing about her being half Vulcan!!!"

Jon took a deep breath. For years, he was forced to practically deny his child, but no longer. He was no longer an easily intimidated young ensign. He was a Captain, a force to be reckoned with, and he would no longer be strong-armed into hiding his daughter. Besides, he was sure that the word was out all over the ship about what happened over on the TeDu'n.

"Well sir, I wasn't always as cynical about the Vulcans as I am now. When I was younger, they fascinated me. Anyway, it all started eighteen years ago, on my first assignment since graduating from the academy.

"When you were running test flights for the NC-955 ships?" the Admiral asked, trying to remember the details.

Jon nodded. "Yes. There was a Vulcan contingent at the base. Most of them were the typical Vulcans; very controlled, superior acting and irritating! Anyway, Anev was different. She was less inhibited than her co-workers, and very inquisitive about humans. We used to have long talks about everything and anything. I thought we were friends." Jon said in a quiet voice.

"What happened Jon?" Forrest asked, his voice equally as hushed.

"I was seeing this girl at the time. Her name was Carrie. I was so crazy about her." Jon replied wistfully, as if lost in a memory. "I had been going out with her for six months, and one night I decided to surprise her by taking her out to dinner. I had finished early and went to her apartment. But when I got there, she wasn't alone."

Admiral Forrest sighed. He had a feeling where this story was going, and just knew that copious levels of alcohol were going to be involved.

"Let me guess," Forrest said. "There was another man there."

Jon smiled grimly.

"Yes. She was entertaining someone else… my best friend at the time Will Bloom."

Forrest winced in sympathy.

"Ouch!"

"Tell me about it," Jon snorted. "Anyway, after I punched him a few times, I went and got myself utterly and completely drunk. I mean, I wasn't just seeing double, I was seeing triple! I could barely stand by the time Ruby kicked me out of the 602 Club sometime after 2.00 am. Anyway, I wandered home, eventually. And there, sitting by my front door was Anev. She said she had been worried about me, because she couldn't get in contact with me. She opened the door for me because I my hands were shaking so badly I was likely to do myself injury with the key card. She brought me inside and listened to my tale of woe." Jon finished the sentence sarcastically and Forrest could feel how bitter Jon was about the whole thing.

Forrest sighed. He didn't like where this was going. Jon saw the look on his face, and interrupted his train of thought.

"I know what you're thinking, but I swear, it was all her idea. Funny, the one time that I remember everything when I'm completely gone is the one time I want to forget," Jon sighed. He really didn't want to be telling the Admiral the rest, as it wasn't his finest moment, but he had to.

"Anyway, Anev kissed me. I wasn't so far gone that I didn't realize that this was unusual, and pulled back. She told me that she found me attractive, and had been for some months, contemplating exploring the concept of human sexuality." Jon said the last scornfully.

(A/N That's just my little dig at Trip and T'Pol's relationship in Season three. Sorry to any Trip/T'Pol shippers out there, but I'm a firm believer of the shippy goodness of Archer and T'Pol)

"She persuaded me in the end, though to be honest, I didn't need much persuasion."

"Jon, I can't believe I'm asking this, but didn't you use protection?"

"The chances of Anev conceiving were astronomical, so we didn't think of that. So, the next morning, I woke up to a killer hangover and an empty bed. Anev was gone. She had left some time in the night. Luckily I was off that day, so as soon as I pulled myself together, I went looking for her. I found her at the Vulcan Compound.

She told me that what happened was a mistake, and that she was asking to be reassigned to a different department. I realized then that she had never been my friend, that she had been just using me to further her own study into humanity. So naturally, I stormed off, swearing to myself that I'd never speak to her again."

"Three months later, I was walking home from work, when two Vulcans fell in to step beside me. They informed me that I would be accompanying them to the Vulcan Compound in Sausalito and obviously, I had no choice but to go with them. I was brought into a room. Suval was there."

Forrest closed his eyes. "Please tell me that Anev isn't Suval's daughter or niece or related to her in any way?" he begged Jon, who smiled slightly.

"No, she's not. Suval was her supervisor though, and naturally, he blamed me. He didn't accuse me of rape, but he made it clear that he felt that I held all the blame. He informed me that as a result of my liaison with Anev," Jon's lip curled in disgust at the word liaison, as it was the one Suval had used, "that she was pregnant. I was shocked; I mean I couldn't speak for ten minutes. The odds against that happening… Anyway, after the shock wore off, I was so happy. I love kids, and always wanted lots of my own. Anev however, didn't want the child.

I spoke with Anev eventually. I begged her no give me custody of the child, but she wouldn't. Apparently, she wouldn't trust that I could raise her child to respect Vulcan customs. In fact, she actually told me that no Human would ever raise her child. Even though she didn't want the baby, she wouldn't let me have custody of her."

Forrest remained silent, as he could see the emotions play across the Captain's face; the grief, the hurt, the betrayal. Jon took a steadying breath, and continued, though he spoke around the lump that had developed in his throat.

