A/N: I don't know whether Henry Archer actually has a brother, but I have no evidence to prove otherwise, so here wer go!

Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did. (Kelly Archer's mine though...)

Kelly Archer threw the ball against the wall, and caught it as it bounced back. She had just gotten word from Starfleet Command that Enterprise was back on Earth for repairs. She threw the foam ball even harder, and it made a dull thud as it hit the wall again. She caught it expertly in one had and sighed. At least one thing had come from all those years of playing water polo with her cousin, Jonathan Archer. She had become extremely coordinated. She had to be, playing with him. The chirp of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, and she threw the ball against the wall. She knew exactly who it was, and she didn't feel like getting the bell. Jon should have remembered the code. As the soft hiss of the door opening reached her ears, she threw the ball against the wall with an exceptionally loud thud.

"Kelly?" She heard her cousin call. She ignored him, throwing the ball again. "Just stay here a moment." He said to someone downstairs. "Kelly? Are you still throwing that damn ball?"

"Your father didn't seem to mind." She said, throwing the ball closer to the door as he walked in. She was stretched out on her bed, her Starfleet uniform hung on a hook on the other side of the room. She was wearing her usual jeans and dark colored shirt. She turned her pale gray eyes up to meet her cousin's brown ones.

"In case you haven't noticed, he's not here." Jon said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Now come on downstairs, there's someone I want you to meet." Kelly groaned, throwing the ball at her older cousin's head. He caught it, a stern look on his face. She swing her long legs over the side of her bed and got to her bare feet.

"Please don't tell me you're trying to fix me up with someone again." She said. Jon muttered something she could understand behind her. "Because the last guy you tried that with got his ass kicked."

"That wasn't entirely his fault." Jon retorted, preceding his cousin down the stairs. "Besides. We're only here for about a week." Kelly tucked a strand of raven hair behind her ear as she followed her cousin. A young man with soft, dark hair and incredibly blue eyes was standing in the foyer. He looked up at her, and arched an eyebrow.

"Captain-" He began, and Kelly noticed he had a light British accent. Kelly looked down at her cousin, and slapped the back of his head.

"Jon, you didn't answer my question!" She said. Jon rubbed the back of his head and looked up in disbelief at her.

"You hit me!"

"And you're avoiding the question!" She gave his shoulder a shove. He grinned at her and gave her a shove that caused her to fall back onto the stairs, hitting her elbow. She got to her feet, grinning in what she hoped was an evil way. "You're so dead!" She said, lunging at him. He laughed, grabbing her wrist and spinning it around. She spun under her own arm, and brought her knee up into contact with his stomach. He let go of her arm and took a step back.

"You've been practicing." He said. Kelly punched him lightly in the arm.

"Well, two years does that." She said. "You still didn't answer me." Jon grinned, shaking his head.

"No Kelly, I'm not." He said. He looked over at the man standing in the middle of the foyer and shook his head. "Kelly this is my armory officer, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed." Kelly gave him a nod. "Malcolm, this is my cousin, Lieutenant Kelly Archer." Kelly stuck out her hand, and Malcolm took it in a firm handshake.

"Pleasure." He said.

"While Enterprise is getting repaired, he'll be staying with us." He said. Kelly raised an eyebrow at Malcolm.

"You didn't want to go home?" She asked. Malcolm shifted uncomfortably.

"Things between myself and my family aren't the best right now." He said. Kelly nodded, and looked back over at Jon. He grinned in response to her unasked question about the whereabouts of his best friend.

"Trip says hi." He said. "And insists that you call him when you get a chance." Kelly nodded, and looked back at Malcolm.

"I'll show you the guest room." She said, and headed back up the stairs. Malcolm picked up his bag and headed after her. As he passed the Captain, Jon put a hand on his shoulder to pause him for a moment.

"Malcolm?"

"Yes Captain?" Came the expected and immediate reply.

