Hi!

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed so far. You guys rule.

Also, a huge, special thank you to my fantastic new Beta, G.Eliot. You rock!

(I don't know Hoshi's parents names, so I made them up.)

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He didn't want to be here. Malcolm stood to attention (a feat accomplished thanks to the surgery that Phlox had performed) beside Archer and Trip at the airlock as he waited for the ship to dock with Enterprise. They had been back on Enterprise for a month, and he and Hoshi's wedding was only a few days away.

Enterprise was in orbit around Bentak, where they had returned after retrieving the shuttle pod from Terra. Trip had taken an engineering crew down to the planet, and had spent several weeks overhauling the small shuttle's systems, fixing the damaged hull and getting it working again. To the rest of the crew, they had been gone for fifteen minutes.

Enterprise returned to Bentak to continue talks, expecting a frosty reception. To Archer's shock, once the Bentak officials learned the reason for their hasty flight, they became much more welcoming. It turned out that the Bentak are very family orientated, and believe strongly in close relationships. The fact that Archer was willing to abandon delicate negotiations to rescue endangered crewmembers spoke highly in his favour. Ever since then, negotiations had gone much more smoothly.

They even offered to host Malcolm and Hoshi's wedding, since there were no rooms big enough to house the crew and perform the ceremony. So, Malcolm and Hoshi were to be married in the large park in the Bentak capital city, Bensal. Because it was becoming a large affair, Hoshi invited her parents, leaving Malcolm no choice but to invite his.

Thus, his current problem.

The Vulcan ship, the Das'Min, was carrying his parents and his sister to Enterprise so they could attend the wedding. Hoshi's parents had arrived a few days earlier, on a cargo ship. It had been a tense few minutes when Malcolm had first met Agama and Dashiki Sato, but they had melted upon seeing Celeste, and the atmosphere between them had relaxed considerably. Turns out that Agama and Malcolm got on pretty well. Malcolm already had a healthy respect for the man.

The door hissed open, to reveal a young blond woman on the other side. An older couple stood several feet behind her. Malcolm stepped forward, and smiled a welcome to his sister. She stayed calm for a minute, before flinging herself at her brother. She squeezed him hard, and he hugged her just as hard right back.

"Malcolm! It's so good to see you big brother."

"I missed you Maddy" Malcolm told her.

"Madeleine, control yourself," a sharp voice interrupted their reunion. They turned as Admiral Stuart Reed steeped onto the ship. Mary stepped around her husband, and gently hugged her son, wiping a tear from her eye when he kissed her cheek. "Reed," Stuart greeted Malcolm. Jon and Trip exchanged glances at the coldness of the greeting.

"Father," Malcolm's reply was just as cold.

Archer decided that this would be a good time to intervene, and stepped forward.

"Admiral Reed, Mrs. Reed, Ms. Reed, welcome aboard," he began. "I'm Captain Jonathan Archer. This is my Chief Engineer, Commander Charles Tucker the Third." Trip stood forward and held out his hand to Malcolm's father, who took it after a noticeable pause.

"Ah yes, Commander Tucker. Mary tells me that you're friends with my son."

"I am sir." Trip replied, determined to give the man a chance, even though he was really insulted. "Malcolm and I have become best friends. It's an honour to know him."

"Hmm," came the reply. Stuart turned to his son. "Fraternizing with superior officers? Though I taught you better." He turned away, and looked down the hall, thereby missing the blush of mortification that stole across his wife and daughter's cheeks, and the muscle that began ticking in Malcolm's jaw.

"So, this is Enterprise?" he turned to Archer. "Much smaller than I thought it would be." Before Archer could reply, Malcolm cut in.

"Enterprise is fifteen times bigger that the Titan, the largest ship in the royal Navy Fleet, as you well know. It's big enough. I must apologize for my father's rudeness Sir" he told Jon.

"It's alright Lieutenant," Jon replied. He saw no need for Malcolm to apologize. "If you'll follow me," he asked their guests, motioning them down the hall "I'll show you to your quarters."

Stuart stalked down the hall, followed by an embarrassed wife and amused Captain. Maddy linked her arm through Malcolm's, and Trip fell into step beside them, as they followed.

"I must apologize for my father, Commander." Maddy told Trip. "He's been sulking since we left Jupiter Station. He shouldn't have said what he did."

"No need for you to apologize Ms. Reed. And call me Trip. Commander sounds so formal, and after all, I'm your brother's best man."

"Well, in that case, I'm Maddy."

