"I think the captain should say something to her," Hoshi broke the silence that had accompanied the meal thus far and set down her fork with purpose. Her companion looked up blankly and Hoshi tilted her chin at the Sub Commander across the Mess Hall.
"Her appearance!" she whispered when light failed to dawn in Trip Tucker's blue eyes.
"You mean those shiny new uniforms?" Tucker gave the Vulcan a franker stare than Hoshi thought safe under the circumstances. "The colours are bolder n' I'd expected of T'Pol but they don't seem any less…modest than her High Command duds."
"It's more than that, Trip," Hoshi protested. "She's letting her hair grow, wearing make up…"
"T'Pol's always worn make up," Tucker interjected. "It just used to be more subtle, like those drab ole High Command uniforms."
"Well, subtle wasn't distracting half the male members of the crew," Hoshi stabbed at a slice of tomato in her salad. "You saw what happened when Ensign Kessler brought those scans to the bridge. And I overheard a group of crewmen from Stellar Cartography thanking the cosmos for 'Blue Tuesday.'"
"Now Hoshi, ya gotta admit that blue catsuit's real becoming." The Communications Officer looked up at Trip's sudden laugh, realizing that she hadn't heard him laugh, really laugh, since before the Xindi attack.
"Trip…"
"Hoshi, ya can't overreact to a bunch of guys trippin' over their own jaws at the Sub Commander's transformation." The blond engineer winked, "Unless, of course, you're a little jealous."
"Trip!"
"And ya can't expect the Captain to put T'Pol on report for being beautiful," Tucker continued, he gestured gallantly and extravagantly "Not unless he writes you and several other female crewmembers up alongside her."
"All of whom conform to Starfleet standards of dress…," Hoshi began, losing the battle to match Trip's impish grin.
"T'Pol isn't in Starfleet," Trip countered. "Hell, it took a while to get used to everything else about our Vulcan and this lettin' her hair down is just more of the same; I bet in a coupla' weeks no one will look twice."
"Fine," Hoshi heaved a put upon sigh and surrendered. Across the Mess Hall T'Pol rose gracefully, preparing to dispose of her tray and leave. Tucker leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "You could always invite her to your quarters some evening – do each others' hair, paint your nails, talk about guys, have a girls' night."
Hoshi smothered her laughter with her napkin, "How do you know so much about girls' nights, anyway?" She wished she could unsay it almost before she finished. Trip's tone was blanched of emotion as he replied.
"I had a sister."