Title: Chibis Author: ZenosParadox Rating: G
Summary: RS, Tu, A, Ma. Sato plays nursemaid to Reed, Tucker, Archer and Mayweather when they are transformed into four-year olds, hence the title, Chibis.
Notes: 16 pages. Written August 8, 2003, and posted at LD. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
CHIBIS
Doctor Phlox was feeding his bat in sickbay when he heard strange noises coming from decon. When he looked through the observation window, he was amazed by what he saw. He adjusted his scanners, he even wiped his eyes and blinked a few times, but there had been no error. In the decontamination chamber there now existed not four adult human males, but four children. Luckily they were still male; however, their age had regressed to four years, give or take a few months.
One boy had light blonde hair and was jumping about giving merry chase to a happy dark-skinned youngster. Both were tripping over the hem of the tank tops they were wearing and Phlox could see their bare bottoms as they rose off the floor. Obviously the boxers had fallen off long ago. Phlox could see that the tank tops were falling off one shoulder and anticipated the two would soon be stark naked.
A third boy was standing on the bench decrying the unrest in the native population of the decon chamber. He at least had on a t-shirt. His verbal abilities were quite good, but he had a tendency to refer to his comrades as animals. Finally, Phlox found the fourth and last boy also dressed in a t-shirt. This one had dark hair, wide blue eyes, and was sitting very still on the bench as he scanned the activities of the others.
"Sub-commander T'Pol, Ensign Sato, would you please come to sickbay? We have an interesting development."
-----
Hoshi Sato stood beside T'Pol as they looked at the men--no, the boys sitting on the biobeds.
"They're chibis!" exclaimed Hoshi. At T'Pol's questioning glance, Hoshi explained, "They're generally drawings of a runt or child version of an adult in Japanese anime. Uh, never mind."
"I don't think I quite understand, Doctor. Tell me again how this happened?" asked T'Pol.
As Phlox explained that the mad scientist Meikon Gu seemed to have used the Enterprise officers as test subjects, Hoshi watched the boys in fascination. The chibi-Captain began a speech about the need for rats and mice to live together while the chibi-Engineer and chibi-Helmsman jumped off the beds only to climb up again. Luckily Phlox had quickly had t-shirts and shorts made for the boys so they were no longer butt-naked as they burned their energy.
The last boy Hoshi noticed was the chibi-Tactical Officer. The dark haired boy sat quietly absorbing everything going on around him, but not uttering a word. He suddenly turned to look at her with his big blue eyes and Hoshi smiled back at him. The chibified Reed smiled, then shrugged his shoulders and looked away shyly.
"...they maintain some memory of who they are, but they have the mind of four-year olds which means someone will have to supervise them until we catch up with Meikon Gu, the man responsible for this. I can only hope he has a way to reverse the process, Sub-commander."
Hoshi finally let herself be drawn into the conversation between T'Pol and Phlox and said, "That will be quite a job. I spent a summer working at a daycare once and went home exhausted every night. It's the toughest work I ever had."
"Then I think you will be ideal for the responsibilities, Ensign," said Phlox jubilantly.
"What?" Hoshi wasn't sure if Phlox meant what she thought he meant.
"It is the obvious solution, Ensign. You are in charge of the--chibis," confirmed the Vulcan.
"But--"
"I will take care of the dog," said T'Pol magnanimously.
"But--"
"I can assure you they're all toilet trained," said Phlox reassuringly, then added quietly, "I think."
"But--"
"We'll catch up to Meikon Gu in approximately twenty-four hours, Ensign. I suggest you introduce yourself to your charges. Doctor, if you need me, I will be on the bridge."
Hoshi thought T'Pol made a rather hasty exit for a Vulcan. Phlox put a reassuring hand on her shoulder--or perhaps a restraining one--and said, "I think you'll be perfect for seeing to the care of the chibis. They'll trust you."
"But three of them are my superior officers! This feels so odd." Hoshi shook her head.
"Just treat them as if they were your own children, Ensign. Perhaps that will help."
Hoshi knew Phlox was only trying to be helpful, but his statement made her feel old. Hoshi exhaled loudly. If she had wanted children at this point in her life, she would have married Fujito instead of working on her degree. She squared her shoulders and heard the boys making engine noises to add to their gymnastics. She was afraid she would be confined to her quarters with them. "The ship isn't safe for children their age, Doctor."
"I've had cots brought to decon along with any cushions we can find. The bathroom is accessible as is a shower."
"All right, I'll play nanny, but could you watch them for me while I go change out of my uniform? Kids can get messy."
