Chapter Five

Life's not fair, Hoshi thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling in her quarters, holding the hat to her chest like a cherished souvenir. If it weren't for the hat, she would have thought the ball and kiss were all a dream, but it wasn't. Her lips still tingled from the kiss and her other body parts ached for more.

Her would-be-lover had vanished, leaving his hat behind. So many questions begged to be answered. Where had he gone? What did he look like? Was he human? Who was he?

She punched her pillow and shifted onto her side, careful not to lie on the hat.

Closing her eyes, she hoped for sleep as her thoughts dwelled on the single kiss and the sound of his voice. He had an odd accent, as though he truly did have one, yet was trying to disguise it. Perhaps a kiss would help her guess?

The only thing the kiss had done was throw her active imagination and hormones into overdrive. "Perhaps a cold shower is in order?" she taunted herself in the dark, and got up, placing the hat on the desk next to her discarded dress.

She had just turned the water on when her com beeped. Her heart leaped into her throat as she quickly turned off the water. Maybe he had come for her. She flicked the cabin light on, took a deep breath, and smiled before opening her door.

Her smile faltered as soon as she saw who her visitors were. Travis and Katie stood in the hall, holding hands. "Hi," she greeted them, trying not to let her disappointment show and stepping aside to let them in.

"We wanted you to be the first to know," Katie said excitedly.

Travis smiled. "And we wanted to thank you."

She waited for the punch line, already suspecting what news they wanted to share with her.

"We're getting married," Katie and Travis announced in unison.

Hoshi's plastered smile began to crack as she imagined banging her head against the wall. "That's…that's great!" She hoped a semblance of enthusiasm was heard in her inflection. "I'm so happy…for you guys."

Oblivious to Hoshi's real sentiments, McKenzie hugged her fiancé's best friend. "Thanks, Hoshi."

Travis stared at Hoshi, noticing the puffiness of her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, already guessing it had something to do with Malcolm. The man had promised Travis he would finally tell Hoshi tonight. Obviously, he hadn't.

She couldn't stop the tears from falling and gladly accepted the hug Travis gave her. "He…was there…and…we kissed…but we were interrupted. He still…had his mask…on. The three stooges were…giving…Katie a hard…time, and I…ran them off."

McKenzie gasped. "I am so sorry. I thought M –"

Travis shushed Katie with a glare and pulled away from Hoshi.

"But, I thought –" Katie continued.

" – Maybe, you were in danger," Travis finished saying, giving her another glare.

Wiping the tears away, Hoshi looked at the newly engaged couple. Travis was hiding something and Katie knew what it was. "Travis Alan Mayweather, what are you not telling me?"

Travis took a step back, grabbing Katie by the waist and putting her between them.

"You mean to tell me she doesn't know?" Katie asked him.

"Know what?" Hoshi questioned with a note of menace in her tone.

Katie wiggled away from her intended and walked behind Hoshi, pointing at Travis. "You are in so much trouble."

Frowning, Hoshi approached Travis. "Is there something you need to tell me, Travis?"

Clearing his throat, Travis was suddenly very aware how dry his throat was and how hot it was. "I…I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"Who did you promise? And what did you promise them?" Hoshi poked a finger into his chest.

Katie snickered.

"Um…Honestly, Hoshi. Everybody else knows. I'm surprised it's taken you this long to figure out who your 'Mr. Right' is," Travis said in frustration, trying to deflect some of the blame onto her.

Katie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "How like a man."

The words sank into her slowly and Hoshi blinked, as though having stared into space for a long time. "You mean to tell me you know who he is?"

Travis nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Care to share this information with me?" Hoshi's voice was low and dangerous.

"Uh…yes. As long as you promise not to kill me… or him, for that matter," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Well?" Hoshi prompted.

"Just for the record, you didn't want to know. You said some things were better left a mystery when you found out about the children, and – "

"Just tell her, for Pete's sake!" Katie prodded.

Hoshi merely stared at her friend, wanting to throttle him for keeping this information from her.

"It's Malcolm."

Hoshi didn't move.

"He tried talking to you about it before we entered the vortex, but once he figured out you didn't know, he choked, lying to you and telling you he would wind up a bachelor."

Blinking, she let the name sink in, a torrent of emotions running through her mind.

Travis continued. "He asked me not to say anything afterward, telling me it was best if you made up your own mind."

Malcolm Reed. The name repeated in her head, her memories of him starting to made sense.

"I've told him time and time again that he needed to tell you," Travis said, trying to comfort her and touching her sleeve.

Hoshi slapped his hand away.

"Please forgive me," he pleaded, realizing she was angry.

Angry didn't begin to cover it. She was pissed off – at just about everybody on board. But Travis knowing all along really stung. Leaving the startled pair behind without a word, she left her cabin, went to the turbolift and pressed the button for B deck. She needed to know if it was true.

She didn't remember actually walking to his quarters and pressing the chime, but she did remember his disheveled appearance and questioning look.

Pushing him into his quarters, Hoshi pressed up against him and kissed him, feeling the familiar sensation shoot through her as he deepened the kiss. She pulled away and slapped him, still angry with him for the months which had passed.

Malcolm smiled then, that lopsided grin of his, and pulled her against him, kissing her again. The kiss was gentle and exploring this time. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, happy that she finally knew who he was. "It's about time you figured it out," he whispered against her cheek.

Her eyes flashed and she pulled away, moving to slap him again.

"Would you please stop trying to hit me?" he asked, blocking her attempt and pulling her against his body again.

"I'm so angry with you…with all of you," she said, tears starting to trail down her cheeks.

"Shush, luv," he replied, kissing the tears from her cheeks. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be. But I had to be certain."

"Certain of what?" she asked on a rush of breath, feeling his hands cup her buttocks and pull her even closer. Her anger slowly dissolved as desire sparked within her.

"You had to make the choice," he murmured against her hair. "I didn't want you coming to me because it was in that database."

She closed her eyes and let his words sink in, them soothing the last of her anger away. He was right, and as she opened her eyes she could still see doubt in his eyes.

Smiling, she placed her palm gently against the red mark on his face. "I'm sorry," she breathed against his lips.

Malcolm sighed, somehow managing to keep his hands from roaming where they shouldn't.

"I've felt it all along, Malcolm," she explained. "The attraction to you. But you were always so…distant."

"I was not," he argued. "A bit reserved, maybe, but not distant. Furthermore – "

His argument was lost in a kiss, and his good intentions flew out the window as she took his hands in hers and gave him liberties he had only dreamed about. He smiled knowingly, making mental calculations in his head. Their daughter would be born forty weeks from now – the first child born on Enterprise.

"Are you certain, Hoshi?" he asked, gasping as she slid his zipper down and kissed a path along his neck.

"Yes," she replied.

FIN

A/N – There is an epilogue, but it's a bit too smutty for this site. So I'll just have to leave it here. I don't want to get banned. If you really want it, just email me.