--
Sound woke him for the first time in his memory and he moved his head to identify the source, his eyes still too heavy to open. A fluttering of wings drew his attention. Wings? There were no birds on the planet. Was he dreaming still? A sense of panic clawed at him as the vision of the dark- haired woman skirted across his consciousness. She was so real and so gentle, and she wore the same type of clothing he had cast off so long ago. Another sound caused him to frown - a rustling, like an animal would rustle through some bushes. He must be dreaming. There was no sound anywhere for him except in his dreams.
Soft murmured voices surrounded him and he startled. He knew the words they spoke as his own thoughts were filled with the language. His dreams were filled with the language too, but never so many as what he was hearing now, and he finally forced his heavy lids to open.
An unnatural light shone bright before him, giving way to strange surroundings. Was he in a different land? He squinted and a shadow moving across him caught his attention.
"Can you hear me?" a voice asked.
The man turned his head toward the voice, yet made no response.
"The damage is repaired. He should be able to hear," another voice replied.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" the voice asked impatiently.
Again the man only stared toward the sound, wanting to answer, but unsure as to how.
"He took quite an interest in Lieutenant Sato, sir. Perhaps he would respond to her," a calm voice interjected.
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Can you hear me?" the Sato's voice questioned, unable to contain the sense of hope within the question.
He turned toward her voice, his eyes still adjusting to the lighting. The outline of her dark hair caught his attention and he lifted his hand toward her, seeking comfort. "Y-yes," he stammered hoarsely, relieved when he felt her warm hand grasp his.
A torrent of emotions ran through him - fear, hope, warmth, and excitement. Her face came into focus and smiled down at him.
"What's your name?" she asked softly, cringing slightly as the man squeezed her hand tighter. Phlox had taken a DNA sample, but the computer was still cross-referencing it with the database.
Name? He knew the word, yet the word held no meaning for him.
"Who are you?" Hoshi rephrased the question.
He frowned, unable to answer. "I.don't know."
His voice was hoarse and low, containing a slight hint of an accent. The frequency of the few words he had muttered struck a cord deep within her and she couldn't help but stroke her thumb back and forth lightly against the top of his hand. She could tell he needed reassurance. She had first noticed his solemn blue eyes as they fixated on her, boring into her as though asking questions she couldn't hear. She had noticed the color of his eyes down on the planet when his hair was long and matted with dirt. Now his hair was cut short with only a minor bald spot where Phlox had made the incision. His beard had also been shaven off. He wasn't infested with parasites as Phlox had suspected earlier, but the doctor didn't want to take any chance with potential infections.
"How did you get to the planet?" Hoshi asked calmly, anticipating her captain's questions.
The man looked down at their hands, his clasping hers roughly while hers offered comfort. "You're r-real?"
She nodded in response and asked another question. "How long have you been there?"
The man released his grasp on the woman's hand and smiled as it remained in his palm. Gently, he raised her hand to his face and rubbed his clean- shaven face against the top of her hand. First sound and now touch. He was able to touch her and she held substance and didn't evaporate in the mist of his dreams. Her question was one of time; a concept he had abandoned long ago and he shrugged his shoulders.
Hoshi grew frustrated with his lack of response and decided upon another tactic. Obviously the man had suffered some sort of trauma. Why he had taken a liking to her, she hadn't a clue. "My name is Hoshi. What is your name?"
Hoshi. Her name was Hoshi. Reality consumed his reasoning and he finally accepted the truth. His kind had come for him. He had felt the loneliness slowly creep upon him through the time he could remember and had sought solace in his dreams. The people his imagination conjured were minor figments compared to the woman with the dark hair. His emotions toward her were strong and volatile. He could feel his eyes burn and his vision blur as water dripped along his cheeks.
She wiped his tears away as the play of emotions crossed his face. He was lost, even to himself. "Is it possible he has amnesia?"
Phlox nodded in agreement to her assessment. "Amnesia is possible with any head injury."
