Part Six: That's Why He's Paid The Big Bucks
Lieutenant Sasha Torres shut off the screen and wiped away the tears streaming down his face. Taking a deep swig of his coffee, he summoned up all of his control to keep from dissolving into another fit of laughter.
He needed to be calm when he told the Admiral what his friend had just reported to him.
Sitting at his desk for a few more moments, Torres finally got up and went into Forrest's office. The admiral looked up from his computer screen and frowned. "What is it, Torres? Do I have a meeting? Is someone here to see me?"
Shaking his head, Torres placed a padd in front of him, not trusting himself to speak.
Forrest picked it up and started reading. As he did so, his eyes became wider and wider. When he was finished, he carefully set the padd down on the desk. "Torres, who else knows about this?"
"Besides my friend who owns the resort, just her other bartender, her husband, and the justice of the peace who married them, sir. Oh, and of course, the rest of the Enterprise senior staff, sir."
Forrest lowered his head and his shoulders started to shake. For a moment, Torres entertained the idea that Forrest was actually crying, but when the admiral raised his head back up, he was laughing hysterically. "God...god...she married them both?"
Torres nodded affirmatively, his own control beginning to slip. "Yes, sir, she did."
"With both Tucker and Reed wearing gold..."
"Body paint, yes sir," finished Torres. "Apparently, they'd lost a bet with Doctor Phlox and they had to wear the body paint."
"And with pineapple hats on all three?"
"Err, yes, sir...according to my friend, they had to wear them because they lost a bet to Lieutenant Mayweather. Although, my friend had no idea why they had to wear pineapple hats..." Torres stopped as Forrest was howling.
"And...and...God...they all ended up mooning a bus of tourists who had gotten lost?"
Torres started laughing again and sputtered, "T'Pol told my friend it was due to Captain Archer and his wife...
"Oh...oh...oh...and...and...no one knew who they all were?" At this point Forrest was nearly falling out of his chair.
Gasping for breath, Torres managed to eke out a strangled, "Yeah..."
Forrest roared and fell back into his chair. They laughed together for a very long time.
Finally, the admiral wiped his face and calmed down. "Oh, Torres, wipe this report off of this padd...no, better yet, incinerate the whole damned thing. Then when that's done, send a wedding gift to the three of them. Send the same thing you sent Archer and Hess three weeks ago, just in a different color and bigger."
"Aye, sir. Anything else?" Torres picked up the padd and waited.
A sly, slightly evil smile lit the Admiral's face, "Yes, there is actually. Send a private note to T'Pol. Tell her that I want us to have lunch together before she returns to Vulcan; that I want to hear the whole story from her."
Torres waited a beat as Forrest crossed his arms, adding, "And Torres, no one, and I mean, NO ONE is to hear about what happened, other than a general marriage announcement. Understood?"
"Aye, sir." Torres crisply saluted and managed not to start laughing again until he was safely out of the office.
Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well
Hideki and Noriko Sato re-played the message from their daughter in silence. One parent was thrilled, the other in shock.
Hoshi's smiling face filled the screen.
"Mother, Father, I tried calling you in person earlier, but you were both out, so I decided to leave you this message."
She stopped and took a deep breath. "I called to tell you that yesterday, I got married to Trip Tucker and Malcolm Reed. We had a civil ceremony with my friends from the Enterprise as our witnesses."
Hideki paused the recording. "Do you still want me to replay the rest?"
Noriko waved her hands at him, gesturing for him to continue. Starting the message again, they watched as Hoshi's glowing face resumed speaking. "Now, I know that you both may be thinking I married them on the rebound from the whole fiasco with Hamilton, but let me assure you, I didn't. And I didn't marry them because I'm afraid of being alone somehow. I married them because they're my best friends and I love them deeply. It just took my wedding from hell and a drunken game of 'Truth or Dare' to get me to realize it."
