Title: Thursday's Child

Author: Sita Z

Rating: T

AN: Thanks for leaving a review, I love getting feedback!

Rinne (Was your guess right?), The Libran Iniquity (You're right, I was -g- . Wir sollten bald wieder so etwas schreiben, vielleicht eine Fortsetzung?), Queen of Fairyland (thank you!), Emiliana Keladry (Thank you! AU is short for "Alternate Universe", meaning that the background and setting of the story deviates from the show in some way or another. I know what you mean, all those abbreviations can be confusing at times... ), BananaTrip (I'll try to post more frequently, please keep reviewing!), JadziaKathryn (thanks... and you're right, they are awfully stubborn...), Tata (Thank you! No... you shouldn't go away again (you going away equals less reviews for me ;-) ) Maybe I can convince you to stay with the promise of more chapters coming up soon?), Gabi (hast du schon gesagt, ja, aber das macht nichts, sowas darfst du gerne zwei, dreimal sagen!), firebirdgirl (yeah, another capitan... and I bet Q would like that one ;-) ), JennMel (Do I detect a certain dislike of our favorite Vulcan ;-)?), Parisfan (yes, I guess it's her...), MuseUrania (I'm glad you continued reading... please keep telling me what you think)

Please keep the feedback coming!

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Chapter 6

A soft beep signalized that the hangar bay was sealed, and Malcolm felt a slight shudder as Archer expertly landed the shuttle on one of now closed doors.

"Disengaging thrusters," the Commander announced (mostly for Sammy's sake, who watched in awe as the small lights on the console went out one by one). Then he swiveled around in his chair and lifted the little boy off his lap, smiling at Sara who for the duration of the flight had never taken her eyes off the shuttle's inside temperature.

"Good work, kids. I don't think we would have made it home without you."

Both children grinned at him, then bounded to the back of the shuttle to tell their father about their adventure.

"Daddy, guess what, I can fly a shuttle!"

Malcolm went to join Archer at the helm. "Thank you for looking after them, sir," he said quietly.

"No problem." Archer glanced at Sev. "You didn't get very far talking to him, did you?"

Malcolm shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. He's human, but that doesn't mean he thinks like one of us."

"I guess not." The Commander got up. "Let's get out of here. I have to admit, Malcolm, I'm looking forward to hearing your story."

Malcolm sighed.

When they climbed out of the hatch, the Captain was already waiting, flanked by her second-in-command Commander Soval, and Dr. Phlox.

"Captain." Malcolm automatically drew to attention. "Lieutenant Reed reporting back to duty, ma'am."

"At ease, Lieutenant." T'Pol raised one delicate eyebrow. "It is... gratifying to see you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Suddenly T'Pol's other eyebrow shot up as well, and Malcolm knew without turning around that Sev had chosen this moment to appear in the open hatch.

Here we go.

"Captain," he said, only too aware what a strange picture the man and his children looked as they stood, barefoot and wearing those ragged clothes, in front of the shuttle hatch. "I can explain."

"I do hope so, Lieutenant," T'Pol said, her eyebrows still hovering dangerously close to the hairline. "Who are these people?"

Malcolm repeated the introductions and was relieved to see T'Pol's eyebrows slowly returning to their normal position. For a Vulcan, her face was still one big question mark, but Vulcan hospitality wouldn't allow her to ignore the newcomers in order to hear Malcolm's explanation first. In her usual dignified manner, she went over to Sev and raised her hand in the Vulcan greeting.

"Mister Sev. I am sure Lieutenant Reed will tell me later exactly why you are accompanying him, but for now, as humans would put it, welcome aboard."

Malcolm expected Sev to bow down again, but to Reed's surprise he did not. Instead he raised his hand, fingers spread in a V, and said a few words in Vulcan, thanking her for her hospitality with the traditional Vulcan phrase.

"Pasht'a ta'al," T'Pol answered gravely. "I commend your mastery of the Vulcan language."