Jon shifted. "When will the analysis be complete?"
"Within the hour," Phlox announced.
Hoshi wiped more tears from the man's cheeks as they poured freely and without shame. He couldn't contain the yawn and the doctor noticed the fatigue of the patient as well. "There will be plenty of time for questions later. For now, he needs his rest."
Hoshi tried to extract her hand from the man's grasp.
He held her hand firmly yet gently. "Please . please, don't leave me."
She looked from the captain to the doctor then to the man, his chest heaving with panic underneath the blue blanket that protected his modesty. She felt for the guy, but really didn't have time to play nursemaid.
"Lieutenant," Captain Archer smiled, seeing the lieutenant grow frustrated, "You're temporarily assigned to sickbay until further notice. I think you've found a new friend."
Phlox's smile broadened as he collected a chair for the young woman to sit in. There was no telling when the man would drift off to sleep and he was hesitant to sedate him any further.
She shifted from foot to foot, glaring over her shoulder at the idiot who was her captain. She smiled at the doctor as he scooted a chair near her posterior. "Thanks, Doctor."
The man looked around the room and continued to pet Hoshi's hand, tactically expecting it by rubbing it across his cheek and lips. His hands held her upper arm now and he muttered to himself. "You're real. You're real."
"Yes," she whispered in reply to his absent ramblings. "We're all real."
He looked around the room hesitantly, taking in his surroundings. "Sickbay," he announced cautiously, some memories untainted by the injury.
Hoshi lifted her head hopefully. "Yes, we're in sickbay." She tugged on her hand, but he held it firmly. It had fallen asleep and she could barely feel it. "Please," she pleaded and offered her other hand to him, "take my other hand."
The man granted her request, quickly holding on to her hand before letting go of her other one and started to examine it like the other. Her hands were soft and clean and pliant in his grasp. Comforted with her touch, he yawned again and succumbed to sleep.
--
When he woke, the comfort was gone. The unnatural lighting was dimmed and the sounds of creatures in cages greeted him. Her voice soothed nearby and he sat up slowly, trying to find her, the blanket slipping to his waist.
"I can't sleep either," her voice cooed, as she shushed a squawking animal. "How long have you gone without sleep? Sometimes I can go as long as a week without any substantial sleep. You know, a cat nap here and there."
The animal squawked in protest.
"I'm sorry," she calmed, "I guess you wouldn't really care for a cat, would you?"
The animal calmed.
The man stood on shaky legs, wrapping the blanket around his lean waist, somehow remembering that modesty counted now that he was around other humans.
"I haven't gotten a full night's sleep since my first final exam week at the university, and that was . oh about ten years ago," she prattled on, referring to her first semester at school. Her 'gift' allowed her early admittance to various universities as her parents shuffled her back and forth toting her as a child prodigy. There had been no time to adjust or become friendly with anyone. Travis was actually the truest friend she had ever known.
Some of the words she spoke made sense to him while others held no meaning. Who or what was she speaking to? He rounded the corner and saw her there, legs crossed and holding a piece of food to the mouth of a bird. She gasped in surprise when his shadow fell across the floor in front of her. "Oh, it's you."
He knelt next to her and she scooted over, trying to institute her personal boundary, but her only moved closer to her, reaching out for her hair and pulling strands of it from her ponytail. "It's dreaming time," he stated sadly, looking from her then to the nighttime conditions surrounding them.
Hoshi stared into the depths of his azure eyes. She knew who he was now, but didn't feel that the time to tell him was now. He still looked so lost and so confused as he clasped the blanket around his waist as he sat next to her still touching her hair. There wasn't much personal information listed about him only the basic Starfleet record - name, age, admission date, department and date he was listed missing in action. Lt. Commander Malcolm Reed, now age thirty-six, admitted to Starfleet academy at the age of eighteen on the security track and missing in action for eight and a half years now. The rest of his record was classified. Captain Archer was going through the red tape right now, trying to get the answers, which would help Malcolm recover and remember.
