A/N: Hello, here is my newest fic. I decided to do a one shot. I hope you enjoy it! Please Read and Review. Tell me what you think, even if you didn't like it. Constuctivecriticism is much welcomed but flames are not. Flames are completely unnecessary anyway. Okay, read on!
Disclaimer: Really, you have to bea special kind of stupid to actually think that I own Enterprise or any of its characters.
Hoishi returned to her quarters after a tiring twelve hour shift on the Bridge. She peeled off the blue uniform that seemed to be a second skin to her by now. She felt exhausted. She could hardly keep her head on her shoulders without it tipping over, it seemed to gain fifty pounds. Her temples throbbed and her eyes felt like sandpaper. She was about to changed into shorts and a tank-top so that she collapse unto her bed for a long slumber when her stomach protested. It let out a groan and she felt little pain prickling around its walls. She decided to go to the mess hall to eat enough food to satisfy her aching stomach. She put her uniform back on, after all, she was going to be in the mess hall for ten minutes at the most. She exited her quarters and started to make the short walk to the mess hall.
It didn't take her long. It was only two decks down after all. She entered the crowded room to the smell of tomato sauce and steak. She looked down the row of different foods that chef had prepared. Steak, spaghetti, biscuits, chicken soup…..mmmm, chicken soup. Her stomach growled after she passed her nose over the bowl of creamy chicken soup. She grabbed a small bowl and poured herself a small helping of the rich soup. She turned to finds a table to sit at. All of the tables had at least one person sitting at it. She scanned for Travis, who she usually sat with. She didn't see the tall, muscular man anywhere. She sighed. Hoishi hadn't made a lot of friends on the ship. She was too shy to talk to many people. She was close with Travis but whenever he wasn't there, she always found it hard to find a seat. She occasionally sat with Lieutenant Reed and sometimes even T'Pol, but they were no where to be seen. She scanned the room one more time and her brown eyes recognized the sandy hair of Commander Tucker.
His face was sulky. Eyes hooded, eyebrows squished together and the corners of his mouth turned downward. His head was in his left hand while his right held a fork that was tracing patterns in the untouched mashed potatoes and gravy that sat on the gray tray in front of him. His shoulders were slumped forward and you could see his right foot gently tapping to an unheard beat under the table.
Hoishi was hesitant to sit next to him. He was obviously in a very delicate state. Anything she said could make him mad and cause him to lash out at her. Trust her, she knew. Her heart had been broken before, she knew how the aftermath felt. She doubted that anyone on the ship didn't know what it felt like to have someone stomp on you heart, however unintentionally. After a minute or two of thinking, she decided to sit down next to him, after all, he did look lonely. Hoishi maneuvered through the tables to reach the gray two-seater that Trip was sitting at. She stood over the engineer, who hadn't noticed her.
"Um…" she started slowly, trying to get his attention, "Commander?" Trip slowly looked up, a mildly surprised look came over his features.
"Oh, yeah, go ahead." He said back to her, scouting his chair over a few feet so that she could pull up hers. His southern drawl dragged on a little, as though tired. Hoishi knew that he probably was tired. She smiled gently and sat down in the cold metal chair while setting her tray on the table in front of her. She pulled the chair forward so she was a few more inches closer to the table. She started to eat her soup but there wasn't a flow of conversation between the two officers.
"So…" Trip said after a few seconds of awkward silence, "I guess you heard…" Hoishi spoon paused slightly in her mouth. She soon was able to recover herself and remove it.
"Um….I've heard a lot of things…" Trip smiled slightly, mildly amused.
"About T'Pol. You know, her getting married and people thinking that we're in a relationship."
"Oh, that….yeah, a heard a thing or two about it." Trip sighed deeply, now creating a volcano with his potatoes, gravy slowly pouring down the edges of the tiny mountain. Hoishi continued with her soup, hoping that that was the end of it. A few more seconds of silence ensued when all you could her was the sound of forks hitting plates and light chatter throughout the mess hall.
"I mean, I guess I understand why she did it…."
"but you can't still but wonder why?" Hoishi responded after Trip had left off. Hoishi had straitened slightly, startled at Trip sudden talking, but she put down her spoon and listened to him intently. Trip nodded.
"Listen Commander, if you want me to leave I can, I'm almost done with my soup."
"No," Trip said suddenly. "no, don't leave. I'd like some company." Hoishi nodded back.
"You know Commander, I may not know exactly how you feel right now, but I have a pretty good idea. Maybe I can be of some help? I'm a good listener you know." Trip gave another small smile.
"I've heard. Thanks, Hoishi." Hoishi smiled back.
"Of coarse Commander, you my superior officer, but that doesn't mean that you're not my friend because you are. My friend that is." Trip smile grew ever so slightly wider.
"You're my friend too." He said to her, his smile quite wide now.
"So.." He said to her after a few more seconds, "You want to tell me your story about a love lost." Hoishi smiled.
"It's a boring story."
"That's okay."
"Alright, if you say so. It was about six years ago. I was still working in Brazil and I had a colleague who caught my eye. His name was Connor, he was the typical tall, dark, and handsome. We started dating not long after I met him. For me, it was almost love at first sight. Well, after a year he was transferred to a base outside of France. He didn't want a long distance relationship." Trip looked confused.
"Wait a minute," he asked Hoishi after she had finished her short story, "Brazil and France are only about two hours away but shuttle pod and you can always contact each other through a com channel." Hoishi smiled at him.
"I know. I told him that but he said that we would be too busy to come visit each other and that just talking to each other wouldn't be enough. Turns out that a month after he had moved out, he was spotted with a blond, kissing underneath the Eiffel Tower." Trip looked sympathetic.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. I've gotten over it by now but I remember how much it hurt back then. It hurts to get you heart broken." Trip nodded slowly, finally taking a bite out of his potatoes. Hoishi noticed that her bowl was empty. She felt pleasantly filled. She grabbed her tray.
"Well, I'm off. I'll see you a little later." She stood up, a slight screeching coming from the chair that she was pushing back. She turned to empty her plate.
"Hey, Hoishi." She heard Trip call at her. She turned to face him.
"Yeah."
"Are you going to go to Movie Night this Tuesday?"
"Um, I think so."
"Me, Travis and Reed are going as a group, wanna come?" Hoishi grinned at him.
"I'd love to."
A/N: So that was my first Enterprise fic. Tell me what you think. Remember, flame me and I'll have to hurt you.