"She's a very odd person. Just be careful." As Jon headed off down one of the halls off the foyer, Malcolm stared at the wall in front of him. He was wondering if that was meant as the brother-like warning of stay away from her, or if it was the friend's warning about him getting hurt. Shaking his head, he decided it would be best not to try to figure it out too much.

"Malcolm, are you coming?" Kelly asked from the top of the stairs, her voice echoing in the stairwell. Without replying, Malcolm headed up the stairs. Kelly directed him into a brightly lit, traditionally decorated room. A full size bed stuck out into the room, with a dresser on either side, an armoire at the foot of the bed, and a large desk in the corner of the room, all made from the same light shade of oak. Next to the desk was a long, handsome brown leather couch with a few books randomly strewn about. A set of double doors lead out onto a balcony and another door, this one open, lead into a partially empty walk-in closet. It was filled about a third of the way with file boxes and seemingly randomly placed data pads. Malcolm finished surveying the room and turned to find Kelly still standing in the doorway, eyeing him. When she realized he knew she was staring, her face flushed slightly.

"There's a pool out back if you feel like swimming, and some game tables in the basement. Bathroom's down the hall to the right, and if you need anything, my room's to the left at the top of the stairs." Malcolm nodded, and watched her disappear on the other side of the door frame. He sighed, and glanced at the clock. It was decidedly going to be a long week.

Kelly bounced on the diving board a few times. She had been able to avoid her cousin for the past four days by hiding out in her room and finishing up on a few reports before she officially went on vacation. Admiral Forrest had agreed to let her take the week off, since Jon was home. As she prepared to dive into the pool, the squeak of the gate opening startled her out of her thoughts, and she almost lost her balance. When she had partially regained her balance, she saw it was Malcolm who had walked in, and fell off the diving board. As she fell into the water, her head hit the side of the pool, hard. Stars danced in front of her eyes as she began to sink. Dazed, she heard a splash, and suddenly someone was pulling her upwards. Her head broke the surface, and she grabbed the side of the pool, gasping for air. As her vision cleared, she looked over at Malcolm, who was looking concerned.

"Thanks." She said. He nodded, climbing out of the pool. Kelly decided to stay underwater. She had decided to wear a black bikini because she hadn't actually thought anyone would come out to join her. She loved the feel of water against her skin.

"No problem." Malcolm said, heading back to his towel.

"Where are you going?" Kelly asked, and he turned around.

"I thought you'd want to be alone." He said. Kelly shrugged.

"I don't mind." She said, pushing off the side. She swam over under the diving board, and turned to face the other end of the pool. "I was just going to do some laps." She pushed off the wall, streamlining (gliding) for a quarter of the length of the pool, then breaking into a seamless breaststroke for the remaining length. When she reached the other end, she saw Malcolm was gone. She shook her head and continued her laps.

Later on that evening, Jon knocked on her door. She sighed and put down her book. "Come in." She called, sitting up. He stuck his head in.

"How're you feeling?" He asked. She shrugged.

"What'd you want?" She asked. He gave her one of his half-amused smiles.

"Malcolm and I were going to go out and meet Trip for some drinks." He said. "Want to come?" Kelly shrugged.

"Sure. Let me get changed." She said. She pulled a black halter top out of her closet and tossed it on her bed, along with a pair of low riding dark blue jeans. After she'd changed, she hurried downstairs where Malcolm and Jon were waiting.

"When you said you were getting changed, I didn't think you meant into that." Jon said, pointedly eyeing her shirt. She gave him a lopsided grin as she grabbed her shoes from by the door. They were heels, about two and a half inches high, black sandals. She pulled her dark hair up into a ponytail and secured it with a black ribbon. She grabbed a black coat that fell down to her knees and looked up at Jon, who was frowning.

"I'm not changing Jon, so don't even ask. Now, are you two coming?" Reluctantly, Jon got out of his chair, and Malcolm quickly followed suit.

"Kelly! Jon! Malcolm!" Trip shouted over the music. Kelly grimaced. When Jon had said they were going o get drinks, she had guessed they would have been going to the 602 club, not a dance club that she herself had tried to avoid. Not that she minded, she had gotten to see Trip. They had been in the same year at the academy, and had become friends. As a teenager, she had often wondered if it could have been more, but she didn't trouble herself with past events now.