*****
Sound woke him for the first time in his memory and he moved his head to identify the source, his eyes still too heavy to open. A fluttering of wings drew his attention. Wings? There were no birds on the planet. Was he dreaming still? A sense of panic clawed at him as the vision of the dark- haired woman skirted across his consciousness. She was so real and so gentle, and she wore the same type of clothing he had cast off so long ago. Another sound caused him to frown - a rustling, like an animal would rustle through some bushes. He must be dreaming. There was no sound anywhere for him except in his dreams.
Soft murmured voices surrounded him and he startled. He knew the words they spoke as his own thoughts were filled with the language. His dreams were filled with the language too, but never so many as what he was hearing now, and he finally forced his heavy lids to open.
An unnatural light shone bright before him, giving way to strange surroundings. Was he in a different land? He squinted and a shadow moving across him caught his attention.
"Can you hear me?" a voice asked.
The man turned his head toward the voice, yet made no response.
"The damage is repaired. He should be able to hear," another voice replied.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" the voice asked impatiently.
Again the man only stared toward the sound, wanting to answer, but unsure as to how.
"He took quite an interest in Lieutenant Sato, sir. Perhaps he would respond to her," a calm voice interjected.
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Can you hear me?" the Sato's voice questioned, unable to contain the sense of hope within the question.
He turned toward her voice, his eyes still adjusting to the lighting. The outline of her dark hair caught his attention and he lifted his hand toward her, seeking comfort. "Y-yes," he stammered hoarsely, relieved when he felt her warm hand grasp his.
A torrent of emotions ran through him - fear, hope, warmth, and excitement. Her face came into focus and smiled down at him.
"What's your name?" she asked softly, cringing slightly as the man squeezed her hand tighter. Phlox had taken a DNA sample, but the computer was still cross-referencing it with the database.
Name? He knew the word, yet the word held no meaning for him.
"Who are you?" Hoshi rephrased the question.
He frowned, unable to answer. "I.don't know."
His voice was hoarse and low, containing a slight hint of an accent. The frequency of the few words he had muttered struck a cord deep within her and she couldn't help but stroke her thumb back and forth lightly against the top of his hand. She could tell he needed reassurance. She had first noticed his solemn blue eyes as they fixated on her, boring into her as though asking questions she couldn't hear. She had noticed the color of his eyes down on the planet when his hair was long and matted with dirt. Now his hair was cut short with only a minor bald spot where Phlox had made the incision. His beard had also been shaven off. He wasn't infested with parasites as Phlox had suspected earlier, but the doctor didn't want to take any chance with potential infections.
"How did you get to the planet?" Hoshi asked calmly, anticipating her captain's questions.
The man looked down at their hands, his clasping hers roughly while hers offered comfort. "You're r-real?"
She nodded in response and asked another question. "How long have you been there?"
The man released his grasp on the woman's hand and smiled as it remained in his palm. Gently, he raised her hand to his face and rubbed his clean- shaven face against the top of her hand. First sound and now touch. He was able to touch her and she held substance and didn't evaporate in the mist of his dreams. Her question was one of time; a concept he had abandoned long ago and he shrugged his shoulders.
Hoshi grew frustrated with his lack of response and decided upon another tactic. Obviously the man had suffered some sort of trauma. Why he had taken a liking to her, she hadn't a clue. "My name is Hoshi. What is your name?"
Hoshi. Her name was Hoshi. Reality consumed his reasoning and he finally accepted the truth. His kind had come for him. He had felt the loneliness slowly creep upon him through the time he could remember and had sought solace in his dreams. The people his imagination conjured were minor figments compared to the woman with the dark hair. His emotions toward her were strong and volatile. He could feel his eyes burn and his vision blur as water dripped along his cheeks.
She wiped his tears away as the play of emotions crossed his face. He was lost, even to himself. "Is it possible he has amnesia?"
Phlox nodded in agreement to her assessment. "Amnesia is possible with any head injury."
