Between A Rock and… Another Big Rock

By Didi

Disclaimer: (Hate these things.) I do not own any of the recognized characters, places or things in this story. This is purely as pleasure writing and no profit shall be made from it. Any copyright infringement I may be committing is unintentional and without malice. I would be more than happy to STOP, just tell me. There, does that cover it all?

Rating: PG 13 for now.

Story Summary: The crew goes hunting underground.

Chapter Summary: Coates teaches Sato a way to deal with her fears. Hoshi points the team toward a right direction. Archer gets a little help from Phlox.

Timeline: Set before the episode "Azati Prime" in Season 3.

Author's Note: I'm waiting rather impatiently for the next season to begin so they can finish all this temporal war thing. It's getting confusing and a little annoying now. Plus I'm dying to see Brent Spiner guest star.

Spoiler: Everything up through "The Hatchery." (I'm being nicely cautious here.)

Key: "Spoken" "Thoughts"

Acknowledgement: For Steph, my beta. You are wonderful!

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Chapter Seven – Coping Strategies

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"I thought for sure they heard us."

"You're not the one that had to face them," Hoshi made a noise that was a cross between a groan and giggle, then sat down next to Katie Coates again. "But all they wanted was some more translations on a location of an energy unit."

"Thank god."

"Yeah," then let out a small giggle. "Though I would have loved to see Cdr. Tucker's face if he ever find out you picture him naked when you're nervous."

Coates pressed her lips together and suppressed the urge to giggle like a teen. She glanced up to make sure no one could overhear them. "Hey, he kept me from going into hysterics being the one that goes into the dark; I hate the dark. I really, really hate the dark." Katie did two tours on the Mar, which was dark six days out of a week. "Haven't you ever seen any of the old 20th century horror films? The first one into the dark is always the first one to die." Hoshi gurgled a laugh as Katie made an unpleasant face. "When we first came onboard and we had to rescue the captain and Cdr. Tucker from those mines, I was scared witless. I've only trained off-planet, never a mission. I used the commander as my sanity-saving point, waiting for me at the end of my lead rope."

"But naked?" her eyes wide with disbelief, her own nervousness receded as she was shocked by Coates's coping methods.

"Butt naked," she corrected with a devious laugh. "And what a fine butt that boy…"

"Stop it, stop it, stop it. I have to work with him," Hoshi wailed quietly. An unwanted image of a stripped down Commander Tucker in the decontamination chamber came to mind; and then a few more images made their way in. "Oh god," she buried her face in her hands. "I'm never going to be able to look him in the eyes again."

"Hoshi, ya alright?"

She muffled a shriek at the sound of Cdr. Tucker's voice.

"Shh…" Katie made a frantic motion has she turned a bright shade of red. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"You're the one that started it!" Hoshi replied in a harsh whisper.

"I was just trying to help," not bothering to hide her grin.

"It's claustrophobia, not stage fright."

"Still…" she tilted her head and regarded her with twinkling eyes, "You have to admit it keeps you from thinking too much about the walls around us."

"Oh god," she squeezed her eyes shut. "How am I going to face him?"

"Quick, imagine someone else," Katie suggested as she saw the commander get up out of the corner of her eye. "Like…um… um…" her mind searched for another fine looking man that the girls on the MACO unit giggle about. "… like the captain."

"That's no better!" Hoshi hissed in a real panic now as her mind went to bad, bad places. Now she was going to have to spend the rest of the trip avoiding everyone's eyes just to keep her composure. On the other hand, she had completely forgotten to be nervous over her claustrophobia.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sanchez asked, his feet propped up as he checked his weapon, a nightly ritual.

"Mind your own business," Coates growled at her comrade. Sanchez put up his hands and backed off quickly; women were dangerous in packs.

"Hoshi?" Trip asked coming closer to knelt down next to her, sending a blushing Sgt. Coates a curious look before turning to his friend. "Are you all right there, darling?"

Peeking through her fingers, Hoshi bit her lip hard to keep from bursting into laughter. If Katie's face was any brighter shade, she'd be in danger of literally exploding. "Yes sir."

"Ya sure?" Trip frowned with concern. Her skin had an unnatural flush, which put color on her pale face but was still unusual on her. Putting his hand on her forehead, "You don't feel hot."