"I was sworn to secrecy. I was only a young Ensign at the time, and was intimidated by Suval and the older Vulcans. They wanted to keep secret the fact that Vulcans have faults and failings too. I agreed, and have regretted that ever since. My daughter was born sixteen years ago. I wasn't allowed to see her until she was nearly a month old.

I had spoken to Anev a few times during the pregnancy, and I begged her that if it was a girl, that she would be named after my mother. Her name was Tessa, and as you know Sir, she died when I was twelve. Anev refused to call her the human name, but compromised. There is a Vulcan name, Tesana, and she called my little girl this, so I could shorten it to Tessa. When I saw her first Admiral, she became my whole world. She had the tiniest little pointed ears, and she smiled up at me when I held her for the first time. I was smitten.

I was allowed limited access to her, only for a few hours every week. When she hit two, I spoke to a lawyer about getting custody of Tessa. I wasn't happy with the way Anev treated her. She barely tolerated her, while I adored her. I swore the lawyer to secrecy first, but he said that there was no chance that I would win against the Vulcans. Anev was trying to raise her as a full Vulcan, and tried to ignore her human heritage. Imagine! She wouldn't give me custody because she thought I wouldn't give credit to her Vulcan roots, and here she was doing the same to me!!

But, I persevered. Anev had given up piloting ships, and now worked on computers, but that was the only concession she made for her child. As Tessa grew older, she began to question her mother about me. About why I couldn't see her much. About her Human side. When Tessa was eight, Anev decided that she had enough, and moved to Vulcan, again against my will. Whereas before I saw Tessa once or twice a week, I could now go months without seeing her. She visited Earth whenever she could though. It soon became obvious to me that Tessa would never be a proper Vulcan. Her emotions ran high, and she embraced her human side, much to her mother's disgust.

The last time I saw her was when she was fourteen, just before we shipped out on our mission. I was so proud when she informed me that she wished to have my last name, as she felt more human than Vulcan. She legally changed her name to Tesana Archer. I received semi-regular letters from her, and when she was fifteen, Anev got her a job as a pilot on the TeDu'n. I didn't want her to go on the ship. She was too young! Granted, she had finished her schooling the year before, because she's an absolute genius, but I just thought she was too young. But, as in all things concerning my daughter, I was overruled. The rest you know."

Forrest sat back in his chair, clearly stunned at the amount of information he had just received. The story seemed completely off the wall, but there was a ring of truth about it, especially the stubbornness and pride of the Vulcans.

After a long silence, Forrest sat up straight in his chair again. "I assume Commander Tucker knows about her?"

"Yes Sir. She is his god-daughter, and he is her honourary uncle."

"Right. And who else knows? Does Sub-Commander T'Pol know?"

"Yes. I told her a few weeks ago. It was Tessa's birthday, and I couldn't be there with her. She was sixteen. I must have been acting off character, and T'Pol caught me looking at a PADD full of images of her, so I told her the truth, because I trusted her. She was very kind and compassionate, seeing things from my side, instead of immediately siding with her people. Since we came across the TeDu'n, several people have found out that she is my daughter, and I've decided that I'm not going to keep it a secret any more. She's my daughter, Sir. I'm proud of her, and I want to tell the universe that she is my daughter."

Forrest thought for a moment.

"The Vulcans aren't going to like it," he commented.

Jon' reply of "Screw the Vulcans" brought a smile to the Admirals lips.

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of it; to try to keep it secret for a while longer?"

"No sir. My mind is made up. I'm not some young Ensign any more. I can stand up to the Vulcans."

"Don't I know it." The Admiral commented wryly. "Alright Jon, I'll trust your judgment. You do know I'm going to have to tell this to the Council, don't you?"

"I know Sir, and I don't care."

"Alright then. Talk to you soon Jon," Forrest said, and the screen went blank.

Jon sat back in his chair, exhausted. To tell the truth, it wasn't as hard as he'd expected it to be. He turned to the photo on his desk, and smiled. It was one that showed him with Tessa sitting on his shoulders. Trip had taken it during an outing to a carnival, and it showed the two Archers with identical grins on their faces (Tessa had inherited his smile along with his expressive green eyes.) They were on Earth in the picture, and Tessa had plaits covering her pointed ears. Jon smiled at the memory. He became quite adept at plaiting hair. Tessa also had an amazing array of hats for a ten year old. It had been a happy day.

Jon shook himself from the memory. "Wake up Archer" he told himself. "She's here, on your ship, and you are sitting there looking at a photo? Go find her!" he ordered himself, and then quickly complied. He leapt up from his chair, and bounded to his door, a huge smile on his face.

He was looking forward to spending time with his little girl.

…………………..

I hope this has cleared up some of the questions people have about Tessa. The next for chapters will have some angst in them, and possibly an appearance from Anev.

Again, sorry for the delay.

R & R please.

LieutenantsLady