CHAPTER 2: FERTILIZE WELL
The next day Tucker sat with the displaced Sato at lunchtime. "Were you comfortable in Malcolm's quarters last night?"
Sato gave him a look that made him say, "Ouch. What's wrong? Something explode?"
"That's what it sounded like. I swear, Trip, I don't know how it's possible for such a small nose to generate such a loud noise! Flora Wall fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and the snoring began soon after. I'm going to be so sleep deprived! I can't even blame Malcolm for this one. How did it go with you two?"
"Well, other than the fact Malcolm spent all night talking about you-"
"What?"
"Malcolm talks in his sleep, Hoshi, and he kept saying your name. I think he still feels bad about the effect his mistake had on you. Or it could be that the guy's in love with you. It's probably both. He's working double shifts for the next few days just to make sure you get your quarters back sooner."
Sato looked stunned. "What did you just say?"
"Malcolm's out there right now working on the reinforcement to the hull. Left early this morning and won't be off until midnight." Tucker waved a hand in front of Sato's face.
"What did you say before that, about Malcolm talking in his sleep?" asked Hoshi as she tried to control her emotions. She couldn't have heard Trip correctly. She was just sleep-deprived.
"The part where I said Malcolm is in love with you?" queried Trip innocently.
"Yes, that's the part. How can you say that? Malcolm's never, he treats me like, well, he's never said, and just because he sometimes looks at me like...No. He isn't. He can't be. Oh, my God, what am I going to do?"
"Hoshi, I suggest you decide how you feel about him. If you're gonna let him down, be real easy on him. Malcolm doesn't need another bad experience with a woman. But I get the feeling you're not completely opposed to his interest."
"Malcolm won't get involved with someone aboard ship, let alone a subordinate."
"Starfleet's policies about fraternization among men and women on starships are being revamped right now. You know this. He knows this. It's making him edgy. I don't know how many times I've caught him being distracted lately and you know that's not like him. This latest incident might just be the catalyst to bring things to a head."
-------
Sato walked into hydroponics. She saw Ensign Thomas "the Tank" Elgin talking to a set of plants as he was tending them. Tank Elgin had the face and body of a Greek Adonis, but the brain of Winnie the Pooh.
Sato approached him cautiously, just clearing her throat to make her presence known.
Tank looked up and immediately scanned the hydroponics bay, thinking that the short guy with the English accent would show up with a phase pistol at any time. What was he called again? Tank's brain proudly drew forth the information: Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Armory Officer.
Sato looked behind her and around as well, thinking she had missed something she was supposed to notice. "Hello, Tank. Um, are you looking for something?"
"Lieutenant Reed. He's not with you?" asked Tank suspiciously.
"No, he's outside working on some hull reinforcement." Sato noticed that Tank breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can I do something for you, Hohsi?" asked Tank. Ever since the incident with Phlox's bat during Movie Night, Tank had been very solicitous of Sato but had never asked for a date again.
What Sato didn't know was that after the eventful Movie Night, Reed had paid a visit to hydroponics to have a quiet discussion with Tank regarding appropriate behavior toward women.
The first thing Tank had eliminated was calling women "Babe" after the first introduction and assuming a woman was "his girl" if she did grant him a first date.
Furthermore, Tank now understood the difference between making sure his date was not bothered by unwanted attention versus provoking someone who may just be friends. That lesson had taken most of Reed's time, but Tank's brain had finally been receptive, especially when Reed had demonstrated the negative outcome of provoking someone needlessly. Several times.
"I need to say I'm sorry to someone and I wanted to do it through flowers. I know that may sound ridiculous, but I've heard there's a language of flowers--" began Sato.
"Granny used to say that each flower had a meaning. A purple hyacinth is the one you want for saying you're sorry," supplied Tank to Sato's surprise.
The one thing that never challenged Tank's brain was information dealing with plants. Tank had spent his youth helping his Granny with her flower and garden shop. She had been a fragile old woman, so Tank had done most of the physical labor. Granny Elgin would talk non-stop about the care of plants and the language of flowers. The information had been repeated to him so many times over the years that it was firmly consolidated in Tank's memory.
