Part Two: All the Wrong Reasons

Hoshi groaned as light streamed into her room. Her head was pounding and her throat felt...furry. Throwing her pillow over her eyes, she spat out a few Klingon curses. A cheerful voice replied, "Now, now, Hoshi, no need to say that to me."

A few noises made their way through the pillow and another voice entered the room. "Hoshi, you can take the pillow off of your eyes now."

Gingerly, Hoshi removed the pillow. Blinking, she focused. It was Phlox and, oh God, her mother. Phlox looked amused, while her mother looked pissed off. "Hoshi, did you really have to go drinking with your Enterprise friends last night? One would think that at least a Vulcan would have kept you from becoming so, so, so..."

"Inebriated?" supplied Phlox innocently. His eyes twinkled and Hoshi cursed at him in Denobulan. She squinted and as her stomach did a flip, last night came roaring back at her. Groaning, she attempted to turn over, which only succeeded at making her feel sick. Meanwhile, Phlox merely grinned at her words. "Now, now, I think my wives would disagree with you," he replied back in his own language.

Hoshi peered up at him and flipped him off, still speaking Denobulan. "Phlox, just shut up and kill me now. Please."

"Now, now, Hoshi. I can't do that..."

Hoshi's mother gave an exasperated snort and planted her hands on her hips. "Doctor Phlox, if you would please speak in a language I can understand! This is all very serious! I need to know if Hoshi is going be all right for the ceremony..." As her mother babbled on, Hoshi became very still. The wedding? The WEDDING!

The last thing she remembered before T'Pol and Travis settled her into bed was insisting on going to the vid-phone to call Hamilton and call off the wedding. Come to think of it, Hoshi thought, frowning when the throbbing of her head went up a notch, she called her parents too.

Struggling to sit up, Hoshi cut her mother off. "Mother, if I remember correctly, I called off the wedding. I called Hamilton and told him the wedding was off. And swear I think I called you and daddy as well."

Noriko Sato looked at her daughter as if she'd lost her mind. "Hoshi, sweetheart, you did, but you were so drunk that Hamilton ignored what you said; as did your father and I. Really now, you, of all people, wouldn't call off a wedding just on a drunken whim. Now would you? No."

Hoshi opened her mouth to speak, but groaned as a wave of nausea hit her. Oblivious, her mother plunged on. "No, no, no, that is just not you, my dear. I am going to have a word with Jonathan Archer and T'Pol before the wedding about allowing you to get so intoxicated! And your friends just left in you that awful dress before getting you into bed..." Hoshi felt her eyes glaze over as mother continued.

After a bit, her mother trailed off as she looked at her watch. "Oh, dear, I need to go and check on the caterer and then I have to get my hair done." She leaned over and kissed Hoshi on the cheek. "Feel better dearest and I'll see you later."

Noriko was out the door before Hoshi could protest. With a sigh, she flopped back onto the bed. The sigh turned into another groan of pain. "Ahhh!! Phlox, I feel like..."

Leaning over the bed, Phlox injected the hypospray into Hoshi's neck. "I'd say you have one hell of a hangover and feel like shit." Hoshi blinked at him in shock and Phlox smiled widely. "Trip said that to me earlier this morning. I thought it was appropriate to use here as well. There, you should be feeling the effect of the hypospray by now."

Hoshi closed her eyes and sighed in relief. The pounding in her head was scaling back from a full set of kodo drums to an infinitesimal throb. "Oh, I'm feeling much better, Phlox, thank you."

"You're welcome," replied Phlox. Hoshi opened her eyes and saw that he was staring down at her with a frown.

Sitting back up Hoshi sighed. "You're giving me that look, Phlox. The look you give when you're about to unleash one of you psychological whammies."

His frown disappeared into his trademark grin. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised that you can see through me. After all, seven years on the same ship together does breed familiarity. I suppose I need to come up with some new expressions, just to keep everyone on their toes."

Running a hand through her hair, Hoshi let out a long breath. "Phlox, I need to get up, shower, call Hamilton to apologize for calling him while falling down drunk and then get ready for my wedding. Whatever you have to say, just say it."

Phlox's smile faded. "You are still going to get married, even after what everyone said to you last night? Even after calling off the wedding?"

