A/N: I don't drink at all, so if the eggnog bit seems a little off, please nod and smile.

Hoshi: Decorations

The mess hall looked quite festive, especially considering the lack of actual Christmas decorations. Of course, there was the plastic mistletoe hanging in the middle of the room. In general, though, the decorations were improvised. This had turned into a matter of pride over the years; Columbia's offer to loan garland had been politely declined.

Hoshi had volunteered to make the large centerpiece that went on the table amid the goodies. She'd enlisted Malcolm's help to find small pieces to put between the greens. The greens were actually made out of three different sizes of what was best described as green and fuzzy wire. It wasn't like pipe cleaner, though – it was almost as if the wire had grown furry mold, which wasn't a fun thought. At any rate, she'd picked that wire up at a market on J'Na a month before, and it had taken a long time to turn into the greens. She'd used the largest kind, and then branched out from those with the medium size, and finally the smallest wire was used to finish the look.

For adornments, Malcolm had found some small metal screws that he figured it would be alright to use so long as they were back the day after Christmas. Hoshi had put them in clumps of three. Using scraps from the quartermaster, she'd been able to fashion a realistic, if somewhat floppy, candy cane for the middle. Finally, she'd talked Chef out of a handful of cranberries that she put on the end of wire for a nice red color dotted throughout.

There was a small tree that had been given to the crew as a gift two months before. It was a darker green than traditional Christmas trees, and the needles were rectangular, but overall the effect was strikingly similar. Ensign Yao had been planning the Christmas tree since they got it. The pot was draped in a cream fabric 'tree skirt,' and the tree, which was just short of a meter tall, had a long string of popcorn swirling all the way to the top, where a large red bow sat. From the bow came six red ribbons, all reaching down to the floor.

Every window in the mess hall was framed with a string of popcorn, and Crewman Linalli had crocheted ornaments, one to hang over each window on the popcorn. A few empty boxes had been wrapped in cloth and placed at both ends of the table on the floor. As usual, they'd done very nicely with what they had.

Hoshi was very fond of Christmas decorations. They were so festive and spirited, not to mention fun.

"Here you are, one cup of boring eggnog," commented Malcolm. "I can't believe it. My wife doesn't like eggnog."

It still made Hoshi grin to hear him say 'my wife,' and he knew it, but she continued the exaggerated jest. "I like eggnog."

"That," said Malcolm, pointing to her cup, "is imitation eggnog."

"I just think that the rum spoils it."

He made a show of looking hurt. "Sacrilege!"

"This from the man who was happy to see fruitcake."

"Fruitcake suffers from a bad name."

"A well-earned bad name."

He rolled his eyes. "I've heard it all before. How's your bread pudding?"

"Delicious, thank you."

Just then Malcolm spotted Travis, who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Happy Christmas!" greeted Malcolm. "The eggnog is excellent."

"Merry Christmas! I was going for the cider, actually. My mom used to make mulled cider for Christmas." He finished pouring his cider and turned his attention to the desserts. "Where to start?"

"I recommend the fruitcake."

"Uh, no offense, but I'd rather have nothing."

Hoshi shot Malcolm a teasing and victorious look. "Try the bread pudding, Travis."

"I was thinking of some custard pie. It's been ages since I had custard pie." He took a slice and speared the tip with his fork. "Mmm. Good. Is that your centerpiece, Hoshi?"

"Yes," she replied proudly.

"It's nice." Any further comment Travis had on the centerpiece was cut off by the arrival of the first of Columbia's crew to arrive. They were scheduled to arrive in three waves.

Hoshi, Malcolm, and Travis moved away from the table. "I didn't know Captain Hernandez was coming over here," commented Malcolm.

Travis nodded, but was unable to speak due to a mouthful of pie. Malcolm and Hoshi had to wait for him to swallow. "They drew lots just like we did."

They looked as two crewmembers from Columbia found themselves under the mistletoe. After a moment of awkwardly looking at each other, they leaned forward for the briefest peck.

"Speaking of couples," began Travis.

Malcolm cut in. "You could hardly call those two a couple."

The helmsman shrugged. "Anyway, what did you two get each other?"

"Look at this!" Malcolm unzipped a pocket and produced his gift.

Hoshi sipped her eggnog while Travis eyed the small contraption. "We agreed only one gift each."

"What is it?" asked Travis.

"A jackknife. They were very popular on Earth at one point."

Travis didn't look very enlightened. "What's it do?"

"What doesn't it do? There are two different sized blades, a screwdriver, a bottle opener, a file, and a magnifying glass."

Hoshi smiled. She was glad that Malcolm liked her present. She'd had it since April, which was the last time they were on Earth. They hadn't even been married yet. It seemed recent and very long ago simultaneously. To have and to hold Malcolm was the best present she could possibly receive.

"Hoshi? What about you?"

"Malcolm got me some lovely scented massage oil." They'd tested it, too, and heartily approved.

Travis clearly decided that he didn't need any more details. "Well, I hardly recognize it in here. You can really do a lot with popcorn."

Malcolm and Hoshi chuckled at the blatant change of subject. "As long as it's not buttered," added Malcolm.

Travis looked confused. "Would Porthos be more likely to eat it?"

"It'd be harder to string," clarified Hoshi.

"Oh. We never strung popcorn on the Horizon. We tried to once, but we ended up eating it instead."

Captain Archer entered with Porthos, who was glancing longingly at the food table. The captain, meanwhile, had found Captain Hernandez and went over to talk to her.

"Mistletoe!" someone shouted, and everyone in the mess hall looked up to see that, indeed, the captains were standing under the mistletoe.

"Well," remarked Malcolm, "that's one way to get the party started."