------
As Hoshi changed her clothes, she reviewed the items that could be used to entertain the chibis. A screen or two for movies and simple video games would be useful. She assumed Chef could make some play dough for them since the recipe was so simple. Then she had another idea. She went to the intercom to call T'Pol.
"Sub-commander, I would like access into the officers' quarters. They might have brought items that would be useful in keeping the boys entertained."
"Very well, Ensign. I'll unlock their quarters for you. I expect you will be discrete in your search," said T'Pol.
"Absolutely," assured Hoshi and crossed her fingers. She really hoped she wouldn't find anything too embarrassing.
------
Hoshi surveyed the decon chamber looking pleased at her work. Five cots were arranged along one wall, a small table with short-legged chairs was at the opposite end, two consoles were available for videos and bins held the boy's favorite toys garnered from their quarters. Hoshi squared her shoulders and counted: 1400 minutes to go.
Hoshi entered the medical bay and met a cacophony of chibi sounds. "Ahem, boys? Boys!"
Doctor Phlox was running around trying to calm his animals while the boys were being boys. Hoshi rolled her eyes, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. TWEEET!
"That's cool. I wanna do it! I wanna do it!" said the chibi-Engineer.
"I'll teach you if you behave. Now, tell me your names."
"Tripper!"
"Trav!"
"Okay, and you want to be called?"
"I'm Jonny."
"Nice to meet you, Jonny," said Hoshi with a grin. Captain Jonny? She turned to the shy one who was now looking at the floor as his feet dangled off the bed. She asked quietly, "And you? What do you want to be called?"
The boy merely shrugged and remained silent. Hoshi went to his side and bent at the knees so she could look at him eye to eye. His gray-blue eyes looked into hers with the same intensity she often saw in her Malcolm before the boy let his gaze slide away.
"Can I call you Mal?"
The boy merely shrugged, wrinkled his nose, and sneezed.
"We call him Achoo!" said Tripper as he and Trav began jumping in place to see who could go highest.
"Well, I'll call him Mal. Let's see what Doctor Phlox has for your allergies, all right, Mal?"
The boy shrugged again, but finally spoke in a very quiet though nasally voice that carried his British accent. "Wat's your name?"
Hoshi squeezed his knee and said, "You can call me Cricket."
-----
"Cricket, Cricket, look at me!" said Tripper as he tried to stand on his head with Trav mimicking his every move.
"We need to see the right way, not upside down," insisted Jonny as he sat down to talk his colleagues out of their foolishness. Mal immediately took the cushions off the bench. They were almost as big as he was, but he dragged them and placed them beside either boy just in time for Tripper and Trav to plop onto them. The cushions made a whoosh noise the boys found delightful and all of them started giggling.
"Do again!" yelled Travis as he resumed his position with Tripper right behind him.
"Boys, you're going to get hurt if you--"
Plop, whoosh, giggle.
"--continue doing that. I want you--"
Plop, thunk, "OW!"
"I knew it. Come here, Tripper, let me see your boo-boo."
"Trav knocked my noggin," said the tow-headed boy as he rubbed his head.
"You'll be fine, but no more handstands," said Hoshi as she kissed the top of Tripper's head. All they needed was an addle-brained engineer at the end of this adventure. "Now, apologize, Trav."
"Sorry," said Trav with a smile and a tone of voice reflecting no remorse.
"Ouch."
Hoshi turned at the sound and looked behind her. Jonny had a cushion in his hands and Mal was rubbing his cheek.
"Jonny! Put down the cushion." Hoshi moved quickly to Mal and touched his cheek gently with her hand. She could already see a red mark appearing on the pale skin.
"But he said I could hit him," insisted Jonny.
"You're a lot bigger than Mal is, Jonny. I'm sure he only meant a small wallop," said Hoshi. Mal sat very still without crying but seemed to be expecting something. Hoshi brought her lips to peck his cheek and said, "Here. Now the boo-boo's all gone."
Mal looked down shyly, but Hoshi noticed the little smile that appeared on his face. It all became clear, so she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "But no more kissing boo-boos."
The dark-haired boy merely nodded.
-----
Hoshi could hear the chibis in the background as she helped Mal create his--well, she wasn't quite sure what they were--from play-dough.
"Hey! Gimmee!" yelled Trav as Tripper took the controls to a video game. The player had to pilot through obstacles in space and Trav had been fascinated by it.
"I just lookin'," said Tripper.
"No, you take it," said Trav with a crocodile tear appearing on his face.
Hoshi decided it was time to intervene. "Tripper, give the controls back to Trav. It's not polite just to take it. You have to ask."