Jon shifted. "When will the analysis be complete?"
"Within the hour," Phlox announced.
Hoshi wiped more tears from the man's cheeks as they poured freely and without shame. He couldn't contain the yawn and the doctor noticed the fatigue of the patient as well. "There will be plenty of time for questions later. For now, he needs his rest."
Hoshi tried to extract her hand from the man's grasp.
He held her hand firmly yet gently. "Please . please, don't leave me."
She looked from the captain to the doctor then to the man, his chest heaving with panic underneath the blue blanket that protected his modesty. She felt for the guy, but really didn't have time to play nursemaid.
"Lieutenant," Captain Archer smiled, seeing the lieutenant grow frustrated, "You're temporarily assigned to sickbay until further notice. I think you've found a new friend."
Phlox's smile broadened as he collected a chair for the young woman to sit in. There was no telling when the man would drift off to sleep and he was hesitant to sedate him any further.
She shifted from foot to foot, glaring over her shoulder at the idiot who was her captain. She smiled at the doctor as he scooted a chair near her posterior. "Thanks, Doctor."
The man looked around the room and continued to pet Hoshi's hand, tactically expecting it by rubbing it across his cheek and lips. His hands held her upper arm now and he muttered to himself. "You're real. You're real."
"Yes," she whispered in reply to his absent ramblings. "We're all real."
He looked around the room hesitantly, taking in his surroundings. "Sickbay," he announced cautiously, some memories untainted by the injury.
Hoshi lifted her head hopefully. "Yes, we're in sickbay." She tugged on her hand, but he held it firmly. It had fallen asleep and she could barely feel it. "Please," she pleaded and offered her other hand to him, "take my other hand."
The man granted her request, quickly holding on to her hand before letting go of her other one and started to examine it like the other. Her hands were soft and clean and pliant in his grasp. Comforted with her touch, he yawned again and succumbed to sleep.
--
When he woke, the comfort was gone. The unnatural lighting was dimmed and the sounds of creatures in cages greeted him. Her voice soothed nearby and he sat up slowly, trying to find her, the blanket slipping to his waist.
"I can't sleep either," her voice cooed, as she shushed a squawking animal. "How long have you gone without sleep? Sometimes I can go as long as a week without any substantial sleep. You know, a cat nap here and there."
The animal squawked in protest.
"I'm sorry," she calmed, "I guess you wouldn't really care for a cat, would you?"
The animal calmed.
The man stood on shaky legs, wrapping the blanket around his lean waist, somehow remembering that modesty counted now that he was around other humans.
"I haven't gotten a full night's sleep since my first final exam week at the university, and that was . oh about ten years ago," she prattled on, referring to her first semester at school. Her 'gift' allowed her early admittance to various universities as her parents shuffled her back and forth toting her as a child prodigy. There had been no time to adjust or become friendly with anyone. Travis was actually the truest friend she had ever known.
Some of the words she spoke made sense to him while others held no meaning. Who or what was she speaking to? He rounded the corner and saw her there, legs crossed and holding a piece of food to the mouth of a bird. She gasped in surprise when his shadow fell across the floor in front of her. "Oh, it's you."
He knelt next to her and she scooted over, trying to institute her personal boundary, but her only moved closer to her, reaching out for her hair and pulling strands of it from her ponytail. "It's dreaming time," he stated sadly, looking from her then to the nighttime conditions surrounding them.
Hoshi stared into the depths of his azure eyes. She knew who he was now, but didn't feel that the time to tell him was now. He still looked so lost and so confused as he clasped the blanket around his waist as he sat next to her still touching her hair. There wasn't much personal information listed about him only the basic Starfleet record - name, age, admission date, department and date he was listed missing in action. Lt. Commander Malcolm Reed, now age thirty-six, admitted to Starfleet academy at the age of eighteen on the security track and missing in action for eight and a half years now. The rest of his record was classified. Captain Archer was going through the red tape right now, trying to get the answers, which would help Malcolm recover and remember.
*****