"I'm fine sir," Hoshi reassured him, sitting up straight when she saw that he really was concerned over her welfare. It warmed her to know that he cared. "Katie was just helping me with – um – my problems with enclosed spaces."

"Really?" he replied with obvious relief as evidenced by his sigh. He turned to the MACO, "What've you been telling Hoshi, Sergeant?"

Katie wished for a hole to open up so she could crawl into it and just die of embarrassment. "Um – nothing much sir." If McKenzie found about this, she was never going to hear the end of it. "Just that – that – that laughter is the best cure for every ailment."

Trip, more institutive than anyone will ever give him credit for, smiled and nodded his head knowingly. Growing up with two sisters gave him plenty of opportunities to analyze irrationalities of the female mind. It also taught him that if a girl didn't want you knowing about something, there's usually a damn good reason for it. Woe to the man that was stupid enough to push. "Very good advice, Sergeant, keep up the great work," then with a wink for Hoshi and a whacking pat on the shoulder for Katie, he left the ladies to their talk.

Rubbing her shoulder blade, Coates made a face at Sato, who was doing a horrible job at containing herself. "You know, this is the problem with being a MACO: everyone thinks of you as one of the guys. How's a girl ever to get herself a guy if they all think of you as a guy?"

Hoshi smothered a giggle with much difficulty. "You should hear what Lizzie tells the girls to do - Elizabeth Cutler that is," she clarified. It just hit her that the Star Fleet women and the MACO women didn't associate all that much. "Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we?"

"What?"

The edges of Hoshi's lips made an upward turn. "Strip down for the guy. There are very few men that would be able to think, much less do, anything at that point."

"She didn't!" a whole new respect for Fleeters suddenly arose in her.

"I don't have any first hand knowledge of it," Hoshi answered honestly, though she had a feeling Lizzie had been joking at the time. But with Liz, sometimes one really couldn't tell. "But she and Dr. Phlox…"

Coates's eyes went wide. "No!"

"Yes," nodding her head in affirmation.

"Wow!" Katie's whole face lit up with interest. "I heard Denobulans have three wives and their wives have three husbands."

"They do," curious as to what would cause this reaction.

Katie couldn't hold onto her laughter any longer. "They must get plenty of practice then. Lucky Cutler."

It took a stunned moment for Hoshi to get the gist of the comment, then another breathless moment to get over the shock of it as she picked her jaw office the ground before she burst into laughter, muffling it quickly behind her hands with great difficulty as the rest of the team turned to look at them. Eyes brimming with glee, "Oh god, I've got to tell Lizzie this."

"You won't!" Katie choked out, eyes wide with shock.

"Of course I have to." Hoshi wrapped the cloak tighter herself. Was it her or was it getting colder? "Katie, you've got to come to girl's night."

A tiny crease appeared between Coates's brows. "What's that?"

"The first of every month, the girls on the ship gather in the gallery for a little movie, a little chatting, a little nail polishing and just plain gossiping. Just about everyone tries to come unless they're on duty and most rotate their duties so they can at least show up once every two months. Chef makes special pies just for us."

"Oh… I'd go just for the pies." Katie had never enjoyed better pecan pies in her life since coming onboard Enterprise. No matter how bad things are going, Chef always manages to bring forth a couple of smiles with his wondrous pies. "Who talked him into that? He snarls at us when we ask for seconds."

"Lizzie and me," she grinned. "The guys have their private poker nights all over the ship. I thought with the men outnumbering the women 2 to 1, we should have something special as well."

Chuckling, "Why do I have a feeling you guys do more than just gossip?"

"Oh we gossip about lots of things," Hoshi informed her conspiratorially as she reached for the ration Katie had set out for her. "And that includes what Joanne Burns would like to do to Corporeal Hawkins if she ever catches him in the gym alone again." She lost her grin as she glanced down at her ration, "Beef with broccoli and sweet melons. Yuck, I'll never be this hungry."

Katie laughed - at what she wasn't so sure.

-&-&-&-

"I don't think you need to worry too much about keeping Hoshi calm, Commander," Reed said as he glanced over when soft giggling could be heard again. There was actually something rather comforting by the two girls' laughter. It evoked better times.

