A/N: Just a little something inspired by "Her Voice" from the broadway version of 'The Little Mermaid' and "Hearing Her Voice" by Starsearcher. Set mid-series 2 (a.k.a. after "Dawn"). Hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Her Voice

...
And her voice
It's sweet as angels sighing
And her voice
It's warm as summer sky
And that sound
It haunts my dreams
And spins me 'round
Until it seems
I'm flying...
Her voice!
...

In his darkest moments, it was always her voice that would bring him back from the brink of despair.

Whether through coincidence or fate (he preferred the latter) just as he was about to give up completely, he would hear her voice and he would know that everything was going to be ok.

At first it had been easy to dismiss the effect her voice had on him, that it wasn't the sound of her voice but the knowledge that Enterprise was near that made the difference. That the sound of her voice merely heralded the comfort and safety that was at hand.

Then he'd started to admit to himself that, even on routine away missions that went like clockwork, hearing her voice when they returned elicited similar reassuring feelings. But it had still been easy to dismiss that as merely another comforting reminder that they were safely back.

Or so he'd thought.

Then he'd returned from his latest away mission and been greeted by the Captain instead, it wasn't the same.

It just didn't feel right being greeted by anyone else.

He told himself that his unsettled feelings were merely his concern for Hoshi who was sick rather than anything else. But the more he thought about it, the hollower that sounded.

Something was still off.

He sighed as he returned to his quarters; dropping his bag by the desk, he flopped on his bunk and stared up at the ceiling.

It took him much longer than it should have for him to get to sleep that night and the next morning his sense that something was off hadn't diminished. His inner grumbling dissipated as he caught sight of Hoshi sitting at their usual breakfast table.

"It's good to see you're up and about," he greeted her with a grin, taking his usual seat beside her.

She beamed at him, "Phlox thinks it was just a 24-hour thing, he's given me the all clear."

"I'm glad to hear it," he replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

"How was the away mission?" she asked, taking a bite of her muesli.

He shrugged a shoulder, "Fairly bland, we found the samples that T'Pol wanted and came back without incident. Nice and easy," he added with a smile, putting his coffee down and tucking into his pancakes.

"Well, it's nice to have you home," she said easily, squeezing his forearm lightly before taking a sip of her juice.

Trip's eyes flicked from his arm to her face, suddenly realising that the uneasy feeling he'd been carrying had gone with that simple statement.

Home.

He hadn't felt like he'd come home until that moment. He looked at her as though seeing her for the first time as he realised that it wasn't coming back to Enterprise that was reassuring, it was coming back to her.

She gave him an odd look as she caught him watching her, "What?"

He blinked, "Nothing," he assured her, turning his attention back to his pancakes, "just thinking."

Malcolm and Travis came to join them before she could comment, providing Trip with ample time to mull over this development.