Chapter 10

It had been a long time, Malcolm realized, as he looked at Lyn on the vidscreen. Her hair was longer, she looked like she might have gained a little weight--not that she didn't need to, he thought. She had always been almost to the point of being scrawny. The one feature which struck him most though were her eyes. They looked so very tired.

"Lyn," he said. "It's good to see you."

"Oh, Malcolm, I do so hate to bother you," she said, and smiled warmly at him.

"You could never bother me. Please tell me what I can do to help."

"I'm just so embarrassed, Malcolm, I don't know where to begin." She sniffled and wiped at her nose with a handkerchief which she removed from her pocket. Malcolm could see it had already been well used.

"How about the beginning? I'm told it's a good place to start."

She nodded, sniffed again, dabbed at her nose and tried to smile, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "You must remember when we served together."

Malcolm returned the nod. "Of course. We worked very well together."

Lyn looked down and worried the handkerchief between her fingers. "Yeah, we did. In fact, I always through we could have worked very well together."

"Lyn."

"Oh, I know. A soldier's life shouldn't involve a committed relationship. You explained that to me more than once," she said, the corner of her lips turned up in a wry smile. "I should have listened to you, Malcolm. You were always the smart one." Unable to maintain eye contact, she drew her eyes away from the camera lens and looked off to the side.

"Lyn?" Malcolm questioned. "I don't think you asked me to call to discuss which one of us may have been smarter."

She grinned sheepishly, and again looked at her old friend. "I promised myself I wouldn't get all emotional, but," she sniffled, "it's not easy. I suppose the best way to say this is to just say it. You've always been the one who would think first, and then act, Malcolm. But not me. There was one night in camp when I just acted. Figured if I couldn't convince you we were good for each other, I would just have to settle for someone else."

"What are you saying?" Malcolm asked, wondering what all this had to do with him, and why it had warranted her contacting him on Enterprise.

"I'm saying while I was in the service I did have a relationship, despite your advice. In fact, to be honest, it was more of a fling--it only lasted about a week. Then he left, and I went back to concentrating on my work. That is, until I realized I was pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

"Yeah, silly little Lyn, huh? Hopped into bed, didn't even check to see if her birth control was up-to-date, or even if the man she slept with thought enough to protect himself. But you see," she tilted her head to one side and looked away from the vidcam and with a laugh returned to look straight at Malcolm. "I was just being selfish. I wanted to hurt you, and I did. I figured if I couldn't have you, why not have your duplicate?"

"My duplicate? Do you mean Michael?" He had almost forgotten the visit Michael had paid him while he and Lyn had been stationed in Africa. He had come to do an article on life on a remote Starfleet station. In fact, if he recalled, Michael McLaughlin -- as he referred to himself then -- had received much acclaim for his report.

"Yeah, Michael. I should have reminded myself, though that just because something looks the same doesn't mean it's identical. Oh, he was charming, and a wonderful lover -- mechanically, of course -- but that's where it ended. When his assignment was complete a week later, he kissed me goodbye, said it had been fun -- like we had just finished a game of darts -- and he was off, ready, I'm sure, to bed someone else. Damn, I was such a fool. The only good thing that did come of out it was Kyle."

"Kyle?" Malcolm queried.

"Your nephew, Malcolm. Has the same striking blue eyes you do, and that same unruly dark hair."

All of a sudden, Malcolm could hear the sounds of footsteps over the video feed, and a small dark-haired boy flung himself into Lyn's arms. He saw Lyn hug the boy and bestow a loving kiss on the child's cheek before she turned him around to face his uncle. "This is Kyle, Malcolm. I christened him Kyle Malcolm Reed. I hope you don't mind?"

Kyle leaned forward and patted his chubby fingers at the camera.

"Of course not. He's beautiful, Lyn, I'm honoured. I think he has your nose. Thank God he didn't get the Reed nose." Malcolm smiled at the happy boy.