Tucker bit into the unappetizing ration, trying not to taste it. Whoever decided on spaghetti and Florida peaches needed to be shoved into the nearest airlock. "Looks like Sgt. Coates is doing my job for me. That or Hoshi's got another happy pill hiding somewhere."

"They seem happy," Reed smile as Hoshi laughed again at something Coates said, waving away the comment with a roll of her tired eyes. She appeared her age once more. "But they should get some rest while they can."

"Give them a few more minutes, Malcolm," Trip suggested as Major Hayes approached. "It's the most relaxed ah've seen Hoshi in a while. Don't spoil the fun for her."

"She's got to rest if she's going to be of any good to us tomorrow," Reed pointed out wearily. But the commander was right; it's the first time he's seen the formerly cheerful communications officer laugh in a long while. "Lord, we've been so buried in our work that we've forgotten about the people." Glancing at the rest of the away team, "Major, shall we do rotations for sleep?"

"It's already set up," Matt replied as he sat down and checked his weapon. A man and his rifle: a relationship not to be messed with. "Can I rotate you and your man in?"

"Me and Jamison too," Trip added with a firm nod though his tone was light. "Can't let you boys have all the fun 'round here." It was an order, not a suggestion.

"You're part's coming up," Matt replied though he wasn't going to argue with the commander. Pride was a great motive and a dangerous enemy. Without thought, he disassembled his rifle, checking every part before reassembling it again with sure hands. "We've all got basic training in computer construction but you're the expert on this one." He glanced briefly at the PADD in Cdr. Tucker's hand, reminding himself of the different functions a PADD can do.

"Agreed," Malcolm murmured quietly, chewing on his own unappetizing ration.

"Now that ain't true," Trip chirped in and finally gave up on the ration. He was just not hungry enough to eat this crap. "Give me a warp engine, the schematics of any ship, hell give me a monkey wrench and a good ole' fashion ford truck and I'm as happy as a hog in the trough. But weapons…" He made a face and pretended to shudder. "That's you boys' field o' expertise. I'll build them but ya gotta play with them."
"Who's got to play with what?" Hoshi asked as she squirmed her way into the circle, her pale face illuminated by the light unit set up next to Trip. She handed out some hard biscuits to them with a mild smile. "Shh… don't wake the others," she said softly before biting into her biscuit.

"Darlin', you're a life saver," Trip whispered and gave her a one armed hug as he bit into a hard biscuit. "Ah've never tasted anything so bland or so good. And we were talking about the boys here and their toys."

Hayes studied the biscuit with interest as he added, "I believe that's Lt. Reed's proficiency. I'm more of a hands-on kind of guy."

Hoshi made a face and offered him juice from a box.

"Where did you get these, Hoshi?" Reed asked, savoring the non-taste of the biscuits. There was a downtime feel to the moment and he didn't feel the need to address her as a subordinate despite his role on this mission.

"Chef likes me," she explained with a grin as she scrounged around the little bag she was holding. "He always makes sure I get a knapsack full of these things when he knows I'm going away. Thinks the rations are…" she paused to remember the dramatic moment in the kitchen when the big burly man had scoffed at the rations she had complained to him about, "'…a disgrace to the culinary arts. Do not ever allow them in my presence again,'" she quoted in a near perfect imitation of the Swedish man's accent.

Trip laughed while Reed and Hayes shook their heads at her. "How did he even have time to…"

"Oh he keeps them around in a big box. These things are so dry that they keep for months at a time. If you ask him, he'll give it to you without a fuss. Liz stopped by to get some for me when she came with the pill…" Her pretty face screwed up in a disagreeable expression. "Which is why I'm here."

Handing the biscuits back in one hand, Hayes tugged gently on her cloak with the other, briefly wondering if he was allowed to touch her like this but shrugged it off. "Stay warm, these combat suits are good but they're not perfect. And save these for yourself; I can handle lousy rations for a few days."

"Don't be a martyr," she scolded gently as she practically shoved a biscuit into the major's mouth, ignoring his startled look. "Why suffer when you don't have to? Besides, I expect to be out of here in a day or two and I've got plenty of biscuits to go around until then." She gave his knee a quick pat and then went back to tugging on her cloak. "About this afternoon," she bit her lip gently. "I wanted to apologize for any… inappropriate behavior I may have shown while under the influence of Phlox's 'help.' I honestly didn't know that the pill was a mild sedative." She didn't add that she probably would have done the exact same thing again given that she doubted she could have made it pass the first hundred miles without completely losing her sanity if not for being drugged.

