CHAPTER 6: My Love and Life Both Slumber Here
AUTHOR: MNEMOSYNE
RATING: R, for violence and some language
CATEGORY: Angst, Drama, Romance, Action, Deathfic
CODES: R/S (heavy on the R) with touches of everyone
EIGHT MONTHS EARLIER
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Emmm-maaaa! Happy Birthday to you!"
Hoshi laughed as Malcolm helped her through the door of their cabin. "Travis, her birthday was three days ago," she said with an impish grin, gazing down into her newborn daughter's red face. "Either you're three days late, or a year early."
Ensign Travis Mayweather beamed from the doorway. "Better late than never," he enthused. "Isn't that right, sir?"
"Never a truer word was said, Ensign," Malcolm agreed, easing his wife and sleeping daughter down into a sitting position on the bed.
"Oh, shush," Hoshi teased, and kissed him on the nose. Malcolm nearly melted, then remembered Travis was still in the doorway, and kept himself in check.
"Thank you, Ensign," he said, standing and turning around to address Mayweather. "If you don't mind, I think Hoshi should rest now."
"Sure thing, Lieutenant," Travis answered, still grinning from ear to ear. "Here you go." He held out a simple black gym bag and offered it to Malcolm through the door.
"Thank you, Ensign." Malcolm took it - Hoshi's overnight bag; she'd insisted on having one, even though she'd only been in Sickbay and could easily have had anything she needed brought to her. She said it was a quirk of impending motherhood: some women ate weird foods, and others had mood swings. Hoshi organized.
"You're welcome, Sir." Still grinning.
Malcolm waited a moment. "That will be all, Ensign," he finally said, trying his best to be chivalrous and accommodating. It was difficult, to say the least - he'd become very territorial around his wife ever since she'd told him she was pregnant. Now that they were finally a family (short the dog, but Porthos more than made up for that, and where Porthos failed, Trip more than sufficed), all he wanted to do was spend some time alone with the two most important women in his life.
Provided the excitable ensign on the other side of the door ever went away.
"If you don't mind, Sir, I've got something for Emma."
Malcolm was just about to tell Travis that yes, he did actually mind, and would he please come back another time to share it? But before he got the chance, Hoshi piped up, "What is it, Travis?"
"Just a little gift." Pause. "May I come in?"
//No,// Malcolm thought.
"Absolutely!" Hoshi exclaimed gleefully.
Malcolm sighed.
Travis virtually bolted through the door and sat on the bed next to Hoshi and Emma. "I saw it the last time we were at Jupiter Station, and I thought Emma - well, the baby. We didn't know it - she'd - be a girl then. Anyway, I thought your baby might like it."
Hoshi was glowing. "What is it, Travis?"
"Yes, what is it, Ensign?" Malcolm added, a tad snippier than he'd intended. A sharp look from Hoshi told him that she'd heard his tone as well.
The young helmsman didn't seem to notice. "Just a little thing. Here you go."
He'd had one hand behind his back ever since volunteering to help Malcolm and Hoshi return to their cabin from Sickbay. Bringing it forward now, he held out what looked like a large, pale orange marshmallow. With a tail.
Hoshi melted. "Oh, Travis. It's adorable!"
Malcolm blinked. "What is it?"
"It's a squirrel, Sir," Travis said, grinning as Hoshi took the plush toy and brushed it gently against Emma's pudgy cheek. "They're a small mammal that lives in the forest. They eat acorns and birdseed, and -"
"Yes, I know what a squirrel is, Ensign, thank you," Malcolm cut him off.
"Oh! Malcolm, look!" Hoshi held up the soft, squishy toy. "It's wearing little dungarees! Do you see?" She squished the toy at him. Its lower half did, indeed, seem to be colored a faint shade of blue in what passed as a dungaree design. "It even has little fake buttons! Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?"
"Enchanting," he said with a smile that he hoped didn't look forced. It WAS a cute little thing.
"Do you think Emma likes it?" Travis asked hopefully.
"She loves it!" Hoshi replied enthusiastically. "Don't you, Emmy? Don't you love Mr. Buttons?"