Tripper merely dropped the controls and sat down by Jonny. Hoshi turned back to her play-dough creation thinking the situation was diffused. She monitored the other three chibis through her peripheral vision.
Soon Jonny and Tripper were rocking on their bottoms sideways, bumping into each other. This made them giggle. They then rocked forwards and backwards. That wasn't much fun. Jonny then executed a brilliant maneuver where he did a complete roll on his bottom to land in a sitting position. Hoshi could have predicted that Tripper would try to emulate Jonny and, sure enough, he did. All was peaceful in the bedlam known as decon for the moment.
"Can I play with it now?" Tripper was asking Trav for a turn on a video game after having exhausted his efforts to follow his roll model.
"No."
"How about now?" asked Tripper ten seconds later as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"No."
"You'll let me play, won't you?" asked Jonny of Trav as he also came to stand behind the boy.
"No."
"CRICKET!" Both Jonny and Tripper called to Hoshi.
Hoshi walked away from Mal and called the three chibis together. "Come stand over here. Now tell me the problem."
"He won't let me play. He has to be fair. That's the way to get along. You have to be fair," insisted Jonny.
"I wanna go first!" insisted Tripper.
"All right, boys, this is what--" Hoshi looked up when she heard the sounds of the game going again. While the boys had been complaining to Hoshi, Mal had calmly walked over and begun playing the game. "Mal? I think you need to listen to this, too."
Mal got off two quick shots at an asteroid that was in the path of his virtual space cruiser and the boys immediately ran to his side.
"I didn't know we shoot," said Trav as he jumped up and down in delight.
"I just wanna make it go fast," said Tripper. "Does shooting make ya go faster?"
"I just want to see what's out there," insisted Jonny. "No shooting."
Hoshi gently touched Mal's shoulder and said, "Okay, time to get off. You boys are going to take turns. Now, first will be--"
The Ensign looked around to find the console deserted except for Trav. Mal had slipped out as soon as she had touched him and was back creating his creations. Tripper was going through a bin and tossing out billions of interconnecting blocks with a grin of sheer delight on his face. Jonny was emptying another bin. He carefully removed the plastic animals and sorted them by categories around him.
"Well, since the boys are otherwise occupied, you can have fun with this game until lunch, Trav. Then we'll start turns."
Trav just grinned and grabbed the controls. Flying AND shooting. Now he could really pretend to be the captain of his own ship. What more could anyone want?
Hoshi looked at the chibis and sighed. Only 1300 more minutes to go.
-----
"All right, all hands need to be clean. Tripper, did you remember to wash your hands?" asked Hoshi suspiciously. The boys were indeed potty trained, although Jonny had complained about someone not flushing.
Tripper nodded enthusiastically at Hoshi and blinked his eyes. A lady killer at a young age, thought Hoshi, before asking, "Then why are your hands so dry?"
"I forgot, Cricket" said Tripper, then dashed back to the bathroom sink with Trav following him calling, "Me, too."
Mal and Jonny's hands were still damp, so Hoshi dried them further with a washcloth. At that moment she heard the splashing. Turning to Mal and Jonny she said sternly, "Don't move a muscle."
Flick, flick, flick, splash. Giggle.
"Tripper, you can wash your hair tonight when you take a bath." Hoshi turned off the faucet. Trav had obligingly dripped water on Tripper's head, so Hoshi took another towel to quickly dry off the boy.
"You're a rooster," cried Trav as he pointed at Tripper. Indeed, the boy's hair was standing on end.
"Trav, that's not nice," said Hoshi with a smile. She grabbed a comb to flatten the hair.
"But I wanna be a rooster," insisted Trip.
"Maybe later. Right now we need to eat lunch."
"Yay!" yelled the boys as they ran to the table.
"And then it will be time for a nap."
"Aw."
As they approached the lunch table, Hoshi looked at Mal and Jonny who remained frozen in place. Obviously they had taken her literally and were now in a contest on who could remain immobile the longest. "You can move now, boys."
Jonny and Mal frowned at having their game disturbed, but walked over to the table.
"Yay! Red jello!" Trav just exuded enthusiasm for everything.
"Try to eat everything on your plate--and use your forks," said Hoshi as the boys grabbed the macaroni noodles with their hands.
Lunch proceeded until Hoshi felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to find Mal pointing to her dessert. Tripper's little hand was slowly reaching for it. His strategy was clear. Poke a finger into her piece of cake and the dessert would be his. Hoshi calmly moved the cake between her and Mal.
She squeezed Mal's hand, but the boy ducked his head again. She whispered into his ear, "Thank you, Mal."