Malcolm noticed that his mouth was standing open, and closed it with a snap. Coming from T'Pol, this was high praise indeed. He glanced at Sev, wondering what other surprises the man had in store. Sev talked English like a native speaker, although he was noticeably out of practice, and spoke rapid-fire Kareedian when talking to his children, but of all things Malcolm hadn't expected him to know Vulcan. And certainly not a more or less flawless High Vulcan that found favor even with T'Pol.

"I suggest that Commander Archer, Lieutenant Reed and our guests proceed to the decontamination chamber," Commander Soval said. As always, he was being the quintessence of Vulcan logic and rationality and had only nodded once when Malcolm introduced him, seeing "no logic in the human concept of small talk". "We can start the debriefing as soon as you are done."

Malcolm winced at Soval's stern tone, hoping that the time in decon would be enough for him to think of a version of his story that the Vulcans would accept. A mere "It wasn't my fault!" wasn't going to do.

"Very well." T'Pol turned to Phlox. "Doctor, please introduce our guests to the decontamination facilities and make sure they get all the medical attention they need." She glanced at Sev's bruised face. "Lieutenant, I will await you in sickbay as soon as the doctor discharges you."

"Aye, ma'am."

Phlox gestured at them to follow him, smiling at Sara and Sammy. "Hello, I'm Dr. Phlox. Have you two ever been in a decon chamber before?"

The children shook their heads, and the Denobulan doctor launched into an explanation of why decontamination was necessary on a starship, both of the youngsters listening to his every word with rapt attention. Malcolm stayed a few steps behind, falling into pace next to Sev.

"I didn't know you speak Vulcan," he said quietly.

Sev nodded. "There was a Vulcan back on the farm, a man called Sarin. He taught me a little, but I've forgotten most of the words."

"Sounded quite fluent to me," Malcolm commented. "And the Captain seemed to think so as well." Sev blushed and ducked his head, as if the fact that he should be complimented on anything struck him as weird.

Their stay in decon wasn't as boring as usual. Sammy turned out to be more ticklish than anyone Malcolm had ever met, and the three adults had their hands full, trying to get hold of the little boy who began to squirm and giggle like mad whenever his father tried to spread some of the decon gel on his body. They chased him round and round the decon chamber until Phlox asked whether anyone in there needed to be sedated. Finally, Sev managed to get a hold of his son and held the squealing child in a vise grip between his legs, Archer and Malcolm helping him with the parts he couldn't reach. Thoroughly decontaminated and exhausted with laughing, Sammy collapsed on the floor of the chamber and watched as his father helped Sara with her back. Malcolm, their misunderstanding in the hotel room still vividly in mind, didn't ask Sev if he needed any help, but he couldn't help noticing the scarring on the man's back and shoulders, and the way every single one of his ribs was clearly visible under his skin. At a closer look, Sev was even thinner than his children, and Malcolm could well imagine the father dividing their meager food ration into two parts and keeping only the left-overs for himself.

Finally, Phlox' cheerful sing-song voice announced over the intercom that they were cleared of all harmful substances, and could leave the decontamination chamber.

Malcolm wasn't surprised to find the Captain and Soval waiting for them in sickbay. Briefly, he went over what he was going to say. No need to be defensive, he told himself. There is a logical explanation for everything.

T'Pol, however, didn't start questioning him right away and turned to Phlox instead. "Doctor, I suggest you examine our guests while the Lieutenant and I begin with the debriefing. If you don't mind, Mr. Sev, I would appreciate it if you filled in the details."

Sev seemed surprised at her request, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Very well. Doctor..."

Smiling at Sev, Phlox patted the bio bed next to him. "Take a seat, and I'll see what I can do about those bruises, hm?"

Soon the doctor was fussing over Sev, and Malcolm found himself facing a thorough cross examination by his Captain and commanding officer. As he told them the part how V'Lin had threatened to sell the children, however, he noticed the Captain's stern features soften a little. Of course, compassion was an emotion, but Malcolm knew T'Pol well enough to know that she wasn't as impassive as her cool exterior might suggest.

