A few months later—

Another job well done! The UT had only one thing consistent about it – it was never consistent or reliable. Thankfully, she had been on duty for the first contact with the Laons. A meeting had been arranged, and Hoshi could tell Commander Tucker was chomping at the bit to trade for spare injector parts. Not only that, but it was highly likely that some shore leave could be arranged.

Kelly and Rostov had married, yet had had no opportunity for a honeymoon. It had taken some doing, but the quartermaster had managed to arrange for them to move into a private cabin.

Hoshi had lent Kelly her ivory hair comb for something borrowed, but had declined the other woman's request to be a bridesmaid. Hydroponics had made a beautiful bouquet and Katie McKenzie had caught it, earning a hearty ribbing from her "big brothers."

She stepped into the turbolift, her expression of dreamy bliss wiped clean as she saw who was on the lift -- Malcolm. He seemed more unapproachable than ever, having embraced his bachelorhood with a flare that would have given Trip a run for his money when he was available.

Her list of eligible men was dwindling and her desperation was growing. Whoever the father of her children was, was proving to be very elusive. Maybe I just need to see Phlox and let him take care of it, she thought to herself.

"Take care of what?" Malcolm asked. "Are you ill?"

Jumping out of her skin, not realizing she had said her thought out loud, she chuckled nervously. What should she say next? Tell him she was desperate to have children and ask him if she could please have a sample?

"Uh, no, not at all," she mumbled and sighed in relief as the lift door opened. She got off and stopped short as the unfamiliar surroundings of F deck greeted her. Naturally, he ran into her, wrapping his arm around her midriff to stop her from falling flat on her face.

"Is there something I can help you with, Ensign?" he asked oddly, making sure she had her balance, and then letting her go.

"Uh, no, sir," she stuttered, telling her overactive hormones to calm down. "I, um, I'm on the wrong deck."

"I see," he replied and walked away.

Hoshi faced the door to the turbolift, which had already closed and was making its rounds up and down decks. Great! Now the indignity of having to wait!

God, I hope there's shore leave. In the very least, I need to get laid.

--

Yippee! The Laons are having a masked ball! Hoshi stared at her blank terminal before turning it on and said a quick prayer. "Please draw my lot so I can go to the ball, Fairy God-computer."

The screen flickered to life and she pulled up her messages. The fact that she had a message boded well. Clicking on it, Hoshi held her breath.

A squeal of delight erupted from her cabin as she started planning her night out.

The chime to her quarters rang and a voice called out, "Hoshi, are you okay?"

Opening the door, she paid no mind to the identity of her visitor and chattered excitedly about the party.

"I'm fine," she answered quickly, moving aside. "Can you believe we are actually going to get off this bucket-of-bolts? No offense. Enterprise has been and will always be home, but we need fresh air from time to time, right?"

Malcolm stepped inside and watched Hoshi pace back and forth.

"Maybe I'll meet –" She stopped, suddenly aware of who she was talking to. "Is there something I can help you with, sir?"

Backing up against the door and searching for the panel, he stammered, "No, no, no. I was…um…walking by and heard you…squeak. I thought you might be in some sort of trouble."

Seeing how nervous he was, she couldn't resist teasing him. "Perhaps you should stop by and see Lieutenant Hess," she suggested teasingly. "Only a third of the crew are women, and dates will be hard to come by."

"I just might do that," he mumbled and left.

--

Malcolm stepped into the turbolift and banged his head on the wall. "Bloody hell! Bloody hell!" Now what was he going to do? Travis was right. She was definitely a woman on the prowl, and there were several men on this ship who would gladly take his place.

He laughed out loud. Just about everybody on the ship knew he was the father of Hoshi's children…everybody except her. Trip had been right. Knowing the future wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Remembering several months ago when they encountered their descendants, Malcolm naturally checked on himself. After all, he would be able to skip all the awkward first dates and romantic foolishness women were so fond of. He wanted to see if he married, but was surprised to see he actually had children.

The thought of children petrified him. But the thought of children with Hoshi made parenthood seem…pleasant. In all honesty, he had forgotten his children's names once he saw who their mother was. But, he did remember their birth dates. Time was running out.

He had to draw a favorable lot. He had to go to that blasted party.