"Welcome, Kwicket," said the boy.
-----
The soft music was playing as the chibis settled down for their afternoon nap. Tripper and Trav had insisted they didn't need a nap and had curled up to sulk. Jonny kept shushing them, but within five minutes the whining stopped and the snoring commenced. Jonny settled down for a peaceful sleep.
Mal, however, had his eyes wide open although he was staying perfectly still. Once the rest of the boys were asleep, Hoshi sat beside his cot. "Go to sleep, Mal. You need to rest so you can grow."
Mal frowned at her words. "Da say I always small, Kwicket."
Hoshi pressed her lips together knowing that Lieutenant Reed would grow to be quite a compact man although his presence seemed that of a much larger one. She smiled gently as she considered what to say. "You'll be taller than I am."
Mal seemed to consider this, then he smiled, but he still wouldn't close his eyes. "Mal, you need to close your eyes to take your nap."
"I miss Sham," said Mal.
"Sham?"
"My bunny, Sham," said Mal with a sigh.
"Oh, is he a pet or a tuckie toy, a toy you sleep with?" asked Hoshi.
"Tuckie," replied Mal.
"Then I think I know where he is," said Hoshi.
She walked to one of the lockers at the other end of the room and pulled out the small stuffed animal, Sham. The green bunny was no taller than her hand and one could barely discern that his tail had once been a fluffy white. The bunny's ears were threadbare along the edges as if a child had stroked them a lot. She had found Sham in the back of one of Reed's drawers and would have ignored the stuffed toy if not for a protruding green ear.
Hoshi brought the bunny to Mal and watched his eyes widen in delight. He hugged the bunny to his neck and smiled as he closed his eyes tightly. Hoshi patted the boy on the back for a few minutes and felt him relaxing and falling asleep. She would make sure to put the fragile toy back in the locker for safekeeping once the nap was finished. As soon as she heard Mal's regular breathing, she went to her cot to read quietly. Peace at last and only 1100 minutes to go.
-----
"Here are the rules. We're going for a walk around the ship. As soon as anyone of you acts up, we'll head back to decon. Rule number one: Stay by me. Rule number two: Don't touch any buttons. Rule number three: Keep your voices down." Hoshi surveyed her chibis who looked quite refreshed after their nap.
"I wanna lead, I wanna lead!" Tripper, Jonny and Trav were jumping up and down with their hands in the air.
"All right, two of you can lead and two of you hold my hands. Then we'll switch on the way back." Hoshi smiled as she felt a little hand immediately grasping hers. Of course it was Mal. She was surprised when her other hand was taken by Trav.
"Come on, Cricket, they go fast!" Trav exclaimed as he tugged on her hand. He was practically dragging Hoshi along so that Tripper and Jonny didn't get too far ahead.
The brief tour of the ship served to get some of the boys' energy spent. They had seen the engines and Hoshi could see Tripper falling in love with them. They all got a chance to sit in the Captain's chair with T'Pol merely quirking her eyebrow during the demonstration. Hoshi avoided the Armory entirely, but a quick snack in the mess hall was followed by a short visit to hydroponics wherein a game of hide-and-seek ensued. Hoshi could detect the chibis from the convex mirrors on the ceiling of hydroponics, so she let them play.
"I count! I count!" insisted Jonny. He hid his head in his arms and began his count as Tripper and Trav went behind some plants. "One, two, three, seven, six, nine, five..."
"You better hurry and hide, Mal." Hoshi knelt by the boy.
"I sneeze, Kwicket," he quietly admitted after shaking his head no.
Hoshi nodded in understanding. The boy was used to avoiding plants because of his allergies. "Let's go over here and watch then."
Hoshi sat down with Mal on her lap as she quietly pointed out the mirrors above them that allowed her to monitor the other three boys. Mal was clearly fascinated and seemed to enjoy watching the others play. After several rounds, Hoshi felt Mal reaching for something when she felt a tug on the arm that held him on her lap.
"Be careful, you might fall." Then Hoshi looked down to see what Mal was reaching. A blossom had fallen off of the miniature cherry tree they were under.
The boy held the flower in his hand and extended it to Hoshi.
"Is this for me?"
Mal nodded, then turned away shyly.
Hoshi blinked a few times as she held the small blossom in the palm of her hand. She remembered her own childhood where every spring meant a visit to Tokyo and the cherry blossoms. She had been too busy to do it since she began her studies in college. She closed her eyes for a moment and could almost feel the soft breeze on her face as the wind tossed the petals from the blossoms like rain. Hoshi gave Mal a light hug and said, "Thank you."