He briefly summarized their stay at the hotel and following journey to the meeting point, not leaving out the fact that it had been his decision to leave Sev and the children behind.

"I didn't even consider the possibility that someone might find them. If Sev hadn't lied to those officers..."

T'Pol's eyes came to rest on Sev. "A logical decision," she said. "And a courageous one."

The man lowered his eyes and said nothing, but Malcolm knew what he was thinking. He had seen no other choice.

Finally, Malcolm ended his report and drew to attention as he awaited the Captain's verdict. The tension was somewhat eased by Sammy giggling in the background as he watched Phlox examine his sister's ears, but all the same, Malcolm felt his hands grow sweaty as he waited. There was no denying it, he had defied 'Command's orders by bringing Sev with him, and insubordination wasn't a minor offense with the Joint Forces.

T'Pol's face was perfectly calm. "Lieutenant, I think Commander Soval will agree with me that you made the right decision. Your explanation of your motives is sufficient, and there will be no reprimanding entry into your personal file." Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief. "In fact," the Captain continued, "I will suggest to Admirals Forrest and Selin that you be given a recommendation for more-than-adequate fulfillment of your duties as a Starfleet officer."

Malcolm stared at her, hardly able to believe he had heard her right. In his time on Enterprise, there had been only two people who had received a recommendation, Commander Archer and a Vulcan ensign who had saved a crewmate's life on an away mission. And he had been afraid he might end up facing court martial for what he had done.

"Thank you, ma'am."

T'Pol acknowledged this with a half-nod. "We will discuss the confidential parts of your mission tomorrow at 1400 in my ready room." She turned to Phlox. "Have you finished your examinations, doctor?"

"Yes, Captain." Malcolm saw Sev listen anxiously as the doctor reported the results of his examinations. "Both children are slightly malnourished, due not least to a rather severe case of helminthiasis. Worms," the doctor explained when he saw Sev's questioning look. "But I should be able to take care of that with a few injections. Other than that, they are both quite healthy, considering their..." he hesitated, "their difficult circumstances. If you would rather discuss your condition in private, Mr. Sev..."

"That's alright, sir," Sev said quietly, but Malcolm saw that he was feeling uncomfortable, staring down at his hands and avoiding the doctor's eyes. The Captain seemed to have noticed as well.

"Lieutenant Reed?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I suggest you take the rest of the day off and help our guests get settled. Mr. Sev, you can make a list of everything you need and have Lieutenant Reed pass it on to the quartermaster."

Sev nodded, and Malcolm knew there was no way in hell he was going to admit to T'Pol that he couldn't read and write. "Thank you, ma'am."

T'Pol left sickbay followed by Soval and Archer, the engineer winking at Sara and Sammy before the door closed behind him. Malcolm didn't want to intrude into Sev's private sphere by staying, and turned to leave as well.

"Doctor, if you don't mind I'd like to check if everything's alright down in the Armory. I'll be back later..."

"I do mind, Lieutenant," Phlox interrupted mildly. "I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to leave sickbay at the moment."

Malcolm frowned. "What do you mean?"

Phlox took a pair of rubber gloves from a shelf, pulling them on with a snap. "I wouldn't want any of you to go anywhere as long as I haven't deloused you yet."

"What?" Malcolm saw that Sev's face had gone bright red, and understood. "Oh. But... we went through decon..."

"Decontamination destroys only microorganisms, Lieutenant. A louse is hardly a microorganism."

"Right." All of a sudden, Malcolm had the feeling of a hundred lice crawling all over his head having the time of their lives, and he had to pull himself together not to start scratching right away. Seeing how embarrassed Sev was, he tried to ease the situation with a joke.

"I hope you're not planning to set one of your vermin-eating pets on us, doctor."

"Don't worry, Lieutenant." Phlox opened a cupboard and began to rummage through its contents until he had found a large brown bottle. "In this case the traditional methods are certainly the most effective."

