A/N: I really, really want to thank everyone who has left reviews. Considering how fast I'm cranking out this story, each and every review is appreciated, as it helps encourage me to keep going. Believe it or not, the end is in sight, although there are still a number of chapters to go.

CHAPTER 25

Hoshi returned to the captain's cabin, only to stand stymied in the corridor in front of the door. Archer hadn't seen fit to give her the code. She had either been with him when they'd returned to the cabin, or T'Pol had unlocked it for her after they'd had lunch together.

She didn't want to call T'Pol to ask for the code; the Vulcan science officer and the rest of the bridge crew were probably still busy with the Andorians. There was also the captain's steward; she supposed she could page Cunningham, but she wasn't in the mood to wait on him to get there. Staring stubbornly at the keypad on the panel, she reasoned that if she deciphered the encryption now, she wouldn't have to face this dilemma again.

She considered breaking in through her own cabin door, but she wanted to hold that in reserve. So, it had to be captain's door. Archer might assume she'd had Cunningham open it for her like he had that one time, and he would be none the wiser that, if she wished, she could leave her cabin at any time.

She started pressing buttons. She was making good progress, figuring out three numbers quickly, when she heard herself being paged. From the crisp British accent, it had to be Reed. Belatedly she realized that he probably had some sort of alert on his bridge console that let him know if someone tried to tamper with access codes. It was, after all, something her Malcolm Reed would do.

With a sigh, she went to the closest intercom panel. "Sato here."

"Why aren't you in sickbay?" he demanded.

"The captain is out of surgery," she said. "I'm just going to change, then go right back." Reed didn't say anything, but she swore she could feel his disapproval emanating all the way from the bridge. He had told her to keep an eye on things in sickbay. She added, "Mayweather is with the captain."

"I'm unlocking the captain's cabin door," came the mollified response.

As much as Hoshi wanted to know the access code, now was not the time to quibble about how she got into the captain's cabin. She'd splash some water on her face, change her clothes, go back to sickbay, and let poor Mayweather have some down time. She was beginning to trust the bodyguard -- it was hard not to when he looked so much like her friend -- but she felt compelled to watch over Archer herself, if only for her own peace of mind. That, and she didn't trust Phlox as far as she could throw him.

She heard a faint click when the lock disengaged. Preoccupied with what she needed to do, she wasn't prepared for the canine rocket that almost knocked her over when she opened the door and stepped into the cabin.

"Dart!" she cried, trying to fend off the overjoyed doberman pinscher. "I forgot all about you. You must be hungry!"

The dog continued to jump and paw at her, barking all the while, until she told it sternly, "Sitzen Sie!" The dog immediately sat on its haunches. "Guter Hund," she told it. She motioned for it to stay, adding the verbal command, "Aufenhalt."

She went to the cabinet where Archer kept Dart's food, put some in the dog's bowl, and placed it on the floor in front of Dart. The dog immediately began eating.

Satisfied that Dart had been taken care of, she headed for the adjoining cabin. After washing her face, she changed into the lavender jumpsuit the captain had given her. She couldn't bring herself to throw away her old uniform jumpsuit, even if it was sans sleeves. She'd probably never wear it again, but it was the only physical reminder she had of her universe. Every time she wore something else, she felt as if she was sliding closer toward being stuck here forever.

Dart padded into her cabin and came over to sniff the uniform in her hands. Lost in thought, she absently scratched him behind his big pointy ears until he whined.

"You're wondering where he's at, aren't you, boy?" she said.

Dart licked her hand as if agreeing with her, then sat back and gazed up expectantly at her.

If the captain couldn't come to Dart, she thought, she'd just have to take Dart to him.

Reed cut the intercom connection after telling Sato he would unlock the door. It was a good thing they'd finished with the Andorian chancellor's ship, of which there was now only tiny bits of debris. Otherwise, he might have missed the small telltale that lit on his console when the lock on the captain's cabin was being breached.

He'd known it had to be Sato. Phlox had commed him not five minutes earlier to tell him that she'd left sickbay. He smiled sardonically. The doctor could be easily bullied, and had agreed to tell him the moment Sato left sickbay, which he had. Reed hadn't been sure he could depend on the woman from another universe to have the best interests of his captain at heart. Her departure from sickbay had seemed to prove he couldn't. That is, until she'd told him that she'd left her own personal bodyguard on duty to watch over Archer, and that she intended to return posthaste.

She was turning out to be full of surprises. Not only was she a linguistic genius, but she apparently had a fair amount of experience in decryption. He'd watched, first in amusement as he expected her to fail, then in surprise as she managed to get three of the five numbers of the code. That's when he had decided it was time to put an end to her hacking.

Reed didn't kid himself. He personally would never attempt to take advantage of the captain's unexpected incapacitation. He knew his own career was entwined with Archer's, and he wasn't about to kill his golden goose. Sato was in the same predicament; her welfare depended on the captain remaining in good health. Others, he thought darkly as he gazed down at the command chair where Tucker was sitting, might not be so inclined.

As soon as they were underway to Panmikar to help finish off the rest of the Andorian fleet, he'd stop by sickbay himself to check on the captain.

And maybe it was time to start thinking of Sato as an asset, instead of a captain's plaything to be used and discarded.