"Welcome, Kwicket."
*****
Summary: RS, Tu, A, Ma. Sato plays nursemaid to Reed, Tucker, Archer and Mayweather when they are transformed into four-year olds, hence the title, Chibis.
Notes: 16 pages. Written August 8, 2003, and posted at LD. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
CHIBIS
Doctor Phlox was feeding his bat in sickbay when he heard strange noises coming from decon. When he looked through the observation window, he was amazed by what he saw. He adjusted his scanners, he even wiped his eyes and blinked a few times, but there had been no error. In the decontamination chamber there now existed not four adult human males, but four children. Luckily they were still male; however, their age had regressed to four years, give or take a few months.
One boy had light blonde hair and was jumping about giving merry chase to a happy dark-skinned youngster. Both were tripping over the hem of the tank tops they were wearing and Phlox could see their bare bottoms as they rose off the floor. Obviously the boxers had fallen off long ago. Phlox could see that the tank tops were falling off one shoulder and anticipated the two would soon be stark naked.
A third boy was standing on the bench decrying the unrest in the native population of the decon chamber. He at least had on a t-shirt. His verbal abilities were quite good, but he had a tendency to refer to his comrades as animals. Finally, Phlox found the fourth and last boy also dressed in a t-shirt. This one had dark hair, wide blue eyes, and was sitting very still on the bench as he scanned the activities of the others.
"Sub-commander T'Pol, Ensign Sato, would you please come to sickbay? We have an interesting development."
-----
Hoshi Sato stood beside T'Pol as they looked at the men--no, the boys sitting on the biobeds.
"They're chibis!" exclaimed Hoshi. At T'Pol's questioning glance, Hoshi explained, "They're generally drawings of a runt or child version of an adult in Japanese anime. Uh, never mind."
"I don't think I quite understand, Doctor. Tell me again how this happened?" asked T'Pol.
As Phlox explained that the mad scientist Meikon Gu seemed to have used the Enterprise officers as test subjects, Hoshi watched the boys in fascination. The chibi-Captain began a speech about the need for rats and mice to live together while the chibi-Engineer and chibi-Helmsman jumped off the beds only to climb up again. Luckily Phlox had quickly had t-shirts and shorts made for the boys so they were no longer butt-naked as they burned their energy.
The last boy Hoshi noticed was the chibi-Tactical Officer. The dark haired boy sat quietly absorbing everything going on around him, but not uttering a word. He suddenly turned to look at her with his big blue eyes and Hoshi smiled back at him. The chibified Reed smiled, then shrugged his shoulders and looked away shyly.
"...they maintain some memory of who they are, but they have the mind of four-year olds which means someone will have to supervise them until we catch up with Meikon Gu, the man responsible for this. I can only hope he has a way to reverse the process, Sub-commander."
Hoshi finally let herself be drawn into the conversation between T'Pol and Phlox and said, "That will be quite a job. I spent a summer working at a daycare once and went home exhausted every night. It's the toughest work I ever had."
"Then I think you will be ideal for the responsibilities, Ensign," said Phlox jubilantly.
"What?" Hoshi wasn't sure if Phlox meant what she thought he meant.
"It is the obvious solution, Ensign. You are in charge of the--chibis," confirmed the Vulcan.
"But--"
"I will take care of the dog," said T'Pol magnanimously.
"But--"
"I can assure you they're all toilet trained," said Phlox reassuringly, then added quietly, "I think."
"But--"
"We'll catch up to Meikon Gu in approximately twenty-four hours, Ensign. I suggest you introduce yourself to your charges. Doctor, if you need me, I will be on the bridge."
Hoshi thought T'Pol made a rather hasty exit for a Vulcan. Phlox put a reassuring hand on her shoulder--or perhaps a restraining one--and said, "I think you'll be perfect for seeing to the care of the chibis. They'll trust you."
"But three of them are my superior officers! This feels so odd." Hoshi shook her head.
"Just treat them as if they were your own children, Ensign. Perhaps that will help."
Hoshi knew Phlox was only trying to be helpful, but his statement made her feel old. Hoshi exhaled loudly. If she had wanted children at this point in her life, she would have married Fujito instead of working on her degree. She squared her shoulders and heard the boys making engine noises to add to their gymnastics. She was afraid she would be confined to her quarters with them. "The ship isn't safe for children their age, Doctor."
"I've had cots brought to decon along with any cushions we can find. The bathroom is accessible as is a shower."
"All right, I'll play nanny, but could you watch them for me while I go change out of my uniform? Kids can get messy."