Malcolm rolled his eyes at the vibes coming off the two of them, which only made Trip laugh when he caught Malcolm's eye.

"Malcolm dear" his mother called, linking his arm through her son's, and pulling him away. "Tell me how you come up with the name Celeste."

Trip was watching Mary drag her son towards the turbo lift, and jumped slightly when hew felt Maddy slip her arm through his. He smiled down at her upturned face, astounded at the difference in personality between brother and sister. Maddy was so open, and smiled a lot from what he could tell. Though, Malcolm had changed since his stint on the planet. He seemed a whole lot happier.

"Did you see the look on Malcolm's face when I told you to call me Maddy?" she asked, grinning.

"I did. I'm afraid he doesn't trust me around you."

"Why not?"

"Well, ever since was the whole getting pregnant thing, which by the way, he still doesn't let me forget, whenever we meet beautiful women, he has this smirk on his face. I think he's just worried now cos the woman is baby sister."

Maddy was stunned. He thought she was beautiful? By then, they had reached the others, and they both saw Malcolm's eyes narrow when he saw her arm linked through Trip's. She smiled as she came up with a fantastic idea to annoy her brother. It had been far too long since she had done so in person.

She stumbled a little, and fell against Trip. He caught her arms to steady her, and she smiled up at him.

"Why thank you Trip" she purred. At first, the Commander looked nonplussed. But then he caught on and turned on the Southern charm.

"No problem at all, I assure you." He had yet to remove his hands from his arms, and Malcolm looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. Come to think of it, Maddy's father wasn't looking too happy either. Mary looked confused, and Jon was trying very hard not to laugh.

Maddy re-tucked her arm through Trip's, and they entered the lift. She saw the pointed glares Malcolm's was sending both their ways, and she grinned.

This was going to be fun.

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"So, where is she?" Stuart demanded, when the family was alone in the guest quarters. Maddy had just dumped her bags in her room next-door, and joined the others. "Where is this Hoshi person?"

"Stuart" his long suffering wife sighed. "I told you, be nice."

"Father" Malcolm bit out through clenched teeth "I'm warning you, if you insult my fiancée, or my daughter, you will be sorry. Come to think of it, you should apologize to the Captain and Commander. You were inexcusably rude to them, causing myself, and your wife and daughter great embarrassment."

"Just who do you think you are talking to?" his father roared.

"I know full well who you are sir," Malcolm replied. "I'm just giving you fair warning." His father subsided into silence, glowering at his son.

"Malcolm dear" his mother interrupted the staring contest that had begun between the two Reed men and trying to bring peace to the group, "when are we going to meet your Hoshi? And Celeste?" She couldn't prevent the maternal yearning in her voice when she spoke Celeste's name, and Malcolm smiled.

"I'll take you to meet Celeste as soon as you've unpacked. She'd with Hoshi's parents right now. Hoshi's on duty, as am I in an hour. I'll take her to meet you when we are on lunch. And father," he said, turning to the man in question, "you will respect her. Starfleet has accepted our relationship, so must you."

His father harrumphed in the corner, and Malcolm resisted the urge to sigh in frustration.

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"Who's a gorgeous girl then?" Celeste laughed as Dashiki Sato swung her around. Dashiki was speaking in Japanese, so Celeste had no idea what her grandmother was saying, but she laughed anyway. Agama looked on fondly at the domestic scene before him. He couldn't believe it. His little star was a mother. And Celeste was such an appropriate name.

And his future son-in-law? Malcolm had seemed a little cold at first, which insulted Agama, until he realized that Malcolm was terrified of meeting him, of failing Hoshi and disappointing her. After speaking to Hoshi about Malcolm's family, Agama well understood the young man's trepidation, and made the extra effort. The change was astounding.

He was brought out of his musings by the door-chime sounding. He opened the door to find Malcolm standing on the other side. Speak of the devil... Behind him were an older couple, and a young blond woman. Truth be told, Agama wasn't looking forward to meeting Malcolm's parents, once he heard how his father had reacted to their relationship. But he was willing to try, for Hoshi's sake.

"Agama" Malcolm greeted Hoshi's father. "Dashiki. I want you to meet Stuart and Mary Reed, my parents. This is Madeleine Reed, my sister." He was interrupted from his introduction by Celeste shout of 'Daddy'. She wriggled from her Grandmother's grasp, tottered across the floor and attached herself to Malcolm's leg.