Hoshi paused and smiled even wider. "Even though we got married in a civil ceremony, we're willing to go through another one for our families. We're thinking of doing it in the Academy chapel, just without the UCLA football team this time. I'd like to come home next week with my husbands and their parents to discuss it all with you. Trip's folks are excited to meet you, as is Malcolm's mother."
"Look, I have to go now, but I'll call you on Sunday around noon so we can talk in person. I love you both and I want you to believe me when I say that I'm very happy."
"I love you," repeated Hoshi and screen went blank.
Turning to her husband, Noriko grasped his hand tightly. "She's...she's..."
"Married to both Trip and Malcolm. Yes, I heard it too. She's also very happy my dear."
"But, but, but," sputtered Noriko. "BOTH of them?"
Hideki shrugged. "So?"
"Two! Two!"
"I am perfectly able to count, my dear," sighed Hideki. "Noriko, just be happy for our daughter. And if that isn't enough, consider this: Hoshi now has two husbands, so it will mean, at the very least, that you will be guaranteed at least TWO grandchildren."
Noriko sat perfectly still for a few seconds and then beamed at her husband.
*** Thousands of miles away, Hoshi Sato lay sandwiched in between her two husbands, a small smile on her lips. Trip stirred in his sleep, throwing an arm across her, while Malcolm shifted to nuzzle deeper into her hair and neck. With a delighted exhale, Hoshi clasped Trip's hand and grasped Malcolm's.
"Happy, love?" murmured Malcolm in a sleepy voice.
"Yes," whispered Hoshi. "Very happy."
"Good, darlin', so are we," yawned Trip, not opening his eyes.
As the two men snuggled closer, Hoshi closed her eyes, joy and contentment washing over her. As sleep started to claim her, one thought drifted across her consciousness: everything Phlox said to her all those weeks ago had come true.
By dumping Hamilton at the altar, she'd found passion, appreciation, friendship and joy-it existed on the Enterprise and afterward right under her very nose. With Trip and Malcolm, Hoshi knew she was now married for the all the right reasons.
Lieutenant Sasha Torres shut off the screen and wiped away the tears streaming down his face. Taking a deep swig of his coffee, he summoned up all of his control to keep from dissolving into another fit of laughter.
He needed to be calm when he told the Admiral what his friend had just reported to him.
Sitting at his desk for a few more moments, Torres finally got up and went into Forrest's office. The admiral looked up from his computer screen and frowned. "What is it, Torres? Do I have a meeting? Is someone here to see me?"
Shaking his head, Torres placed a padd in front of him, not trusting himself to speak.
Forrest picked it up and started reading. As he did so, his eyes became wider and wider. When he was finished, he carefully set the padd down on the desk. "Torres, who else knows about this?"
"Besides my friend who owns the resort, just her other bartender, her husband, and the justice of the peace who married them, sir. Oh, and of course, the rest of the Enterprise senior staff, sir."
Forrest lowered his head and his shoulders started to shake. For a moment, Torres entertained the idea that Forrest was actually crying, but when the admiral raised his head back up, he was laughing hysterically. "God...god...she married them both?"
Torres nodded affirmatively, his own control beginning to slip. "Yes, sir, she did."
"With both Tucker and Reed wearing gold..."
"Body paint, yes sir," finished Torres. "Apparently, they'd lost a bet with Doctor Phlox and they had to wear the body paint."
"And with pineapple hats on all three?"
"Err, yes, sir...according to my friend, they had to wear them because they lost a bet to Lieutenant Mayweather. Although, my friend had no idea why they had to wear pineapple hats..." Torres stopped as Forrest was howling.
"And...and...God...they all ended up mooning a bus of tourists who had gotten lost?"
Torres started laughing again and sputtered, "T'Pol told my friend it was due to Captain Archer and his wife...
"Oh...oh...oh...and...and...no one knew who they all were?" At this point Forrest was nearly falling out of his chair.
Gasping for breath, Torres managed to eke out a strangled, "Yeah..."