All of Hoshi's fears and trepidation roared up in her mind, which she squashed with ruthless pride. "I was drunk. Jon, Trip, Malcolm, Liz and Alison were drunk. Drunk people say things they don't mean. I was just having cold feet."

Phlox sat down on the edge of the bed, his blue eyes radiating skepticism. "T'Pol and Travis were not drunk and they voiced the same concerns and dislike toward your choice. Hoshi, some part of you is not happy with the choices you have made concerning this wedding. You have time to back out before it's too late. Ending a marriage is much harder than beginning one."

Leaning forward, Hoshi put her head in her hands. She could feel tears coming on and trembled. Straightening up, she forced herself to smile. "Phlox, you don't understand, I have to get married."

Blinking at her in confusion, Phlox shook his head. "I am not sure what you mean by that, Hoshi. As understand it, humans don't have arranged marriages anymore, nor do they have contractual marriages. What do you mean?"

Not meeting his eyes, Hoshi stared up at the ceiling. "I'm thirty-five years old, Phlox. My oldest brother has no intention of having children. My younger brothers are just starting their careers. Even with advanced medical procedures, the best time for me to have children is now. I'm my parents' only chance for grandchildren..." She trailed off and got up out of bed. Going over to the window, Hoshi opened the blinds and stared out at the courtyard below.

"Let's face it, everyone else has someone. You have your wives and family. T'Pol has a bond mate back on Vulcan now. Travis and Liz are married and very happy. Jon will probably be marrying Alison soon, because she's only a few years older than me and she's feeling the baby itch too. Plus Jon is feeling the urge to make sure the Archer legacy doesn't die out with him. Trip is, well, Trip. He's gotten in touch with Natalie again, but he's got two or three women after him right now. Hell, even Malcolm's dating steadily."

Phlox gave a little harrumph. "Hoshi, I do believe you are in error. Trip told us last night Natalie went back to her husband. As for Malcolm dating steadily, it's Trip he's dating now. Oh, that's right, you were still passed out and didn't see their, what did Jonathan call it? Ah, yes, their 'makeout session' in the back of the transport last night."

Hoshi closed her eyes in pain. "Fuck! Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck! How is it that I'm the last one to know? That's just great; Trip and Malcolm are dating each other. So it's official: that just leaves me. I'm the last one. Everyone has someone. No, I have someone. Hamilton loves me and wants to be with me." Opening her eyes, she went back over to the bed and sat down with a heavy thud.

Phlox's voice was wise and kind as he spoke. "Hoshi, fear of not having children or being alone is not a good reason to get married. You know that. You're a very intelligent woman and a very beautiful woman. If you are not sure that Hamilton is the one for you, you should not marry him. You should marry for the right reasons, not out of fear."

Easier said than done, thought Hoshi sourly. Does anyone ever marry for the right reasons? Really?

Hoshi felt Phlox give her a gentle pat on her shoulder as he continued to speak. "Hoshi, trust that one day you will be loved for who you are. That your partner in life will be your friend. That there will be passion and laughter and joy. When you find those elements, then you'll be marrying for the right reasons." Opening her eyes, she put on a brave smile for Phlox, tears forming in her eyes. They sat for a moment, letting the quiet of the room wash over them.

A knock at the door ended their reverie. "Come in," called out Hoshi.

Hoshi's cousin Sora walked into the room. "Hoshi, Aunt Noriko sent me. I've got the hairdresser out in the main part of the suite ready to go. Are you ready yet or do you need to jump into the shower still? Because if you do, I can have her start on the bridesmaids."

Wiping her eyes, Hoshi smiled. "I'm going to jump into the shower, Sora. Have her start on Alison, Liz and the rest." Turning to Phlox she forced herself to smile wider. "Thank you, Phlox, for the hangover cure. I'm fine now. I'll see at the wedding!"

Phlox got up and gazed down at her with kind eyes. "Think about what I said, Hoshi. It's not too late to change your mind." With that, he turned and left the room.

Sora watched him leave and gave Hoshi a confused look. "What was that all about?"

Getting up out of the bed, Hoshi waved her cousin off. "Nothing. Just some advice. Go get your hair done. I'm going to go shower."

Only after Sora left and the door was closed, did Hoshi go sink back onto her bed, muttering, "Oh...fuck!"