*****
An exhaustive sleep holds no dreams, letting the mind and spirit rest and the body heal. Sounds pass in and out of the cusps of consciousness and smells encourage wakefulness. The smell of coffee could wake a dead person, but it merely stirred the woman sleeping in his bed. Malcolm continued to record his findings quietly and tapped away at the console.
Cocking his head to one side, Porthos jumped off the bed and looked at the door expectantly. It was time for his master to come get him. It was 'daytime'.
Malcolm opened his door and let the dog out, following him a few yards down the hall and around the corner. He had to give the dog credit. Porthos' hearing was dead on.
"Good Morning, sir."
"Good Morning, Malcolm," Captain Archer yawned. "I hope Porthos didn't keep you up last night."
"He was no trouble at all, sir," Malcolm returned, his thoughts wandering to last night's events.
"We're on our way to breakfast. Would you like to join us," offered Jon as he vigorously petted Porthos.
"No thank you. I've already eaten." Mentally Malcolm chastised himself for lying to the captain, but he wanted to be there when she woke up. He didn't know why, but he needed to be there.
"Ok, then. I'll see you later tonight."
Watching the captain leave, Malcolm cautiously made his way back to his cabin, a sudden sense of impropriety overcoming him. It would not do to have the captain know who was sleeping in Malcolm's cabin. The door hissed closed and Malcolm walked to his terminal to continue his search. Phlox had been very curious and very helpful regarding the log, and did verify some deep tissue damage to his shoulder and torso. Malcolm had obviously suffered other injuries too – multiple healed fractures and deep scarring tissue. Phlox even assisted Malcolm in ascertaining the doctor's identity by running the log through the Starfleet medical database. Of course, Dr. Steven Demarco was dead now. He had served onboard the Intrepid up to his death eleven years ago.
Two leads were left. He knew at one time, he was onboard the Intrepid, doing what he had no idea. Currently, the computer was searching for the second lead – Starfleet personnel by the name of Mukai. There were no hits returned regarding a Mukai on the Intrepid. The search was too broad. He didn't know if the Mukai was the woman's last or first name. But, he did know she was a field medic.
While the computer continued its search, Malcolm continued browsing the schematics and logs of the Intrepid, hoping for something to jog his memory. He yawned.
--
Rubbing her eyes, Hoshi sat up. She was so warm and an unfamiliar weight had settled on her hip. She must have been more tired that she thought for she was still wearing her complete uniform. That wasn't the reason she was hot though she realized as even breathing tickled her hearing. She peered over her shoulder panic her first reaction, but her memory of last night calmed her.
"The kiss...the two kisses," she thought and felt a flush rise in her cheek. She had to leave.
Twisting toward the edge of the bunk, Hoshi tried to wiggle out of his embrace, but his body was between her and the room. His hand wouldn't budge as it shifted position and wrapped around her midriff, happily inserting itself under the curve of her breast.
Moaning piteously, she stilled.
"We need to talk," her captor whispered against her ear.
"I... I have to go. I'm late for my duty shift," replied Hoshi, visions of his naked form flashing through her mind.
Reluctantly he removed his hand. "You have today off."
Rolling onto her back, she smirked up at him. "Since when do you assign shifts?"
"I...After you fell asleep, I went to sickbay and showed Phlox your findings and mentioned your insomnia. He's taken you off active duty for the next two days."
Brown eyes glared up at blue ones. "That's ridiculous! Where do you get off..."
He placed his finger on her lips and silenced her with his steely gaze. "I need your help."
Nodding slowly and wearily, Hoshi could only focus on the tingle his finger caused on her lips.
"I keep running into dead end searches on the computer because my security clearance isn't high enough," he sighed, removing his finger reluctantly from her lips. "I need your computer expertise and clearance to complete the searches I've instituted."
Hoshi looked down chagrined.
"Is that a problem?" asked Malcolm, seeing her discomfort grow.
Sitting up in bed and crossing her legs, Hoshi cleared her throat. "I... um... I hacked into the computer. I really don't have that kind of clearance."
He stared at her as though he didn't understand what she had said. Why would she do such a thing? Could he ask her to do it again? Would he? Then he noticed her downcast eyes and the slight blush to her cheeks, and he realized where they were. He swung around and grabbed his shirt. If it hadn't been for her presence in his bed, he would have slept in the nude. He still didn't much care for clothes.
"If you give me specific parameters for your search, I c...can hack back into the database and see what I can find..."
"Too risky," Malcolm interjected.
"Are you searching for the CMO or Mukai?" she asked without hesitation. "Because that's where I would start and the CMO alluded that Mukai was a woman and that she had the ho..."