T'Pol was aware of the brief exchange between Reed and Sato. Her sensitive hearing was often overlooked by the human members of the crew. She had picked up many valuable pieces of information that way, some of which had been to her advantage.

From the gist of Reed's conversation, the human woman had become Archer's ally. That was an interesting turn of events. During their lunchtime conversations, T'Pol had come to the conclusion that Sato was biding her time, waiting for an opportunity to go back to her universe.

She glanced at Tucker in the command chair. She and the engineer had figured out how Sato had come to be here. With more analysis, it might be possible to send her back. The captain, however, had sworn both of them not to tell Sato of their findings. T'Pol, of course, hadn't told Sato. Archer would find a suitable punishment for her if she did. And Tucker rarely had contact with Sato, so he probably hadn't let the secret slip, either.

But Sato may have figured out on her own that Archer was the only obstacle to returning to her universe. She was quite intelligent for a human.

T'Pol was surprised Sato wasn't taking advantage of this opportunity to rid herself of Archer. Then again, the humans of Sato's universe weren't ruthless barbarians like those with whom she had to share this ship. Perhaps killing Archer wasn't an option for Sato. From the glimpse into Sato's mind, T'Pol realized she probably hadn't even considered it.

Despite her Vulcan control, she found herself wishing that, if Sato was to go back, she could go with her.

Poor Jonny was in sickbay, possibly breathing his last, Tucker mused as he watched the stars sliding past on main viewscreen. Too bad for Archer, but definitely an improvement for himself. He could get used to sitting in the captain's chair.

Sure, he got along with Archer, almost considered him a friend, but that didn't mean he'd pass up such an opportunity. He'd be a fool if he did. After all he'd done for the captain, where had it gotten him? Stuck in engineering, even though he was the first officer.

He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to where Archer's watchdog -- human watchdog -- was at the tactical console. Reed wouldn't willingly move up in rank at Archer's disposal. No, Reed was the sort who would move up in rank and still take his revenge, instead of being grateful.

If he did do anything, he'd have to be very careful.

Mayweather was idly wondering how long he'd have to stand watch when Sato walked into sickbay. He was somewhat surprised to see that she'd brought that walking buzzsaw with her. The captain's dog had a reputation for being very aggressive, but she appeared perfectly at ease with it.

She came straight into the curtained-off area. "How is he?" she asked.

"No change, ma'am," he answered.

She walked to the side of the biobed, the dog matching her pace, and pensively gazed at Archer's face. She gently laid her hand on the captain's forehead.

"No fever," she muttered softly. Then to him, "Has the doctor been in here since I left?"

"Once, ma'am."

"Did he do anything?"

Mayweather shrugged. "Checked readings, that's all."

Sato pulled a chair closer to the biobed. "Thanks for staying with him. Now why don't you go get something to eat and maybe get some sleep."

"Ma'am?" he asked, puzzled.

"I'll stay with him for now," she said as she sat down. "But later I'll want you to relieve me."

Now that they were back on the ship, his primary duty once again was to protect her, not the captain. He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut in before he could speak.

"You've been on duty all day," she said. "You were almost been blown up, were in a firefight, and lugged the captain off the Andorian ship. It's now close to twenty hundred hours. If you didn't eat anything before you came on duty this morning, you haven't eaten all day. I don't want you keeling over when I need you."

She sounded quite composed, considering she'd gone through the same things as he had. The bets down in the combat troop quarters were heavy that she would blow away like a leaf in the wind at the first sign of things going badly. His fellow soldiers had ridiculed him, saying he'd be a babysitter, not a bodyguard, which had rankled, even though he'd thought the same thing himself.

They'd all misjudged her. He couldn't wait to tell them how wrong they'd been, especially since he had placed a couple of bets in her favor. Long odds always appealed to him.

"Well, don't just stand there grinning like an idiot," she said. "Oh, and before you go, give me your phase pistol, just in case Dart here isn't enough of a deterrent."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, feeling his smile grow even bigger.

The chair in which Hoshi was sitting wasn't the most comfortable, but for that reason, she appreciated it. Even with Dart at her feet, she didn't want to fall asleep. Later, if she felt sleepy, she'd see if she could scrounge up some coffee.

She glanced down at the dog, which was lying on its stomach, relaxed yet alert. After Mayweather had left, she'd allowed Dart to put his front legs on the biobed so he could sniff Archer. Dart seemed to sense something was wrong, for he nudged Archer's arm with his nose. When Dart started to whine, Hoshi had pulled the dog away.

For the first time that day, she had a chance to think about her situation. As if she wasn't depressed enough, she thought ruefully. Archer had to pull through, or her chances of going home were kaput. She snorted at her unintentional use of a word of German origin, which in turn had originated from a French word. Not only was she starting to think in German, mainly because of the dog, but she was getting a definite etymological shift to her somewhat slap-happy mood. Not a good sign. She must be more tired than she realized.

Or it could just be reaction to everything that had happened today. Her hand holding Dart's leash had a slight tremor, she noticed. Not actually shaking, but she couldn't consciously control it.

She went back to studying Archer's face, so much like the man who commanded her Enterprise, but so different inside. Ever since she'd arrived in this universe, he'd been calling all the shots concerning her. That was going to have to change.