"Trip!" She cried, running over and giving him a hug, which he quickly returned.

"How're you doin?" Trip asked in his adorable southern accent. She grinned.

"I'm great!" She said, letting him put a hand on her back and guide her toward a table in the back, Malcolm and Jon trailing behind. The music was quieter here, and Kelly could hear herself think. Trip's eyes widened as she took off her coat.

"What the hell're you wearin?" He shouted, and Kelly laughed. Jon rolled his eyes. "Jon, you let her go out like this?" Trip demanded, pretending to be outraged. Jon joined in Malcolm's soft laughter. "I might just have to ask your cousin for a dance!" Jon shook his head.

"I'll get us some drinks!" He said, and left. Malcolm got up a few moments later. Kelly moved over to sit next to Trip so they didn't have to shout across the table.

"Jon said you fell into the pool this mornin." He said. Kelly shrugged.

"Yeah. I hit my head on the bottom." She replied. Trip's eyes widened. "But Malcolm pulled me out." Trip's eyebrows shot up.

"Malcolm jumped into the pool?" He asked. Kelly nodded, unsure of why this was so important. Trip laughed. "Aqua phobia, yeah right." He muttered, and Kelly stared at him in confusion. Trip sighed. "Malcolm's a aqua phobic Kel." It was Kelly turn to laugh uneasily.

A couple of drinks later, Trip extended his hand to her as he got up. "May I have this dance lady?" Laughing, Kelly took his hand, and let him lead her out onto the dance floor. A couple of dances later, Trip told her to wait there for a minute, then vanished. Unsure of what he was doing, she decided to try to find her way back to the table, but had lost her sense of direction while dancing. The two beers she had in her admittedly didn't help much either. She found herself near the bar, and decided it best if she got out of there, but someone put a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to find a very drunk, and very familiar young man behind her. She stumbled backward in her effort to get out of his reach. His name was Alex Talbot. She had gone out with him while she was in the academy. He had been a waiter at a restaurant she and Trip and the rest of their friends had frequented. A few months into their relationship, he tried to force himself on her. He probably would have succeeded had Trip not decided to drop in. He had kicked Alex's ass out of her room, and nearly beat him into a pulp. It had taken six security officers to pull him off Alex.

Her mind was brought back to the present when Alex took a step toward her. "Haven't seen you for a long time Kelly." He said. Kelly's leg hit a barstool and she fell backwards, her arms flailing. Alex caught her wrist and pulled her toward him. "That southern bastard still hanging around?" Kelly tried to twist out of his grip. "Let me go Alex." She shouted, hopefully loud enough for someone to hear her. She could smell the stale alcohol on his breath, even from an arms length. A hand was placed on Alex's shoulder.

"Though you would've learned your lessen the last time 'lex." Trip said, spinning Alex around. Alex laughed, holding his beer up as though for a toast.

"Commander Tucker." He grinned, showing his beer-stained teeth. He still had a hold on Kelly's wrist, so tightly she thought he might be cutting off circulation. Alex had barely set down his drink before Trip took a swing at him. The beer spilled out all over The bar, and Kelly. She grimaced as the cold drink hit her stomach and dripped down her pants. "Was wondering where you were." He yanked Kelly in front of him, holding her there in a headlock. "Now you're going to leave us alone." Kelly was suddenly dropped, and Trip was grinning.

"I believe you were asked to let her go." Kelly looked up from the floor to see Malcolm with Alex in a headlock, one arm around his throat, his other pressing into the back of head. He gave Trip a nod that clearly told him to leave. Trip nodded and grabbed Kelly's hand. He pulled her to her feet, where she turned to Alex, and gave him a solid thrust kick to the stomach. Malcolm let him go, and Alex promptly doubled, coughing. Trip made to take Kelly arm, but she spun, slamming her foot into Alex's head.