------
As Hoshi changed her clothes, she reviewed the items that could be used to entertain the chibis. A screen or two for movies and simple video games would be useful. She assumed Chef could make some play dough for them since the recipe was so simple. Then she had another idea. She went to the intercom to call T'Pol.
"Sub-commander, I would like access into the officers' quarters. They might have brought items that would be useful in keeping the boys entertained."
"Very well, Ensign. I'll unlock their quarters for you. I expect you will be discrete in your search," said T'Pol.
"Absolutely," assured Hoshi and crossed her fingers. She really hoped she wouldn't find anything too embarrassing.
------
Hoshi surveyed the decon chamber looking pleased at her work. Five cots were arranged along one wall, a small table with short-legged chairs was at the opposite end, two consoles were available for videos and bins held the boy's favorite toys garnered from their quarters. Hoshi squared her shoulders and counted: 1400 minutes to go.
Hoshi entered the medical bay and met a cacophony of chibi sounds. "Ahem, boys? Boys!"
Doctor Phlox was running around trying to calm his animals while the boys were being boys. Hoshi rolled her eyes, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. TWEEET!
"That's cool. I wanna do it! I wanna do it!" said the chibi-Engineer.
"I'll teach you if you behave. Now, tell me your names."
"Tripper!"
"Trav!"
"Okay, and you want to be called?"
"I'm Jonny."
"Nice to meet you, Jonny," said Hoshi with a grin. Captain Jonny? She turned to the shy one who was now looking at the floor as his feet dangled off the bed. She asked quietly, "And you? What do you want to be called?"
The boy merely shrugged and remained silent. Hoshi went to his side and bent at the knees so she could look at him eye to eye. His gray-blue eyes looked into hers with the same intensity she often saw in her Malcolm before the boy let his gaze slide away.
"Can I call you Mal?"
The boy merely shrugged, wrinkled his nose, and sneezed.
"We call him Achoo!" said Tripper as he and Trav began jumping in place to see who could go highest.
"Well, I'll call him Mal. Let's see what Doctor Phlox has for your allergies, all right, Mal?"
The boy shrugged again, but finally spoke in a very quiet though nasally voice that carried his British accent. "Wat's your name?"
Hoshi squeezed his knee and said, "You can call me Cricket."
-----
"Cricket, Cricket, look at me!" said Tripper as he tried to stand on his head with Trav mimicking his every move.
"We need to see the right way, not upside down," insisted Jonny as he sat down to talk his colleagues out of their foolishness. Mal immediately took the cushions off the bench. They were almost as big as he was, but he dragged them and placed them beside either boy just in time for Tripper and Trav to plop onto them. The cushions made a whoosh noise the boys found delightful and all of them started giggling.
"Do again!" yelled Travis as he resumed his position with Tripper right behind him.
"Boys, you're going to get hurt if you--"
Plop, whoosh, giggle.
"--continue doing that. I want you--"
Plop, thunk, "OW!"
"I knew it. Come here, Tripper, let me see your boo-boo."
"Trav knocked my noggin," said the tow-headed boy as he rubbed his head.
"You'll be fine, but no more handstands," said Hoshi as she kissed the top of Tripper's head. All they needed was an addle-brained engineer at the end of this adventure. "Now, apologize, Trav."
"Sorry," said Trav with a smile and a tone of voice reflecting no remorse.
"Ouch."
Hoshi turned at the sound and looked behind her. Jonny had a cushion in his hands and Mal was rubbing his cheek.
"Jonny! Put down the cushion." Hoshi moved quickly to Mal and touched his cheek gently with her hand. She could already see a red mark appearing on the pale skin.
"But he said I could hit him," insisted Jonny.
"You're a lot bigger than Mal is, Jonny. I'm sure he only meant a small wallop," said Hoshi. Mal sat very still without crying but seemed to be expecting something. Hoshi brought her lips to peck his cheek and said, "Here. Now the boo-boo's all gone."
Mal looked down shyly, but Hoshi noticed the little smile that appeared on his face. It all became clear, so she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "But no more kissing boo-boos."
The dark-haired boy merely nodded.
-----
Hoshi could hear the chibis in the background as she helped Mal create his--well, she wasn't quite sure what they were--from play-dough.
"Hey! Gimmee!" yelled Trav as Tripper took the controls to a video game. The player had to pilot through obstacles in space and Trav had been fascinated by it.
"I just lookin'," said Tripper.
"No, you take it," said Trav with a crocodile tear appearing on his face.
Hoshi decided it was time to intervene. "Tripper, give the controls back to Trav. It's not polite just to take it. You have to ask."
