Chapter Seven:

Hoshi paced the mess hall, going over the reasons why she remembered everything and at the same time trying to decipher the alien language. There was no one else in the mess that night and she needed the peace and quiet to think.

Sitting down, she emerged herself deeper into the language and her cheesecake. She stopped, realizing something like this had happened before. She pushed the cheesecake aside and looked at it suspiciously. Then her quiet space was interrupted by the sound of Commander Tucker's footsteps.

When he entered, he seemed concerned and he sat down across from Hoshi. He looked at her, scrutinizing her deeply. Something kept pulling him to her that day. His thoughts felt as though they were swarming with her image. Her beauty. Shaking his head, he stumbled on the words he wanted to say.

"Does anything seem weird around the ship to you?"

Hoshi set the PADD aside and looked at Trip, trying to decide if she could safely tell him what was going on. She ached to tell him. But even more, she ached for him to love her all of a sudden.

"Yes," she admitted.

Trip sighed and shook his head, almost disbelieving that someone agreed (with him) that something was not right with the ship.

"Our minds have been messed with," Hoshi hissed menacingly, then giggled playfully.

The engineer gave her a look and shook his head. "You've had way too much cheesecake."

Hoshi stared up at him. The word of cheesecake had been exchanged between them before.

"This seems so … familiar" he said.

She nodded and almost begged for him.

Then she shook her head.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Hoshi asked herself quietly.

Trip scratched the back of his neck. "Huh?"

"Aliens have messed with our heads. Those seven hours that everyone forgot about were filled with aliens from the future. Or past. I haven't figured out that part yet."

"Yer pullin' m'leg, ain't ya?"

The linguist shook her head. "Nope, it happened like that."

"It did? So a bunch of aliens came over and talked with us and then, zap! We forget everything?"

"I remember, though I can't figure out why. I told the captain, and now he's convinced because Crewman O'Shay has been dead for fifty years."

Trip's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

Hoshi nodded. "There has to be a way; I have to think what I was thinking about when it was all happening. There had to be something that countered it."

Trip pulled the cheesecake toward him and ate the rest of it as Hoshi looked on. He thought she would defend her prize, but she only smiled. The engineer smiled back and put the plate to the side. He folded his hands and watched as Hoshi thought about the whole ordeal.

"What were you thinking about when the aliens came?" Hoshi asked, curiously.

"I don't remember."

"Love," Hoshi murmured.

Trip cocked his head.

"I was thinking how much I loved languages. Then my thoughts wandered to when you and I were in the mess hall before that. I was indulging myself in my cheesecake when …"

He blinked his eyes as the thoughts wandered back and he remembered the scene.

"Don't worry, I still won't be tellin' a soul you gave into one of the seven deadly sins right before m' eyes," Trip said as he stood up.

Hoshi was mesmerized as he walked up to her and knelt. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair.

"Trip, it's late," Hoshi said, wanting him to continue.

"We can discuss this in my quarters," Trip countered, brushing her hair with his callused hands.

Sato gulped and nodded her head. "Let me grab my pajamas and we can camp out and discuss what happened."

Trip nodded, stood and backed up, giving her space to escape. When she left, he hung his head and wandered to his quarters.

***

He held her in his arms, like brotherly love, as she talked about what she remembered about these people. She had him read the information about the crewman. Then they talked about where these aliens were from. They put together that the captain knew about it all and possibly T'Pol. Trip wondered allowed if Phlox would know, since the crewman had been brought there. It seemed logical for him to know by now.

Hoshi looked up at his blue eyes and melted in them. She ran her hand across his face and he chuckled.

"What are you up ta, darlin?" he asked her.

"I don't know yet."

Trip chuckled again and pulled her closer, then kissed her nose. She blushed and buried her head into his shirted chest.

"Night time yet?" Trip asked, eager for sleep.

She nodded and laid her head on his chest then closed her eyes. He was apprehensive about what might happen next, but closed his eyes as well. They both slept better than they had since their journey on Enterprise had begun.