"I know what the log said," he snapped, not really wanting to contemplate being with another woman. The woman he wanted was sitting on his bed determined to play sleuth, completely clueless as to what she did to his libido. "Dr. Phlox found the identity of the CMO – Dr. Delmarco on the Intrepid, and..."
Hoshi sprang from the bed excitedly. "That's wonderful! Have you been able to contact him and find..."
Malcolm watched her jumping about and grabbed her shoulders to keep her still. "He's dead."
"Have you started a search for Mukai?" she prattled endlessly. "It's a fairly common Japanese family name. Have you searched Starfleet medical personnel? Dr. Delmarco stated she was a field medic, right? I should be able to look up..."
"I wonder if she's the one who reminds me of you," Malcolm stated out loud, his fingers flexing on her arms, the space between them minimal, yet the unseen space between them growing. Like watching clouds cover the sun, he watched the excitement in her eyes shutter close.
Twelve years! Twelve years of nothing. Twelve years of being nobody of knowing no one. Now he didn't even know himself, the only constant in his life was the woman who stood in front of him.
Turning away from him, Hoshi turned toward his terminal. "I'll start with the medical personnel and..."
"We need to talk."
"About?" countered Hoshi, as she started to tap on the terminal.
"The glaringly obvious pink elephant in the room."
"I don't see a pink elephant."
He couldn't help but smile at her avoidance tactics. They were way better than his. Always a scoundrel, or at least he was now, Malcolm set out to address the issues between them. She was playing calm and collected right now, and he knew now was the time to knock her off balance.
Slowly, Malcolm turned Hoshi to face him, Hoshi resisting the entire way. Her dark almond-shaped eyes flashed and he gave her a lopsided grin as he moved to kiss her.
"Please... don't," she whispered, turning her head. "I can't... won't be a substitute for somebody you may have loved... you may still love."
Hearing the catch in her voice, he pulled away, cursing. He hadn't considered the ramifications – hurting her or the possibility that someone was waiting on him. For him, the beginning of his past started when he woke up and she spoke to him. She was all he knew. She was all he cared to know. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Hoshi nodded. "I'll just take this," she said, waving the PADD around, "and see what I can find."
Before he could respond, she was gone.
*****
A/N – Sorry for the wait, but real life is kicking ass and taking names.
An exhaustive sleep holds no dreams, letting the mind and spirit rest and the body heal. Sounds pass in and out of the cusps of consciousness and smells encourage wakefulness. The smell of coffee could wake a dead person, but it merely stirred the woman sleeping in his bed. Malcolm continued to record his findings quietly and tapped away at the console.
Cocking his head to one side, Porthos jumped off the bed and looked at the door expectantly. It was time for his master to come get him. It was 'daytime'.
Malcolm opened his door and let the dog out, following him a few yards down the hall and around the corner. He had to give the dog credit. Porthos' hearing was dead on.
"Good Morning, sir."
"Good Morning, Malcolm," Captain Archer yawned. "I hope Porthos didn't keep you up last night."
"He was no trouble at all, sir," Malcolm returned, his thoughts wandering to last night's events.
"We're on our way to breakfast. Would you like to join us," offered Jon as he vigorously petted Porthos.
"No thank you. I've already eaten." Mentally Malcolm chastised himself for lying to the captain, but he wanted to be there when she woke up. He didn't know why, but he needed to be there.
"Ok, then. I'll see you later tonight."
Watching the captain leave, Malcolm cautiously made his way back to his cabin, a sudden sense of impropriety overcoming him. It would not do to have the captain know who was sleeping in Malcolm's cabin. The door hissed closed and Malcolm walked to his terminal to continue his search. Phlox had been very curious and very helpful regarding the log, and did verify some deep tissue damage to his shoulder and torso. Malcolm had obviously suffered other injuries too – multiple healed fractures and deep scarring tissue. Phlox even assisted Malcolm in ascertaining the doctor's identity by running the log through the Starfleet medical database. Of course, Dr. Steven Demarco was dead now. He had served onboard the Intrepid up to his death eleven years ago.
Two leads were left. He knew at one time, he was onboard the Intrepid, doing what he had no idea. Currently, the computer was searching for the second lead – Starfleet personnel by the name of Mukai. There were no hits returned regarding a Mukai on the Intrepid. The search was too broad. He didn't know if the Mukai was the woman's last or first name. But, he did know she was a field medic.
While the computer continued its search, Malcolm continued browsing the schematics and logs of the Intrepid, hoping for something to jog his memory. He yawned.
