A/N: This is actually the idea that started the whole series, and it fits well here, so hopefully people will forgive me for not having Malcolm right after Hoshi.

Travis: Blue Christmas

Travis had always liked mulled cider. His mother had made it every Christmas on the Horizon, although it hadn't been the alcoholic kind. He was currently on his third cup of cider, and was beginning to feel the effects a bit, for which he was grateful.

He remembered Christmases on the Horizon. Paul had once pointed out that they got better presents than kids on Earth, because their presents couldn't be found on Earth. In retrospect, that didn't really make them better, just different, but when you're seven such distinctions don't matter. His father had always found something that could pass as a turkey-like meal, and they always had a wonderful time. The Christmas he was ten his mother had let him mash the potatoes. Even though he'd gotten potato in several places where it decidedly did not belong, that had been his job every Christmas until he left for Starfleet.

While in Starfleet Academy, he'd spent Christmases with his maternal grandmother. She lived in a condominium in Connecticut, where three out of those four Christmases had been white ones. On Christmas Eves they went to hear the Concord Symphony Orchestra. The two of them reminisced – Gran had told him stories about when his mother was young and he shared stories about Christmases on the Horizon. They shared a ham steak on Christmas Day, which she preferred to turkey. He still made the mashed potatoes. Those had been different than Christmases on the Horizon, but always fun. Gran had died shortly after he graduated, and his mother always insisted that she hung on to see him graduate.

In the present, sitting in the mess hall on Enterprise, he could see Hoshi and Malcolm. They were standing together, their matching wedding bands shining as wide as her smile. Malcolm was a bit more subdued, but clearly enjoying himself. He was also the only person who'd eaten any fruitcake.

At one point Travis had a crush on Hoshi. It wasn't the kind that you did anything about; rather, it was the kind where he knew that they'd never really be more than friends. He was past it before she even started seeing Malcolm.

The problem, as Travis saw it, wasn't that he was jealous of Malcolm specifically because he was married to Hoshi. It was that he had someone. Malcolm and Hoshi were married. Trip and T'Pol were married. Dr. Phlox had his three wives, a situation that could bring on a headache if one tried to think about it too much. Even Captain Archer had not looked the least bit unhappy at being caught under the mistletoe with Captain Hernandez.

And that left him, Travis Mayweather, alone. Christmas was a terrible time to be alone. He was happy for his friends, really. He just missed some of the old times they'd shared. Of course he still had his friends, but his friends had each other. Leann and Bill had started dating recently, and Jack was communicating with someone he'd met last time they were on Earth, leaving him even more alone in a sea of couples. It made Christmas on Enterprise less fun than it had used to be, when they were all single.

Everyone was laughing, smiling, and generally having a good time. He exchanged pleasantries with Jill LePage as she entered and took another sip of cider. Currently he was torn between nixing the alcoholic version after this cup so as to prevent embarrassing himself in front of eighty-odd other people, including his captain, and throwing caution to the wind to indulge his lack of Christmas cheer.

Captain Archer walked up in front of the Christmas tree. "If I could have your attention, please." That was a request that took a whole minute to settle in. Slowly people stopped talking and turned toward the captain, who was holding what appeared to be a small box.

"Thank you." He looked out at the assembled crew and smiled. "I hope everyone is enjoying themselves."

An enthusiastic "Yes!" wasthe reply.

He smiled. "Good. I'll try not to take too long with this, but there is someone special I'd like to tell you about."

Travis had to suppress his groan. If Captain Archer started going on about Captain Hernandez, it would be time for a lot more cider, and certainly the alcoholic kind, embarrassment be damned.

"This person," continued the captain, "is a credit to Starfleet and to himself."

'Himself?' Well, that threw Travis for a loop. It didn't quite make sense, and he wondered if the cider was affecting him more than he thought.

"He is cheerful, friendly, and in general a pleasure to be around. He has pulled us out of more tight situations than I can count. Sometimes I think he pulls miracles out of thin air!"

Travis thought he'd like to meet this person. Maybe he could miraculously pull the perfect woman out of thin air. Or, failing that, a single woman who was imperfect would do.

"So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce him to you." The captain paused for effect. The man could say what he wanted about his speaking skills, but he could do a killer dramatic pause. "Lieutenant Travis Mayweather."

That was him! All those nice things…wait a second. Lieutenant?

"Come on, Travis," urged Captain Archer, and Travis found his legs moving towards the front of the room, seemingly of their own accord. "It's my privilege to promote you to Lieutenant junior grade." He handed Travis the box, in which were stripes. "You'll want to have the quartermaster update your uniforms."

"Yes sir! Thank you!"

"You've earned it, Lieutenant. Congratulations."

"Travis! I thought I would burst!" exclaimed Hoshi, giving him a big hug.

"You knew about this?"

"I am the Communications Officer. The captain found out two days ago, so he decided to save the news for Christmas."

"An excellent Christmas present," added Malcolm. "Congratulations, Travis."

"It is a great Christmas present." He looked down at the rank stripes in the box and thought of the nice things Captain Archer had said about him. "The best," he grinned. "Not that I don't like the painting you two gave me." Malcolm and Hoshi had given him a painting of the mountain he climbed on J'Na, which reminded him of the fun climb and looked nice on his wall.

"Of course," nodded Malcolm in understanding. "Shall we have a toast?"

"A toast!" said Captain Archer from where he was trying to get Porthos to wear antlers. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Cider, Lieutenant?" asked Hoshi.

"Sure," he agreed, wondering why he'd been so sullen just minutes before. He had great friends and the most exciting job he could imagine. "But I'll have the non-alcoholic kind. Wouldn't want to embarrass myself."