Tripper merely dropped the controls and sat down by Jonny. Hoshi turned back to her play-dough creation thinking the situation was diffused. She monitored the other three chibis through her peripheral vision.
Soon Jonny and Tripper were rocking on their bottoms sideways, bumping into each other. This made them giggle. They then rocked forwards and backwards. That wasn't much fun. Jonny then executed a brilliant maneuver where he did a complete roll on his bottom to land in a sitting position. Hoshi could have predicted that Tripper would try to emulate Jonny and, sure enough, he did. All was peaceful in the bedlam known as decon for the moment.
"Can I play with it now?" Tripper was asking Trav for a turn on a video game after having exhausted his efforts to follow his roll model.
"No."
"How about now?" asked Tripper ten seconds later as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"No."
"You'll let me play, won't you?" asked Jonny of Trav as he also came to stand behind the boy.
"No."
"CRICKET!" Both Jonny and Tripper called to Hoshi.
Hoshi walked away from Mal and called the three chibis together. "Come stand over here. Now tell me the problem."
"He won't let me play. He has to be fair. That's the way to get along. You have to be fair," insisted Jonny.
"I wanna go first!" insisted Tripper.
"All right, boys, this is what--" Hoshi looked up when she heard the sounds of the game going again. While the boys had been complaining to Hoshi, Mal had calmly walked over and begun playing the game. "Mal? I think you need to listen to this, too."
Mal got off two quick shots at an asteroid that was in the path of his virtual space cruiser and the boys immediately ran to his side.
"I didn't know we shoot," said Trav as he jumped up and down in delight.
"I just wanna make it go fast," said Tripper. "Does shooting make ya go faster?"
"I just want to see what's out there," insisted Jonny. "No shooting."
Hoshi gently touched Mal's shoulder and said, "Okay, time to get off. You boys are going to take turns. Now, first will be--"
The Ensign looked around to find the console deserted except for Trav. Mal had slipped out as soon as she had touched him and was back creating his creations. Tripper was going through a bin and tossing out billions of interconnecting blocks with a grin of sheer delight on his face. Jonny was emptying another bin. He carefully removed the plastic animals and sorted them by categories around him.
"Well, since the boys are otherwise occupied, you can have fun with this game until lunch, Trav. Then we'll start turns."
Trav just grinned and grabbed the controls. Flying AND shooting. Now he could really pretend to be the captain of his own ship. What more could anyone want?
Hoshi looked at the chibis and sighed. Only 1300 more minutes to go.
-----
"All right, all hands need to be clean. Tripper, did you remember to wash your hands?" asked Hoshi suspiciously. The boys were indeed potty trained, although Jonny had complained about someone not flushing.
Tripper nodded enthusiastically at Hoshi and blinked his eyes. A lady killer at a young age, thought Hoshi, before asking, "Then why are your hands so dry?"
"I forgot, Cricket" said Tripper, then dashed back to the bathroom sink with Trav following him calling, "Me, too."
Mal and Jonny's hands were still damp, so Hoshi dried them further with a washcloth. At that moment she heard the splashing. Turning to Mal and Jonny she said sternly, "Don't move a muscle."
Flick, flick, flick, splash. Giggle.
"Tripper, you can wash your hair tonight when you take a bath." Hoshi turned off the faucet. Trav had obligingly dripped water on Tripper's head, so Hoshi took another towel to quickly dry off the boy.
"You're a rooster," cried Trav as he pointed at Tripper. Indeed, the boy's hair was standing on end.
"Trav, that's not nice," said Hoshi with a smile. She grabbed a comb to flatten the hair.
"But I wanna be a rooster," insisted Trip.
"Maybe later. Right now we need to eat lunch."
"Yay!" yelled the boys as they ran to the table.
"And then it will be time for a nap."
"Aw."
As they approached the lunch table, Hoshi looked at Mal and Jonny who remained frozen in place. Obviously they had taken her literally and were now in a contest on who could remain immobile the longest. "You can move now, boys."
Jonny and Mal frowned at having their game disturbed, but walked over to the table.
"Yay! Red jello!" Trav just exuded enthusiasm for everything.
"Try to eat everything on your plate--and use your forks," said Hoshi as the boys grabbed the macaroni noodles with their hands.
Lunch proceeded until Hoshi felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to find Mal pointing to her dessert. Tripper's little hand was slowly reaching for it. His strategy was clear. Poke a finger into her piece of cake and the dessert would be his. Hoshi calmly moved the cake between her and Mal.
She squeezed Mal's hand, but the boy ducked his head again. She whispered into his ear, "Thank you, Mal."
"Welcome, Kwicket," said the boy.