Fifteen minutes later, Malcolm, Sev and the children each had a large white towel wrapped around their heads, reeking of the louse mixture Phlox had generously rubbed into their hair. Sara and Sammy had a great time admiring their turbaned selves in the mirror, and Malcolm had recovered from his initial shock enough to see the funny side of the situation. Sev, on the other hand, was still mortified, apologizing for the third time when Malcolm finally interrupted.

"Please. Don't worry about it." He met the other man's eyes. "You may not have noticed, but I heard what Sara said back at the hotel about using a bathroom. I can imagine that you didn't have access to bathroom facilities back at the farm."

Sev shook his head. "There was a faucet in the stables that we used, but it didn't do much good."

Malcolm nodded, careful not to let pity show on his face. Sev had his pride if not much else, and it would hurt him if he realized that Malcolm felt sorry for him, for the way he had been forced to live. But there was more to it than just pity. Malcolm admired the man for the way he had raised two fine children in a poor, hostile environment, and how he was ready to do anything to protect them. Malcolm hardly knew anything about raising children, but he knew about protecting your own and the strength it required.

In the meantime, Phlox had prepared several hyposprays and came over to the bio bed Sev was sitting on.

"If it is alright with you, Mr. Sev, there are a few things about your treatment that we need to discuss."

Malcolm got up. "I can leave if you'd rather-"

"Please, sir," Sev said. "I don't mind."

Malcolm saw that this time he really meant it and stayed where he was. Phlox began arranging the hyposprays on a tray in front of him, talking to Sev as he did so.

"You are suffering from a severe case of malnutrition, Mr. Sev, and I'm afraid it's not only the helminthiasis. You have both an iron and a vitamin deficiency, and I'd like you to come and see me every day for the next two weeks so I can give you the necessary injections. I assume you have been experiencing increasing pain when passing water?"

Sev nodded.

"That's because you have a rather bad bladder infection. Have you been staying in any kind of cold or drafty environment lately?"

Sev considered. "At the Senator's house, maybe. They put us in the basement for the two nights that we were going to stay, and it was rather cold down there."

"They didn't give you any blankets?" Phlox asked, and Malcolm noticed a thin line forming between the doctor's brows.

"No," Sev said in an offhand tone, as if he had never expected them to do so in the first place. "But I found an old sack for Sara and Sammy to sleep on."

Malcolm pressed his lips together. "Why didn't you say something?"

Sev immediately lowered his eyes.

"Hey," Malcolm said in a more gentle tone. "I'm not angry with you. It's just... the idea that I made you walk through that forest when you were ill..."

"There was no other way, sir," Sev said, and Malcolm fell silent. Sev was right; they couldn't have avoided the long march one way or another.

"There's another thing I'd like to talk to you about," Phlox said. "I've noticed that several of your ribs and your left arm were broken some time ago, several years, actually."

Sev's face turned to stone, and he made as if to get up.

"Please," Phlox said, gently laying a hand on the man's arm. "Listen to me. I take it that these injuries have never been treated by a doctor?"

Sev shook his head, looking down at his hands.

"I thought so. Several of the fractures didn't heal properly, as you can see here." Phlox pointed at the screen that showed a zoomed-in picture of Sev's rib section. Malcolm saw that some of the bones had lost their regular sweeping form and looked somewhat crooked.

"Fortunately, your arm healed well, but you might want to consider having me reset those ribs. It's only a minor operation."

Noticing that Sev had gone a few shades paler, Malcolm added, "You would be under anaesthetic the whole time, of course."

Immediately, Phlox caught on. "You wouldn't feel a thing, I assure you."

Sev didn't look entirely convinced, but he didn't voice his doubts. "Yes, sir."

For a moment, Malcolm considered asking him how he had sustained all those injuries, but then decided against it. He watched Phlox administer several hyposprays to Sev, and saw how the man's face relaxed in obvious relief when he was injected with an analgesic.