"I keep them over here. How many do you want?" asked Tank, going to a different section of hydroponics. Sato followed.
"Just one will be fine. These are beautiful, Tank. I'm glad decorative plants are allowed on the ship," said Sato.
"Since I can get the other plants to grow so well at the other stations, I get to use the space I've saved for whatever I want. Granny said people would always need beautiful flowers, so I grow them. Flora Wall redesigned the watering system so that it's easier to keep them going. She's really nice."
Sato looked at Tank in surprise. The Wallflower was nice? Perhaps her first impression of the woman had been faulty. "Flora's my temporary roommate. We were moved out of our quarters so that some reinforcement could be added to the hull. We're sharing a room now."
"Yeah? I haven't seen her yet today. She comes in the afternoon to make sure all systems are working fine. And she'll stay and talk to me sometimes."
"So, the purple hyacinth will let him know I'm sorry."
"Uh huh. You know, it's funny, but you're the first woman down here looking for flowers to give to a guy. Generally it's the men who come down. I guess they think giving flowers to a woman will make her like them," said Tank with a shrug.
"Tank, do you mean to tell me that with all you know about flowers, you don't give flowers to a woman you're trying to impress?" asked Sato.
Tank looked like he was either thinking or constipated. His brain considered the words Sato had offered. No, he had never given flowers to a girl--correction, woman. Flowers were something you gave to Granny or Maw. Tank's brain kept churning on this thought for a while. Why hadn't he ever given flowers to a woman? He saw the men do it all the time. Huh?
"Tank? Are you okay?" asked Sato, wondering if he were going into brain lock. "Look, is there something I can do in return, a favor for the flower?"
Tank looked at Sato. "Just tell me something. Do girls, uh, women like it when a guy gives them flowers? I mean, do they just like the flowers or will they like the guy better?"
"Oh, yes, definitely, women like to receive flowers. Can they help someone like you? I certainly hope so. Thanks, Tank."
*****
The next day Tucker sat with the displaced Sato at lunchtime. "Were you comfortable in Malcolm's quarters last night?"
Sato gave him a look that made him say, "Ouch. What's wrong? Something explode?"
"That's what it sounded like. I swear, Trip, I don't know how it's possible for such a small nose to generate such a loud noise! Flora Wall fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and the snoring began soon after. I'm going to be so sleep deprived! I can't even blame Malcolm for this one. How did it go with you two?"
"Well, other than the fact Malcolm spent all night talking about you-"
"What?"
"Malcolm talks in his sleep, Hoshi, and he kept saying your name. I think he still feels bad about the effect his mistake had on you. Or it could be that the guy's in love with you. It's probably both. He's working double shifts for the next few days just to make sure you get your quarters back sooner."
Sato looked stunned. "What did you just say?"
"Malcolm's out there right now working on the reinforcement to the hull. Left early this morning and won't be off until midnight." Tucker waved a hand in front of Sato's face.
"What did you say before that, about Malcolm talking in his sleep?" asked Hoshi as she tried to control her emotions. She couldn't have heard Trip correctly. She was just sleep-deprived.
"The part where I said Malcolm is in love with you?" queried Trip innocently.
"Yes, that's the part. How can you say that? Malcolm's never, he treats me like, well, he's never said, and just because he sometimes looks at me like...No. He isn't. He can't be. Oh, my God, what am I going to do?"
"Hoshi, I suggest you decide how you feel about him. If you're gonna let him down, be real easy on him. Malcolm doesn't need another bad experience with a woman. But I get the feeling you're not completely opposed to his interest."
"Malcolm won't get involved with someone aboard ship, let alone a subordinate."
"Starfleet's policies about fraternization among men and women on starships are being revamped right now. You know this. He knows this. It's making him edgy. I don't know how many times I've caught him being distracted lately and you know that's not like him. This latest incident might just be the catalyst to bring things to a head."