-----
The soft music was playing as the chibis settled down for their afternoon nap. Tripper and Trav had insisted they didn't need a nap and had curled up to sulk. Jonny kept shushing them, but within five minutes the whining stopped and the snoring commenced. Jonny settled down for a peaceful sleep.
Mal, however, had his eyes wide open although he was staying perfectly still. Once the rest of the boys were asleep, Hoshi sat beside his cot. "Go to sleep, Mal. You need to rest so you can grow."
Mal frowned at her words. "Da say I always small, Kwicket."
Hoshi pressed her lips together knowing that Lieutenant Reed would grow to be quite a compact man although his presence seemed that of a much larger one. She smiled gently as she considered what to say. "You'll be taller than I am."
Mal seemed to consider this, then he smiled, but he still wouldn't close his eyes. "Mal, you need to close your eyes to take your nap."
"I miss Sham," said Mal.
"Sham?"
"My bunny, Sham," said Mal with a sigh.
"Oh, is he a pet or a tuckie toy, a toy you sleep with?" asked Hoshi.
"Tuckie," replied Mal.
"Then I think I know where he is," said Hoshi.
She walked to one of the lockers at the other end of the room and pulled out the small stuffed animal, Sham. The green bunny was no taller than her hand and one could barely discern that his tail had once been a fluffy white. The bunny's ears were threadbare along the edges as if a child had stroked them a lot. She had found Sham in the back of one of Reed's drawers and would have ignored the stuffed toy if not for a protruding green ear.
Hoshi brought the bunny to Mal and watched his eyes widen in delight. He hugged the bunny to his neck and smiled as he closed his eyes tightly. Hoshi patted the boy on the back for a few minutes and felt him relaxing and falling asleep. She would make sure to put the fragile toy back in the locker for safekeeping once the nap was finished. As soon as she heard Mal's regular breathing, she went to her cot to read quietly. Peace at last and only 1100 minutes to go.
-----
"Here are the rules. We're going for a walk around the ship. As soon as anyone of you acts up, we'll head back to decon. Rule number one: Stay by me. Rule number two: Don't touch any buttons. Rule number three: Keep your voices down." Hoshi surveyed her chibis who looked quite refreshed after their nap.
"I wanna lead, I wanna lead!" Tripper, Jonny and Trav were jumping up and down with their hands in the air.
"All right, two of you can lead and two of you hold my hands. Then we'll switch on the way back." Hoshi smiled as she felt a little hand immediately grasping hers. Of course it was Mal. She was surprised when her other hand was taken by Trav.
"Come on, Cricket, they go fast!" Trav exclaimed as he tugged on her hand. He was practically dragging Hoshi along so that Tripper and Jonny didn't get too far ahead.
The brief tour of the ship served to get some of the boys' energy spent. They had seen the engines and Hoshi could see Tripper falling in love with them. They all got a chance to sit in the Captain's chair with T'Pol merely quirking her eyebrow during the demonstration. Hoshi avoided the Armory entirely, but a quick snack in the mess hall was followed by a short visit to hydroponics wherein a game of hide-and-seek ensued. Hoshi could detect the chibis from the convex mirrors on the ceiling of hydroponics, so she let them play.
"I count! I count!" insisted Jonny. He hid his head in his arms and began his count as Tripper and Trav went behind some plants. "One, two, three, seven, six, nine, five..."
"You better hurry and hide, Mal." Hoshi knelt by the boy.
"I sneeze, Kwicket," he quietly admitted after shaking his head no.
Hoshi nodded in understanding. The boy was used to avoiding plants because of his allergies. "Let's go over here and watch then."
Hoshi sat down with Mal on her lap as she quietly pointed out the mirrors above them that allowed her to monitor the other three boys. Mal was clearly fascinated and seemed to enjoy watching the others play. After several rounds, Hoshi felt Mal reaching for something when she felt a tug on the arm that held him on her lap.
"Be careful, you might fall." Then Hoshi looked down to see what Mal was reaching. A blossom had fallen off of the miniature cherry tree they were under.
The boy held the flower in his hand and extended it to Hoshi.
"Is this for me?"
Mal nodded, then turned away shyly.
Hoshi blinked a few times as she held the small blossom in the palm of her hand. She remembered her own childhood where every spring meant a visit to Tokyo and the cherry blossoms. She had been too busy to do it since she began her studies in college. She closed her eyes for a moment and could almost feel the soft breeze on her face as the wind tossed the petals from the blossoms like rain. Hoshi gave Mal a light hug and said, "Thank you."
"Welcome, Kwicket."
*****