He must have been in constant pain, Malcolm realized. And he never even considered saying a word to me.

Again, the thought saddened him in a way he could not have explained, and the fact that Sev hadn't talked to anyone about his discomfort didn't help, either.

Half an hour later Phlox finally announced that it was time to rinse out the louse mixture. Malcolm was glad to get the stinking stuff out of his hair again; he was probably going to smell like a chemical accident for some time to come, but that was still a lot better than carrying a headful of Kareedian lice around the ship.

It took Sev and Phlox about an hour to comb the nits out of the children's curly hair, and there were more than a few tears shed before they were done. Sara suffered in silence, but Sammy cried angrily and tried to squirm away until Phlox promised him to show him his Pyrithian bat if he agreed to sit still. After that, Sammy became a model patient and was rewarded with a brief look at the most dangerous creature the doctor's menagerie had to offer.

Mindful of Phlox' warning that the delousing would only take effect if they got rid of their old clothes, Malcolm had already changed into the new uniform Liz Cutler had brought for him.

Sev had been given one of the gray overalls the Spacedock techs usually wore, and the quartermaster had even dug out some children's sweaters and pants for Sara and Sammy. The children forgot all about the painful delousing procedure when they saw their new clothes, never wasting another look on their discarded rags which Phlox stuffed down the waste recycler.

"It's beautiful," Sara said happily, stroking her new yellow sweater. "I wish I could show it to Miss Elin."

"A lady back on the farm," Sev explained at Malcolm's questioning look. "She cooks for the workers, and Sara often helped her in the kitchen."

"Do you think she's missing me?" Sara asked, and climbed onto her father's lap. "When we said goodbye, she said she was going to visit me in the city." She hesitated, then continued softly, "But I think she only said that to make me feel better. I don't think they would let her go, and we didn't stay in the city, anyway."

Sev wrapped his arms around his daughter. "I know that she's missing you, honey. And I know that if she could see you now she would be proud what a beautiful girl you are."

Malcolm watched them, and not for the first time wondered what had happened to the children's mother. Sara and Sammy were human and so she must have been a Lost One like Sev, but other than that and the fact that she had died Malcolm knew nothing about her. Sev had never mentioned her again after Malcolm had asked him back at the hotel.

Finally, Phlox tucked away his scanner and said that they were free to leave sickbay since there was no trace of lice or nits left on any of their heads. Sammy seemed to have forgiven Phlox for his attack with the louse comb, announcing to the doctor that he would come back tomorrow to visit him and the bat.

They paid a short visit to the quartermaster's office, collecting the necessary toiletries and two mattresses since Enterprise's guest quarters were only equipped with one bunk.

Sev seemed shocked at the idea that he and the children should have their own room.

"Isn't there some place where the servants sleep?" he asked Malcolm as they dragged the mattresses along the corridors.

Malcolm shook his head. "There are no "servants" on Enterprise," he said. "Only eighty-three crewmembers, and they all have their own room, although some of the lower ranks have to share."

Sev was quiet for a while.

"Sir?" he asked then.

"Please, call me Malcolm. What's wrong?" He had noticed the troubled look on the other man's face.

"I...," Sev hesitated. "I was just thinking... we're not of much use to you."

Malcolm frowned. "Not much use? What do you mean?"

"I've never worked on a starship before. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do. And... so far, we've caused you nothing but trouble."

"Sev." Malcolm let go of his mattress and laid a hand on the man's thin shoulder. "Look... this isn't about you being "useful" to anyone. You're not here as... as my servant or something. I'm not sending you away," he added quickly, remembering Sev's reaction to their last conversation of this kind. "I want to help you. It's never easy to start a new life... but it's easier if you have a friend you can turn to."

There was a moment's silence. Then Sev looked at him and Malcolm was surprised to see a cautious smile tug at the man's lips.

"I understand," he said quietly. "Thank you, s... Malcolm."

TBC...

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