"You're a fu-" Trip clamped a hand over her mouth and with Malcolm's help, pulled her back to the table where Jon was sitting.

"Cap'n," He said, and Jon stood up, looking concerned. "That bastard Talbot's here." Jon nodded, and handed Trip Kelly's coat.

"Let's go." Kelly pulled herself out of Malcolm's grip and marched up to her cousin.

"I'm not going to leave just because my lousy, good for nothing, bone headed ex-boyfriend decided to come here tonight!" She marched off into the crowd before any of them could stop her.

Kelly moaned. Her head was throbbing. She opened her eyes to find she was in her room, at home. Flopping back against her pillows, she listened to the ringing silence and smiled. She hated hangovers, but it made it so much easier when the house was silent. . . "No, that's not right Jon, and you know it!" She heard Trip shout from downstairs. She sat up and found that her jeans had been replaced by sleep shorts, but her halter had been left. She undressed, and grabbed her sky blue silk robe from it's hook by the door and stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. She opened the door and heard a muffled cry from Malcolm. He had been toweling off, but had pulled it up in time. Kelly grimaced, and took an involuntary step backward, shutting her eyes.

"Oh my god." She said. "I am so sorry. I'm not used to sharing a bathroom." Malcolm was glad she had closed her eyes so she couldn't see his face, flushed from embarrassment.

"It's all right." He said, wrapping the towel around his waist. "Neither am I. And with the hangover you must have, I'm not surprised you walked in." Kelly nodded.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Yes." Malcolm said, and edged past her. He ducked quickly into his own room and shut the door. Her face still pink with embarrassment, Kelly closed the door and turned on the water. It was still warm from Malcolm's shower.

As she let the warm water run over her, she tried to remember what had happened last night. She remembered stalking away from the three men, but everything was pretty much a blur after that. She had danced some yes. She had danced for a few songs to cool off, then went back. Jon and Trip had gone to get another drink, and she'd had another one. Malcolm had suggested she stop, and she'd asked him to dance. They'd danced for a few songs then she couldn't remember anything. She sighed as she got out of the shower and opened the medicine cabinet above the sink. She pulled out a hypo-spray and pressed it into her neck. As she toweled herself off, the headache began to subside.

When she got downstairs, Trip and Malcolm were having a heated discussion about something to do with the phase cannons. Kelly ignored them, grabbing a piece of toast and walking out into the garden, where she knew she'd find Jon. Sure enough, he was sitting on the bench in the middle of a bed of petunias. She sat down next to him.

"They were Aunt Sally's favorite." She said. He nodded.

"My Dad planted them for her every year." Kelly shook her head.

"Enough about sad things." She said. "What are you really doing here?" She asked. Jon looked up at her, a feigned look on innocence on his face.

"What, me had an agenda?" He asked. Kelly kicked him lightly. Jon shook his head.

"You want me to be blunt?" He asked, still looking off into space.

"Yeah."

"I want you to serve on Enterprise." He said. Kelly took a deep breath and closed her eyes. They'd had this conversation before, when Admiral Forrest had been assigning Jon his crew.

"Jon, I told you, I don't want to be on a starship. I like it just fine right here on Earth."

"Then why the hell'd you join Starfleet?" He asked. Kelly rolled her eyes.

"Because you wanted me to." She said. Jon looked up at her. "Yes I'm serious." She said with a small smile. "You were so happy when I said I was going to join, I couldn't back out. I actually kind of like it."

"Kelly, I need someone who can work ambiguously around the ship." He said. "Understand that if you weren't my cousin, you'd be ordered to join." Kelly sighed.

"Will I be assigned anyway?" Jon gave her one of his small half-smiles. She sighed. "Fine. Fine! I'll join the crew of the famous Enterprise!"

"Well, well." Trip said, coming around the curve of the path with a lopsided grin on his face. "Just one more pretty face to look at everyday." Jon threw Trip a look of feigned anger, and they both laughed. Kelly shook her head, heading into the house. She had a lot to do.