Forrest roared and fell back into his chair. They laughed together for a very long time.
Finally, the admiral wiped his face and calmed down. "Oh, Torres, wipe this report off of this padd...no, better yet, incinerate the whole damned thing. Then when that's done, send a wedding gift to the three of them. Send the same thing you sent Archer and Hess three weeks ago, just in a different color and bigger."
"Aye, sir. Anything else?" Torres picked up the padd and waited.
A sly, slightly evil smile lit the Admiral's face, "Yes, there is actually. Send a private note to T'Pol. Tell her that I want us to have lunch together before she returns to Vulcan; that I want to hear the whole story from her."
Torres waited a beat as Forrest crossed his arms, adding, "And Torres, no one, and I mean, NO ONE is to hear about what happened, other than a general marriage announcement. Understood?"
"Aye, sir." Torres crisply saluted and managed not to start laughing again until he was safely out of the office.
Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well
Hideki and Noriko Sato re-played the message from their daughter in silence. One parent was thrilled, the other in shock.
Hoshi's smiling face filled the screen.
"Mother, Father, I tried calling you in person earlier, but you were both out, so I decided to leave you this message."
She stopped and took a deep breath. "I called to tell you that yesterday, I got married to Trip Tucker and Malcolm Reed. We had a civil ceremony with my friends from the Enterprise as our witnesses."
Hideki paused the recording. "Do you still want me to replay the rest?"
Noriko waved her hands at him, gesturing for him to continue. Starting the message again, they watched as Hoshi's glowing face resumed speaking. "Now, I know that you both may be thinking I married them on the rebound from the whole fiasco with Hamilton, but let me assure you, I didn't. And I didn't marry them because I'm afraid of being alone somehow. I married them because they're my best friends and I love them deeply. It just took my wedding from hell and a drunken game of 'Truth or Dare' to get me to realize it."
Hoshi paused and smiled even wider. "Even though we got married in a civil ceremony, we're willing to go through another one for our families. We're thinking of doing it in the Academy chapel, just without the UCLA football team this time. I'd like to come home next week with my husbands and their parents to discuss it all with you. Trip's folks are excited to meet you, as is Malcolm's mother."
"Look, I have to go now, but I'll call you on Sunday around noon so we can talk in person. I love you both and I want you to believe me when I say that I'm very happy."
"I love you," repeated Hoshi and screen went blank.
Turning to her husband, Noriko grasped his hand tightly. "She's...she's..."
"Married to both Trip and Malcolm. Yes, I heard it too. She's also very happy my dear."
"But, but, but," sputtered Noriko. "BOTH of them?"
Hideki shrugged. "So?"
"Two! Two!"
"I am perfectly able to count, my dear," sighed Hideki. "Noriko, just be happy for our daughter. And if that isn't enough, consider this: Hoshi now has two husbands, so it will mean, at the very least, that you will be guaranteed at least TWO grandchildren."
Noriko sat perfectly still for a few seconds and then beamed at her husband.
*** Thousands of miles away, Hoshi Sato lay sandwiched in between her two husbands, a small smile on her lips. Trip stirred in his sleep, throwing an arm across her, while Malcolm shifted to nuzzle deeper into her hair and neck. With a delighted exhale, Hoshi clasped Trip's hand and grasped Malcolm's.
"Happy, love?" murmured Malcolm in a sleepy voice.
"Yes," whispered Hoshi. "Very happy."
"Good, darlin', so are we," yawned Trip, not opening his eyes.
As the two men snuggled closer, Hoshi closed her eyes, joy and contentment washing over her. As sleep started to claim her, one thought drifted across her consciousness: everything Phlox said to her all those weeks ago had come true.
By dumping Hamilton at the altar, she'd found passion, appreciation, friendship and joy-it existed on the Enterprise and afterward right under her very nose. With Trip and Malcolm, Hoshi knew she was now married for the all the right reasons.