Malcolm bent down and scooped her up, blowing kisses on her cheeks and making her laugh. Silent tears of happiness fell down Mary's cheeks as she watched her son interact with his daughter. He was an excellent father, she could tell. She had been scared that Stuart's attitude had scarred him, but looking at him now, it was obvious that her fears were groundless.

"Mother, Father, Maddy, Agama and Dashiki Sato, Hoshi's parents." Malcolm introduced the two families as he hefted his daughter so she was seated on his hip. "And this is Celeste, my daughter."

Maddy stepped forward, and bent slightly so she was eye-level with her niece.

"Hello sweetie," she cooed. There was something in her voice that made Celeste trust her, and she made no objections when Malcolm passed her to Maddy. Awkward chatter followed, so awkward that Malcolm was delighted when he had to leave for his shift

He left Mary and Dashiki chatting politely, with Agama and Maddy playing with Celeste. His father had taken up residence in the corner, still sulking. Malcolm left him to it. He kissed his daughter (who was having so much fun with the new people) goodbye, and gratefully left for his post on the bridge.

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Celeste didn't know who these people were, but, Daddy seemed to like them. Pus, they didn't yell when you pulled their ears. They were playing and tickling her, and telling her she was pretty, and the image of her mother.

All except one man.

He sat in the corner, not talking, looking out the window at the sparkly white things in the sky. Why wasn't he playing with her?

With a recklessness that she could only have inherited from her father, she wandered over to him. He didn't notice her. His head was resting to one side, and she could just reach his ear. Giving it a sharp tug, she fell back a little when he turned around sharply.

He looked angry.

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Lunch came all too quickly for Hoshi. She had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of meeting her future-in-laws, and she could barely swallow the quick sandwich she and Malcolm had grabbed in the Mess Hall before going to her parent's quarters.

"Relax" Malcolm told her, gently massaging her shoulders as they waited for the turbo lift to open. "They are going to love you."

"Oh, come on Malcolm! I hung up on your dad! I bet he knows that it wasn't an accident too. Oh God!" she buried her face in her hands as they stepped off the lift, and began the short trek down the hall. "He's gonna hate me!"

"Hoshi, Father hates almost everyone, even me. Don't take it personally. Besides, Maddy and Mother will love you."

"I hope so."

"Of course they will. I do, so they will too."

Hoshi smiled, and leaned her head against his shoulder and she slipped her arm about his waist. Starfleet had allowed them to stay on Enterprise, as long as they were professional on duty. Well, Hoshi reasoned as they reached their destination, we're not on duty now.

They both straightened up as they waited for the door to open. Dashiki opened it, and both Malcolm and Hoshi were struck dumb by the scene before them.

Stuart Reed was sitting cross-legged on the floor, teaching Celeste Pat-A-Cake. She was gazing up at him with an adoring expression on his face, and every now and then, he would run an affectionate hand over her baby-soft hair. Malcolm was rooted to the spot in shock. Was he babbling baby talk to his daughter?

Hoshi looked just as confused.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," she told him. He grinned, and they entered the room.

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"You should have seen him!" Maddy exclaimed as she cuddled Celeste later that night. Both sets of parents had gone for a walk around the ship, and Maddy, Malcolm, Hoshi and Celeste were sitting in Maddy quarters, catching up. Maddy was currently regaling the stunned couple with what happened when Celeste pulled Stuart's ear.

"He looked angry at her... for about five seconds. Then he just started smiling at her. He picked her up, and looked at her closely, and started playing with her. I'm telling you, she has him wrapped around his little finger!"

"That's my girl" Hoshi boasted affectionately, giving her daughter a kiss. "You can melt even the hardest heart."

"Oh God Hosh, look, we're late back on duty. We've got to go."

"Wait, who'll look after Celeste?" she asked.

"I'll do it," Maddy immediately volunteered. "I want to spend a little quality time with my niece."

"That's great Maddy. Thanks."

"No problem. Come on munchkin" she said, lifting Celeste into her arms. "Let's go for a walk. See if we can find Uncle Trip."

Hoshi laughed at the murderous expression on Malcolm's face. "You know they're only doing it to wind you up?" she teased.

"I know" he replied. "What I'm worried about is that perhaps it's not only about teasing me."

"She's a big girl Malcolm," Hoshi informed him as they walked towards the lift. "She can take care of herself."

"I know. Still, maybe I'll have a word with Trip..."

"Don't you dare interfere!"

"But..."

"No buts. Leave them be."

Malcolm sighed.

"Yes dear."

Why did he have the feeling that he'd be saying 'Yes dear' alot in the future?

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So, what do you think?

R & R please.

LieutenantsLady