-------
Sato walked into hydroponics. She saw Ensign Thomas "the Tank" Elgin talking to a set of plants as he was tending them. Tank Elgin had the face and body of a Greek Adonis, but the brain of Winnie the Pooh.
Sato approached him cautiously, just clearing her throat to make her presence known.
Tank looked up and immediately scanned the hydroponics bay, thinking that the short guy with the English accent would show up with a phase pistol at any time. What was he called again? Tank's brain proudly drew forth the information: Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Armory Officer.
Sato looked behind her and around as well, thinking she had missed something she was supposed to notice. "Hello, Tank. Um, are you looking for something?"
"Lieutenant Reed. He's not with you?" asked Tank suspiciously.
"No, he's outside working on some hull reinforcement." Sato noticed that Tank breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can I do something for you, Hohsi?" asked Tank. Ever since the incident with Phlox's bat during Movie Night, Tank had been very solicitous of Sato but had never asked for a date again.
What Sato didn't know was that after the eventful Movie Night, Reed had paid a visit to hydroponics to have a quiet discussion with Tank regarding appropriate behavior toward women.
The first thing Tank had eliminated was calling women "Babe" after the first introduction and assuming a woman was "his girl" if she did grant him a first date.
Furthermore, Tank now understood the difference between making sure his date was not bothered by unwanted attention versus provoking someone who may just be friends. That lesson had taken most of Reed's time, but Tank's brain had finally been receptive, especially when Reed had demonstrated the negative outcome of provoking someone needlessly. Several times.
"I need to say I'm sorry to someone and I wanted to do it through flowers. I know that may sound ridiculous, but I've heard there's a language of flowers--" began Sato.
"Granny used to say that each flower had a meaning. A purple hyacinth is the one you want for saying you're sorry," supplied Tank to Sato's surprise.
The one thing that never challenged Tank's brain was information dealing with plants. Tank had spent his youth helping his Granny with her flower and garden shop. She had been a fragile old woman, so Tank had done most of the physical labor. Granny Elgin would talk non-stop about the care of plants and the language of flowers. The information had been repeated to him so many times over the years that it was firmly consolidated in Tank's memory.
"I keep them over here. How many do you want?" asked Tank, going to a different section of hydroponics. Sato followed.
"Just one will be fine. These are beautiful, Tank. I'm glad decorative plants are allowed on the ship," said Sato.
"Since I can get the other plants to grow so well at the other stations, I get to use the space I've saved for whatever I want. Granny said people would always need beautiful flowers, so I grow them. Flora Wall redesigned the watering system so that it's easier to keep them going. She's really nice."
Sato looked at Tank in surprise. The Wallflower was nice? Perhaps her first impression of the woman had been faulty. "Flora's my temporary roommate. We were moved out of our quarters so that some reinforcement could be added to the hull. We're sharing a room now."
"Yeah? I haven't seen her yet today. She comes in the afternoon to make sure all systems are working fine. And she'll stay and talk to me sometimes."
"So, the purple hyacinth will let him know I'm sorry."
"Uh huh. You know, it's funny, but you're the first woman down here looking for flowers to give to a guy. Generally it's the men who come down. I guess they think giving flowers to a woman will make her like them," said Tank with a shrug.
"Tank, do you mean to tell me that with all you know about flowers, you don't give flowers to a woman you're trying to impress?" asked Sato.
Tank looked like he was either thinking or constipated. His brain considered the words Sato had offered. No, he had never given flowers to a girl--correction, woman. Flowers were something you gave to Granny or Maw. Tank's brain kept churning on this thought for a while. Why hadn't he ever given flowers to a woman? He saw the men do it all the time. Huh?
"Tank? Are you okay?" asked Sato, wondering if he were going into brain lock. "Look, is there something I can do in return, a favor for the flower?"
Tank looked at Sato. "Just tell me something. Do girls, uh, women like it when a guy gives them flowers? I mean, do they just like the flowers or will they like the guy better?"
"Oh, yes, definitely, women like to receive flowers. Can they help someone like you? I certainly hope so. Thanks, Tank."
*****