Emma slept on.
"Sleeps like a log," Travis said with a smile. "Hard to believe she belongs to you two." He suddenly looked stricken. "I mean… Not that you two have finicky sleeping patterns. It's just… Well, Hoshi, you hear EVERYTHING. And Sir, you… Well, you hear everything, too. And… It's just-"
Hoshi laughed again. "It's okay, Travis. We understand." Smiling, she set down the squirrel and gently squeezed Mayweather's hand. "Thank you. She'll love it."
Travis relaxed visibly. "I hope so."
Malcolm decided now was as good a time as any to get the young man to go AWAY, and delicately cleared his throat. "Thank you, Ensign," he said. "Now, if you don't mind…?"
"What? Oh! Right!" Travis bounded to his feet. "Sorry! I just figured I-" Malcolm made a sharp motion towards the door with his head. "Never mind." Grinning, Travis gave a little wave. "Bye. Bye, Emma!"
Hoshi made the baby's hand wave at the departing helmsman.
"If you don't mind telling anyone who cares to hear it that we'd rather not be disturbed…?" Malcolm mentioned as he guided Travis out the door.
"Sure thing, Sir." The younger man paused, then held out his hand. "Congratulations, Sir."
Malcolm blinked, then took Travis' hand. "Thank you, Ensign."
With a nod, Travis jogged off down the corridor.
Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief and turned back into the room. "I thought he'd never leave," he said quietly as he crossed the room and sat next to his wife.
Hoshi was rocking gently, idly playing with one of Emma's small hands. "I'm surprised he didn't leave sooner. The cold radiating off your shoulder was in the negative Kelvins." She looked up from their daughter's face to smile at him. "You didn't have to chase him off so quickly. I'm not THAT tired."
Malcolm smiled. "I have a confession to make."
"Mmm?"
"I didn't shoo him away for you."
She arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Malcolm shrugged. "I did it for me," he said, sliding a hand up her back and toying with her long, raven hair. "I just wanted a little time alone with my beloved wife and dearest daughter."
"Awww," Hoshi replied, a slow smile creeping across her face. "You big softie."
"Shush," Malcolm hushed her, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her closer. "Someone might hear you."
Hoshi chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. "Heaven forbid."
"Indeed."
"Mmm…" She snuggled nearer to him, closing her eyes. "You don't have to worry, though. You'll have plenty of time alone with us, Malcolm. Neither of us is going anywhere."
"Shhh, I know," he said softly, stroking her hair and gazing down at his sleeping daughter. "I know."
It didn't take long before he felt Hoshi's breathing even out, and felt her body loosen beside him. He smiled. "Not that tired, eh?" he murmured, slowly easing his wife down onto the bed. Carefully, he lifted Emma from the circle of her arms. Hoshi immediately curled up, mumbling something and wiggling her fingers.
Malcolm laughed softly. "Shhh, she's all right," he assured her. "She's with me." He gently pressed Mr. Buttons into Hoshi's arms to calm her, and she immediately quieted, sleeping deeply.
Malcolm turned his attention back to Emma. "Welcome home, sweet," he whispered. Tilting his head forward, he brought her tiny hand to his lips and kissed her small fingers. She gurgled something in her sleep, wiggled a bit in his arms, then was quiet again.
"You're perfect, sweet," he murmured. "Perfect like your mother." He paused, then chuckled. "And I think you're going to love that blasted squirrel."
Stretching out next to Hoshi, Malcolm carefully nested Emma between their bodies. He wouldn't sleep - he didn't need it, and Heaven forbid one of them should roll onto the sleeping newborn - but he didn't want to walk away and…do something else. Not now. This moment was perfect. The calm before the storm, so to speak. They hadn't had to worry about late night feedings yet; or cholic; or teething. This moment was pure, and he wanted to remember every detail of it. From the steady rise and fall of Hoshi's breathing to the occasional wiggle of his sleeping daughter. Before either of them had come to him, he'd lived for his work. Now, he lived for them.
And he didn't know how he could ever live without them.