With his mouth full, Hayes couldn't comment without appearing like an uncouth ass; but she looked so adorably sheepish (sheepishly adorable?) that he wanted to give her some reassurance. Why he would do such a thing was not something he wanted to analyze too closely.

"Don't worry, Hoshi," Trip grinned as he slid a teasing glance the major's way. He didn't miss the slight softening in the major's eyes. "Matt don't mind."

"Nevertheless…"

"It's alright, ma'am," Hayes finally managed to vocalize, deciding that he rather liked the hard biscuits as opposed to the horrible Star Fleet rations. That lamb stew and kiwi ration left a distressing taste in his mouth. How Sanchez could happily wolf three of those things down was beyond him; shockingly they were worse than the military ones, at least those all tasted the same… like tree bark. "No harm, no foul."

She raised a brow at him. "If that's supposed to comfort me Major Hayes, you need to take a lot more classes in communications."

Matt offered her a rare smile. "I'm a soldier, ma'am; I deal with combat not rhetoric. That's your department."

Because he smiled, she returned it. "You've got a great smile, Major. You really ought to do it more often," she advised him sincerely and without any ulterior motive.

For a moment, Hayes was uncertain whether the ensign was on drugs again or if she was merely flirting with him. But Hoshi had already turned away to speak with Lt. Reed about the capacity of the energy cell. Bemused and a little thrown off center, Matt blinked to readjust himself back to reality.

Trip leaned closer to the other man, a sympathetic tilt to his head. He had seen this more times than he could count over the years that he'd known sweet little Hoshi. "Relax, she's simply like that sometimes. Drives a man crazy but that's what makes her so special." Trip had also noticed that Hoshi had a habit of observing other things simply to get her mind off of what was really bothering her.

Given that the commander knew her much longer and at a more intimate level, Matt accepted it without thought. "I thought it's because she speaks fifty plus languages and can curse at you in Klingon."

"That too," Trip acknowledged with a grin.

"I think I've found what you're going to need," Hoshi was explaining to Lt. Reed as Hayes and Tucker tuned back from their conversational detour and into the discussion at hand. She had attempted to sleep as the Commander had ordered her to earlier but after half an hour of feeling the walls close in, her mind wandered through all kinds of unpleasant thoughts and she decided to do something else. And as usual, her work came to her rescue. But even work didn't distract her from the cold that seemed to have permeated her bones. She was bent over the PADD in her lap, wrapping her arms around her elbow and trying to keep from shivering.

"And what would that be?" Reed asked with a frown.

"You cold, darling?" Trip asked unnecessarily at the same time.

"A bit," she grumbled to the commander before handing the PADD to Reed. "I think I've figured out where the base of operation for the Reptilians is."

"Where?"

"How?"

"Here, let's keep you warm."

"I'm fine," Hoshi answered to the last comment made and batted a hand away. "I'm just a little cold. Women have bad circulation."

"Who told you that?" Hayes wanted to know.

"My mother," Hoshi replied with certainty.

Matt nodded his head in perfect understanding. One learned early in life never to doubt a mother… especially one's own. "Then you definitely need to stay warm," he reached over and pulled his cloak from where he had laid it over his pack. "Take mine."

"No." There was sharpness in Hoshi's usually gentle voice, not used since she left the academia world, which made Major Hayes react instinctively to a command. "I'm fine."

Tucker's hand reached out and pulled Hayes's back with a quick shake of his head. There was a real warning in Trip's eyes when they met Matt's. He's seen Hoshi get that mulish look. For such a petite little thing, Hoshi Sato was a force to be reckoned with on the best of circumstances. And added to her advantage was the fact that she was well liked among the crew, half of whom would be conspirators should she choose to dole out punishment. This would not end well for the major.

"Tell me about this theory of yours," Malcolm said as he gave Major Hayes a sympathetic look. Hayes wasn't the first and probably won't be the last person to attempt to protect the delicate linguist; Malcolm could certainly understand that feeling when looking at the girl's fragile features. Of course, he didn't have the orders of the captain to make sure the ensign stayed safe.