At that moment, another person came into view on the screen. He was a tall man. He was a bit overweight and his head showed more scalp than hair. "I'm sorry, Lyn, he just escaped. I don't think they make a baby gate to hold him."

"Thanks, Harold." She said with a loving smile and passed the boy to the man. "I shouldn't be too much longer."

Harold lifted the boy up and swung him away out of view.

"Harold is my husband," she explained. "You may recall his brother, Gregory, served in our unit."

"Gregory Eldridge?" Malcolm asked, and Lyn nodded.

Over the vid, Malcolm could hear a door close, presumably Harold and Kyle exiting the room, leaving Lyn alone to complete her call.

"He's wonderful with Kyle, Malcolm. Just like a father to him. In fact, that's why I called you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You see, Harold can't have children of his own, but he thinks of Kyle as his. He loves him, and treats him just like he would a son of his own blood. Harold would like nothing more than to be Kyle's father -- both emotionally and legally. It is his wish, and mine, that he is able to officially adopt Kyle. There is one hitch, though; we need Michael's permission. Our solicitors have sent Michael many documents over the past year, but all have either been returned undeliverable, or just not returned at all. I was hoping you'd be able to convince Michael to look over the paperwork -- I've already forwarded it to your communications officer -- and have him sign it and return it to us."

"I'll do my best, Lyn," Malcolm promised solemnly.

"I didn't want to ask you, Malcolm. It isn't your problem," she said. "I tried contacting your parents, but they don't even want to see their grandson."

Malcolm smiled without any humor. "Don't worry about my parents. I've told you before how peculiar they can be. Regarding Michael -- it isn't like it's the first time I've had to confront him about doing the right thing. You don't have to convince me that Harold should adopt Kyle, Lyn. If you think it's the right decision, then I'm sure it is. Michael certainly isn't ready to be a father -- he may never be."

"I'm not asking for miracles, Malcolm, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity. We may not get another one -- at least not for a long time."

"Don't worry, Lyn. I'll be in touch."

She smiled, looking a good deal more hopeful than she had at the start of their conversation.

"I'll look forward to your communication," she said.

"Could I ask you a favour, Lyn?"

"You ask me a favour?" she repeated with a smile. "Anything, Malcolm, anything at all!"

"Could you send me some pictures of my nephew? I have this huge bare space on my wall in my cabin, and it could use some photos."

"I'll forward them immediately." Lyn placed her lips to her fingers and then pressed her fingertips up to Malcolm's image.

With one final smile, Malcolm raised his hand and touched Lyn's image, then terminated the connection.

Hoshi waited outside the communication bay for Malcolm to terminate the call. From where she sat, she could see him, which his back to her and on the screen over his shoulder she see the woman he was talking with. Occasionally, she could see his head nod up and down, and sometimes shake from side to side. Near the end of the call, he even placed one hand up against the video screen to touch the woman's image. After the communication ended, Hoshi watched him sit in the dark for long minutes before he finally raised his hands to his face, rubbed at his eyes, and rose from his seat to join her.

Seeing Malcolm talk to that woman, and seeing the image of the child, presumably the woman's son, made her feel curious and terribly jealous-- particularly when even from across the room she could see the resemblance between the boy and the ship's Armory Officer. Jealousy was an emotion she'd never thought she was capable of feeling concerning Malcolm Reed.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked Malcolm as he walked past.

"I'm sorry, Hoshi, not tonight. I have a lot to think about and I'm tired," he said, hardly pausing in stride. "I do thank you for your assistance. You're a good friend."

"Any time. Malcolm?" She plucked at his shirt sleeve, causing him to come to a complete stop. "You do know you can speak to me if you need to?"

He looked up at her then and their eyes connected, and she noticed that the blue flame of his typical gaze had been dulled. "Trust me. If I need to speak to someone, you'll be on the top of the list."

Not knowing what more to add, Hoshi nodded and watched him walk away until he was hidden from view by a curve in the corridor.

"Oh, Malcolm," she said softly, her fingertips pressed against her lips. "Are you a father?"

End Chapter 10