The last chapter got me all riled up. Had to write...

I hope I'm not showing a completely uncharacteristic side of Malcolm. He seems to have a less pessimistic side, so why not a rarely seen romantic and cuddly side?

Also, I hope the verbal bashing is decent. It seemed slightly reminiscent of Shuttlepod One. Maybe a little louder...

*********

Hoshi was in his arms. Malcolm could hardly believe the woman was actually in his arms.

He knew that they couldn't remain like this. Every ounce of discipline told him to let her go, but his arms simply wouldn't comply. Instead the armory officer remained there, breathing in the strawberry scent of her hair and reveling in her touch. The feeling he had been trying so hard to suppress kept welling up inside him, making it impossible for him to release her from his grasp.

Hoshi was in his arms. Not Trip's, his. And right now, it was him, making her feel safe and calm. When she had gotten close to him, her panic seemed to cease and her frightened quivering had gradually stopped. And he was the one that had done it. He wanted to keep her in his embrace, protected from all harm, forever.

"Malcolm! Hoshi! You two okay over there?" Trip's voice broke into Malcolm's thoughts. A curse echoed through the man's mind as the engineer's words caused Hoshi to stir and begin to move away. He felt strangely empty without her there.

"We're fine, Commander," the armory officer grumbled, "I'll be there momentarily..."

His hand slowly released Hoshi's as he stood up, composing himself as he did so. He stepped away from the linguist, even though every nerve in his body was screaming at him to go back to her. As settled as he could bring himself to be after such a moment, the armory officer went to Trip's side.

"I can't find a single damn exit. You'd think someone would have an air duct or something entering into a cargo bay!" Trip complained to the man next to him. The engineer was obviously annoyed that he couldn't find a single way out of the place that didn't have the risk of decompressing the entire section.

The comment struck a nerve with Reed. "And if we did find an air duct what would we do? Send Hoshi through it again?"

"We could. She's done it before."

"You realize she hates that, don't you?" He wasn't sure if it was the time he spent near Hoshi or his already angered feelings towards the engineer, but Malcolm suddenly found himself quite displeased. "We've already done that to her, she's done enough!"

Trip's eyes turned towards him, a 'brow raised in question. "If she had to do it, I'm sure she would."

The two hardly noticed Hoshi walking from behind the containers, a sickly color having returned to her cheeks. Her quiet words went unheard, "I...I don't feel well…"

"So we're just going to send her crawling through ships at every occasion? Who knows what dangers she could run into on an alien ship! Someone could still be alive in here, and murderous!"

"Would you rather die in this cargo bay or have Hoshi try to save all of us?"

A quiet murmur came from the linguist, trying to reach to the two men. An inaudible whimper of help was issued as she held her pounding head. She stumbled, before toppling to the ground.

With a cry of 'Hoshi!', the two men suddenly remembered that the ensign was, in fact, in the cargo bay with them, rushing to her side only to find her unconscious. They did their best to make her comfortable, finding a moment of peace between their arguments.

Of course, that tranquility was incredibly short lived. Malcolm blamed himself for not being there for Hoshi -- and blamed Trip for taking his attention away. Now she wasn't even conscious, all because he wasn't there. "She's going to die."

"Well, isn't that a change from Malcolm-the-Optimist I heard with Hoshi."

The comment momentarily confused Reed. "You were listening in on our conversation?"

"A man can't be curious?" The engineer retorted. Both voices were escalating in volume, even in the presence of the downed ensign. "Hoshi just so happens to be my friend, y'know."

"You had no right to eavesdrop, Commander." The armory officer's fists clenched as he tried to restrain himself.

The other man just chuckled. "Well, what I heard was surprising, Lieutenant. You really think we'll get out of here alive?"

Malcolm's jaw set in place to stop him from grinding his teeth. He didn't want to talk about this. Death always was the topic that was brought up in these situations. Though he had technically brought the subject up... His eyes shot to the ground, "Truthfully? I don't."

"So you lied to Hoshi. So big of you, Malcolm."

Maybe I actually thought we'd get out. Hoshi managed to change his pessimistic thoughts, if only for a brief moment. He'd actually thought anything was possible when he was near her. Hell, he even thought that she might actually say 'yes' if he asked her dinner one night. That wasn't going to happen, and he highly doubted the possibility of getting off of this ship alive.

"No comment?" Trip stated when the lieutenant didn't speak. "Seems like you, anyway. It's like you have a death wish, Malcolm. No one's ever going to make it out of a situation alive. I bet you already have Hoshi's epitaph all planned out…"

"I do not!"

"...Hoshi was a fine officer, a little skittish, though. Too bad she wasn't good enough to survive…but then again, I didn't survive, either..."

"Shut your bloody mouth, Commander!"

"It's true, isn't it?" The engineer snapped, blue eyes glaring at the other man. "You plot your death every time you get in a bind! Now Hoshi's your victim, too!"

The officer was doing everything in his power to keep himself from wrapping his fingers around Commander Tucker's neck. How dare he think he was turning Hoshi into a 'victim'. "She could have a concussion, a blood clot, internal injuries. She could very possibly die."

"There you go again. You must want her to die!"

"Why would I want the woman I love to die, Commander?"

Trip's mouth opened to retort, before the words actually sunk into his brain. A moment passed of silent musings, making Malcolm regret his slip. "You love Hoshi?"

The armory officer didn't know what to say. He was fairly sure he did, but he didn't want to know that. It was too late now, though, he'd already slipped his secret because he wasn't thinking. "Yes, sir."

"Good God."

If Trip was going to say anything else, he didn't get the chance. The deck beneath the two men rocked and explosions could be heard all around them. Once again, the metal on the walls seemed to come straight off various bulkheads. The ship thrashed violent, tossing the people in the cargo bay like rag dolls.

"Keep Hoshi safe, Malcolm. I'll be fine." It was probably the nicest thing Trip Tucker had said to Reed all week. And the best statement the engineer had ever uttered.

Malcolm did was he was told. He once again gathered the ensign up in his arms, hunching over her body as the sky seemed to plummet down. Smoke and debris filled the air, but even as bulkheads fell to either side of him, he knew that even if they didn't made it out alive, he had done him damnedest to keep Hoshi safe. It was now his mission to keep protected until the very end.

"I love you, Hoshi." He murmured, just before it seemed the world came tumbling down upon him...

((I think we're closing in on the end. I only have two or three more chapters to go, unless I come up with something to keep it going.))