Hoshi was silent for a moment, too many thoughts making their way through her mind; and too many of those thoughts centered on her inability to stay on top of things. "Focus Hoshi, just keep focusing on the target and you can get through this." Nodding to herself, she took a deep breath to calm her thumping heart. "The Reptilians are going to be there," pointing at the little blue mark she had digitally made on the map. Malcolm opened his mouth to ask the next question but she beat it him to it. "The red marks are volcanoes that Miran told me about. They are still active. That particular generator is the closet point to the volcano, which means it's the warmest area in this labyrinth."

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Trip asked confused as he leaned over to look at the map.

"They're Reptilians, Commander. Cold-blooded doesn't just describe their personalities."

The obviousness of it was so great that Trip gave a mighty groan and fell backwards in dismay.

-&-&-&-

"Got a moment, Doc?"

Phlox looked up from his cultures and smiled widely. "I always have a moment for my esteemed captain. How can I be of service?"

Jon paused uncomfortably as he moved about the doctor's menagerie. "You've been with us for some time now, right?"

"Three years."

"And you've been studying human interactions, right?"

"A very fascinating subject, if I may say so. Humans are quite complicated and a remarkably resilient species," he smiled as he watched the captain pace, hardly paying attention. "Is something bothering you, Captain?"

Fiddling with the latch on Phlox's bat's cage, Archer made an uncomfortable gesture. "It doesn't leave this room, right?"

"But of course," Phlox said cheerfully.

Whirling on one heel, "How do I deal with all this… this anger without alienating the rest of my crew?"

Phlox's startling blue eyes blinked. "I was not under the impression that you had, Captain."

Archer made a face and sighed. "You didn't see Hoshi yesterday."

A grin spread onto the good doctor's face. "I believe Ensign Sato is a great admirer of yours."

"She's terrified of me."

"Well…" he replied, cocking his head to one side. "That is certainly news to me."

Annoyed by the way the doctor wasn't taking him seriously, Archer began to pace in a larger circle around the room. "Phlox, you didn't see the way she jumped when I looked at her."

The doctor nodded his head slowly. "Yes, the ensign has a healthy respect for you, as she should for the captain of the ship."

"No, she's scared of me," Jon corrected with disgust. "No member of my crew should be afraid to approach me when they have a problem or a concern. It's not my job to make unreasonable demands or scare someone so bad they cannot tell me that they're drowning in their work. That's not how I want to run my ship." His voice had reached an angry pitch that agitated the creatures around them. And for a few moments, the screeching noises of his pets was all that occupied the doctor's mind.

Setting a hand on his eel tank, Phlox regarded his captain with a concerned look that, for a brief moment, reminded Jon of Prothos when the beagle was attempting to be sympathetic. "You appear tense, Captain."

"This was such a bad idea," Jon thought as he shook his head. With a sigh, he moved to the door.

"For your information, Captain," Phlox offered, "Ensign Sato does not fear you. She fears failure."

That stopped Archer in his tracks. "What are you talking about? Hoshi hasn't failed at anything she's done."

"I did not say she did," Phlox said with a smile. "I merely said that she was in fear of doing so."

"Of failing?"

Phlox looked at him curiously. "Are you not?"

There was a heavy pause. "Yes."

"And?" the good doctor prompted helpfully.

Jonathan Archer's lips pressed into a grim line. "I've been coping with all the fears by pushing forward with this mission, maybe a little too zealously?"

"For which your crew is grateful," Phlox added helpfully. "Ensign Sato does not fear you," he continued, pulling the captain's attention back to his first line of thought. "She admires you for your focus and attention on what needs to be done, even if it means you roar when you're angered." Grinning, he dropped a piece of something purple and shiny into a cage of shrieking bird-like animals.

The captain frowned. "I'm not sure if I was just complimented or reprimanded."

Phlox chuckled. "The crew understands the amount of stress you face, they do not take offense to your sternness at times. On the contrary, they find it rather comforting that their captain is doing all he can for his people. However, a little reassurance and praise from their captain would not hurt."

Nodding his head, Archer smiled. "Thanks Doc."

"Always at your service, Captain."

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Teaser from Next Chapter: Trip scuffed. "They're going to talk worse if I ask Malcolm to keep me warm tonight. It's freezing in here."