Disclaimer:- Not mine, never mine. I don't own them. I'm just borrowing them to have a little play......and I promise to have them back by midnight. Or maybe 1am...;)

Dedication: - To my lilic-lovin' poofy bitch Bally!! Rampant Vulcan Lesbian and beta reader extraordinare!! ;)

~ Chapter 3 ~

Malcolm woke up slowly, his body trying to deny the obvious hangover that was beating at his temples. His internal clock was reminding him he had to see Dr. Phlox that morning and though he wanted to sleep more it was no good. He fought through the cotton wool in his mind to full wakefulness.

Eyes still closed Malcolm realised that someone was in bed with him, in his arms. His eyes snapped open to see the smooth sloping back and sandy blonde hair of Trip, his own arms wrapped around him. The night's events came flooding back. He and the Commander had drunk a whole bottle of whiskey and practically all of a bottle of brandy. Most of it off each others naked bodies, licking the alcohol from the most intimate of places before moving on to... well... more intimate acts.

It was not the first time Malcolm Reed had slept with a man. Somewhat quiet he may be, but close-minded he was not, however this was the first time he had ended up sleeping with a colleague, and commanding officer too boot. Was this going to be bad? He was reasonably happy with he events of the night before, but how was Trip going to react? They had been fairly drunk... and people often did things when drunk that they would never do sober. And the things they had done the night before were definite examples.

Malcolm shifted his hips slightly away from Trip. He did not want Trip to wake up with his early morning arousal, compounded by remembering the previous night, pressed into his backside. He might not appreciate it.

As Malcolm moved it allowed some cooler air to drift in between the two men. Trip roused, stretching in his arms, running his hands along Malcolm's. He turned so that he was facing him, head resting in the crook between the other man's shoulder and neck. His breath was warm on Malcolm's skin. Trip's body was pressed up against his own, revealing that he was not the only one "up" this early.

"Mornin'." Trip's voice was gruff with sleep. Malcolm could feel his stubble rubbing slightly roughly in his collarbone. The feeling was not unpleasant.

"Morning." He wrestled in his mind with something to say. Something witty? Soppy? Sexual? How about 'Hey Commander, will I get a promotion quicker now?'. Or 'Gee, is that a phase pistol in the bed with us?'. The mental image was so amusing Malcolm chuckled slightly. Trip lifted his head up to look at him, blue eyes tantalisingly close.

"What?" Malcolm could see the question in the other man's eyes and a thought struck him suddenly. Trip was just as worried about his reaction. He smiled slightly.

"Just marvelling at how awkward waking up can be, especially with a commanding officer..." Malcolm threw in the last, hoping Trip would take the hint without him having to ask outright. The blonde man grinned at him again and kissed him.

"Rank doesn't matter in here." He murmured between kisses. Malcolm pulled him closer. They had experimented with almost all positions the night before, finding that Malcolm preferred to take top, Trip bottom. No. Rank had not mattered one bit.

Malcolm pulled away. "Much as I want to see where this goes, I have Dr. Phlox waiting for me." He said, knowing that the last thing he wanted was the Doctor contacting him in the middle of something with Trip.

Trip rolled his eyes. "Trust the Doc to ruin a good moment." He moved against Malcolm. "But I do have to have breakfast with the Cap'n too."

Malcolm stretched again. "Well, we'd better get up. I need to have a shower quickly." Trip's eyes lit up at the mention of a shower. Malcolm grinned. "However, I think it would be better to shower alone in the sake of speed." Trip rolled his eyes again and climbed out of the bed.

"Spoil sport." He said, grinning back. Malcolm was letting his eyes follow the contours of his body, enjoying the sight. "Wanna meet back here later?" Trip added, watching Malcolm's face. Malcolm nodded.

"Sure." He paused. "And maybe then we should have 'The Talk'. Trip grinned at him.

"'The Talk' eh? Yeah. That might be a good idea!" Malcolm stood up and kissed Trip. They were about the same height, making it easier. Why had he not thought about this before? Maybe because Trip did not strike as the kind of man who would sleep with other men. But then, neither was he really. 'The Talk' might bring up some interesting facts.

~

Malcolm walked into sickbay, wincing slightly at the bright lights.

"Hangover Mr. Reed?" The Doctor seemed as bright and happy as ever. It hurt Malcolm's hangover bruised brain. He nodded slightly. "Well, I think I can give you something for that." Malcolm accepted the painkiller and lay down on one of the beds.

"Any pain? Problems" Dr. Phlox asked him.

"Aside from the self inflicted hangover, no, nothing." There were other parts of his body aching slightly from the previous night's activities, but he was not going to admit them to Dr. Phlox. He fought to suppress a grin.

"Good night then?"

"Yes, you could say that." Malcolm could not stop the grin this time. He saw the Doctor's eyebrow raise, but he declined comment as he performed tests. It was over fairly soon.

"Well, you seem to have suffered no permanent physical ill effects." The Doctor stated, letting Malcolm sit back up. "And nightmares? Anything like that?" Malcolm shook his head. "Nothing at all?" Dr. Phlox pressed the matter.

"No. Not that I can recall." Malcolm told him. The Doctor seemed to be waiting for more. " Well it was unsettling, facing death, thinking you were all dead, but I had company. Commander Tucker was pretty good at getting me riled enough to not think about it." Malcolm smiled, trying not to think of the double entendre. The Doctor just nodded.

Malcolm jumped down off the bed. "So can I go?" The Doctor looked as though he might ask something else, but then nodded again.

"If you need anything else for the... Hangover though just come back." Malcolm noticed the pause before "Hangover." Did the Doctor know? He wondered how thorough the scans were. It brought up an interesting point though. Were people going to know what was going on? And did he want them to know? Something else for 'The Talk'.

Malcolm headed to the mess. He would think more clearly with some coffee inside him. Then back to Trip's. Neither one of them were on duty today, that being why he had agreed to the drink, so it left all day to talk and...finish what had barely begun that morning. Malcolm smiled at the prospect. Maybe being trapped in the shuttlepod had not been such a bad thing after all!