--
Rubbing her eyes, Hoshi sat up. She was so warm and an unfamiliar weight had settled on her hip. She must have been more tired that she thought for she was still wearing her complete uniform. That wasn't the reason she was hot though she realized as even breathing tickled her hearing. She peered over her shoulder panic her first reaction, but her memory of last night calmed her.
"The kiss...the two kisses," she thought and felt a flush rise in her cheek. She had to leave.
Twisting toward the edge of the bunk, Hoshi tried to wiggle out of his embrace, but his body was between her and the room. His hand wouldn't budge as it shifted position and wrapped around her midriff, happily inserting itself under the curve of her breast.
Moaning piteously, she stilled.
"We need to talk," her captor whispered against her ear.
"I... I have to go. I'm late for my duty shift," replied Hoshi, visions of his naked form flashing through her mind.
Reluctantly he removed his hand. "You have today off."
Rolling onto her back, she smirked up at him. "Since when do you assign shifts?"
"I...After you fell asleep, I went to sickbay and showed Phlox your findings and mentioned your insomnia. He's taken you off active duty for the next two days."
Brown eyes glared up at blue ones. "That's ridiculous! Where do you get off..."
He placed his finger on her lips and silenced her with his steely gaze. "I need your help."
Nodding slowly and wearily, Hoshi could only focus on the tingle his finger caused on her lips.
"I keep running into dead end searches on the computer because my security clearance isn't high enough," he sighed, removing his finger reluctantly from her lips. "I need your computer expertise and clearance to complete the searches I've instituted."
Hoshi looked down chagrined.
"Is that a problem?" asked Malcolm, seeing her discomfort grow.
Sitting up in bed and crossing her legs, Hoshi cleared her throat. "I... um... I hacked into the computer. I really don't have that kind of clearance."
He stared at her as though he didn't understand what she had said. Why would she do such a thing? Could he ask her to do it again? Would he? Then he noticed her downcast eyes and the slight blush to her cheeks, and he realized where they were. He swung around and grabbed his shirt. If it hadn't been for her presence in his bed, he would have slept in the nude. He still didn't much care for clothes.
"If you give me specific parameters for your search, I c...can hack back into the database and see what I can find..."
"Too risky," Malcolm interjected.
"Are you searching for the CMO or Mukai?" she asked without hesitation. "Because that's where I would start and the CMO alluded that Mukai was a woman and that she had the ho..."
"I know what the log said," he snapped, not really wanting to contemplate being with another woman. The woman he wanted was sitting on his bed determined to play sleuth, completely clueless as to what she did to his libido. "Dr. Phlox found the identity of the CMO – Dr. Delmarco on the Intrepid, and..."
Hoshi sprang from the bed excitedly. "That's wonderful! Have you been able to contact him and find..."
Malcolm watched her jumping about and grabbed her shoulders to keep her still. "He's dead."
"Have you started a search for Mukai?" she prattled endlessly. "It's a fairly common Japanese family name. Have you searched Starfleet medical personnel? Dr. Delmarco stated she was a field medic, right? I should be able to look up..."
"I wonder if she's the one who reminds me of you," Malcolm stated out loud, his fingers flexing on her arms, the space between them minimal, yet the unseen space between them growing. Like watching clouds cover the sun, he watched the excitement in her eyes shutter close.
Twelve years! Twelve years of nothing. Twelve years of being nobody of knowing no one. Now he didn't even know himself, the only constant in his life was the woman who stood in front of him.
Turning away from him, Hoshi turned toward his terminal. "I'll start with the medical personnel and..."
"We need to talk."
"About?" countered Hoshi, as she started to tap on the terminal.
"The glaringly obvious pink elephant in the room."
"I don't see a pink elephant."
He couldn't help but smile at her avoidance tactics. They were way better than his. Always a scoundrel, or at least he was now, Malcolm set out to address the issues between them. She was playing calm and collected right now, and he knew now was the time to knock her off balance.
Slowly, Malcolm turned Hoshi to face him, Hoshi resisting the entire way. Her dark almond-shaped eyes flashed and he gave her a lopsided grin as he moved to kiss her.
"Please... don't," she whispered, turning her head. "I can't... won't be a substitute for somebody you may have loved... you may still love."
Hearing the catch in her voice, he pulled away, cursing. He hadn't considered the ramifications – hurting her or the possibility that someone was waiting on him. For him, the beginning of his past started when he woke up and she spoke to him. She was all he knew. She was all he cared to know. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Hoshi nodded. "I'll just take this," she said, waving the PADD around, "and see what I can find."
Before he could respond, she was gone.
*****
A/N – Sorry for the wait, but real life is kicking ass and taking names.