Disclaimer: Only own Kelly. Everyone else is not mine. Just having fun with the characters
A few weeks later Kelly and Malcolm were sitting in the mess hall when Trip walked in. He eyed the two of them. They were talking in low voices, so he couldn't hear what they were saying. Suddenly Kelly sat back in her chair, laughing so hard she had to put a hand over her mouth as she started coughing. After a moment, Malcolm looked worried, and she stopped coughing.
"Don't do that!" She said, kicking him under the table, lightly. "I almost choked." Trip shook his head as he took a sip of coffee. Those two had been spending way to much time together. Then he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. Malcolm was smiling.
Kelly took a deep breath and pushed the chime for the Captain's ready room.
"Come in!" She heard Jon shout. She opened the door and stepped inside. Jon looked up at her and smiled. "Hey Kelly. Haven't seen you for a while." He said. Kelly nodded.
"I was helping Lieutenant Reed with some upgrades." She said. "And helping Trip in engineering. That's actually what I came here to talk to you about." Jon frowned.
"Which one. Malcolm or Trip?"
"It's not them Jon. I don't really like switching from the armory to engineering every time one of them needs me. I don't really feel like I've got a place here." She said, and shook her head. "And I really need to have that feeling in at least a part of my life." She said. Jon raised an eyebrow, but Kelly didn't say anything.
"Okay, which one?" He asked. Kelly bit her lip. That was what she was having trouble deciding.
"I don't know." She said. Jon groaned.
"Well, which do you like better?" He asked. Kelly grimaced and shrugged. Jon sighed. "Fine, I honestly think we could use you more in engineering. How does that sound?" He asked. Kelly grinned.
"I guess that's okay." She said. Jon eyed her.
"Have a seat. I need to talk to you about something." He said. "While we wait for Trip to get up here. Archer to Tucker."
"Yes Cap'n?"
"Please report to my ready room."
"Aye Sir."
Jon turned back to Kelly. "Is something going on with you and Malcolm?" He asked. Kelly had to fight to keep from blushing. "Because as your Captain I'd like to know." Kelly shook her head. "And as your cousin."
"Nothing's going on Jon. Seriously." She added, giving his own steely glare her own icy one. "He's too much of a soldier boy to do anything." She said as the chime sounded.
"Come!" Trip stepped in, and looked from Kelly to Jon.
"You wanted to see me Cap'n?" He asked. Jon nodded.
"Trip, Kelly's decided to try her hand at full time engineering." Trip's face broke into a grin, but he didn't say anything. "Both of you are dismissed."
Trip waited in the hall for Kelly. "So you want bridge duty? The engineering station is right next to tactical." Kelly shot him an icy glare.
"So you suggested that Malcolm and I were together?" She asked. Trip held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Sorry. Just wanted to know. You can start on the bridge. I'll be in engineering. Come down after lunch." Kelly nodded as they emerged on the bridge, and took her seat near Malcolm. He glanced up at her, but didn't say anything. He never really said much to her while they were on duty, but off duty it was another story. They talked about almost everything to do with the ship. She had noticed that he got really quiet the one time she had mentioned her family, so hadn't mentioned it since then. She was pretty sure he didn't have a very good relationship with his parents.
Kelly sighed as she sat down to lunch with her data pad. A hand on her shoulder made her jump. Malcolm eyed her.
"Heard you made the switch to engineering." He said, sitting down. Kelly nodded.
"Thought it would be better." She said, not taking her eyes off the pad.
Malcolm eyed her. "Better how? You're amazing with the systems." He said. "You may even be better with them than me." He said quietly. Kelly didn't look up at him. They had been spending too much time together. She knew it, and knew that he knew it. She knew that he had felt the same connection that she had, and it was a strong one. Frankly, it scared her, more than anything ever had in her life.
"I've got to go." She said, getting up and grabbing her cup of tea, knocking over her water in the process. It spilled out onto the table. Malcolm quickly mopped it up with his napkin. "Now I've really got to go." She said, and feld the mess hall, leaving a stunned Malcolm behind.
As he continued to clean up the spilled water, Trip walked in. "What the hell'd you say to Kelly? She was running away from here like a bat out of hell!" Malcolm shook his head.
"All I asked was why she switched to engineering." He said. "I thought we were getting along fine, but. . ."
Trip sat down heavily. "Malcolm, I don't think it's your fault." He said. Malcolm looked up at him. Trip shook his head. "Ever since the incident I told you about, any time someone gets too close, she gets scared. That's why she took a leave from Starfleet." Malcolm raised an eyebrow at him. "When we got home two months ago, she was on leave to plan for her wedding. Jon didn't know she was on leave." Malcolm shook his head.
"Commander, I don't feel completely comfortable with this conversation." He said.
"Lieutenant, sit down." He said. Malcolm did. When Trip called him Lieutenant, it meant one of two things. They were either in a formal meeting, or he needed Malcolm to do something. Either way it was a bad idea to ignore him. "I know how close you and Kelly have gotten." He said. Malcolm opened her mouth, but Trip held up a hand. "I've seen the way you look at her. I know that look, because it's the way I used to look at her. No interruptions!" Malcolm closed his mouth again. "Now she's a little skittish when she realizes that someone's getting too close. Give her a little time, and she'll come back around." Malcolm looked up at Trip.
"Excuse me." He said, and left.
"We're approaching an uninhabited planet Captain." T'Pol informed Jon. "There are a few ruins on the surface."
"Of course. Because it would be foolish of them to be in the air." Kelly murmured from her station. She heard Malcolm cough loudly as he attempted to cover a laugh. Jon looked over at Malcolm.
"You all right Lieutenant?" He asked. Malcolm nodded, his face flushing briefly as he quickly found something to do at his station. Jon shot Kelly a hard look, as though he knew what happened. She quickly looked back down at her monitor. Jon cleared his throat.
"Malcolm, Kelly, T'Pol meet Trip in the launch bay. Go." The three of them moved to the turbo lift, and headed down to the launch bay. Trip was waiting. Surprisingly, he let Malcolm pilot the shuttle, and sat in the back, checking over the scanning equipment. Kelly sat down next to him.
"You're being kind of quiet." She said. He shrugged.
"Well, I don't really have a lot to say." He said. "Besides, this equipment needs checked." T'Pol swiveled about in her chair.
"Commander, it is not necessary to check that equipment. I have already performed the check of that equipment." Trip set his jaw and glared at the Vulcan.
"Maybe I want to check it again!" T'Pol arched an eyebrow, and turned around again.
"Trip, are you okay?" She asked. He nodded, setting down his pad a little harder than necessary. "You've been pretty quiet for the past few days."
"Not that you'd have noticed." Trip muttered as Malcolm touched down on the surface. He opened the hatch and they all jumped out on the ground.
"Lieutenant Reed and I shall proceed to the east. Commander Tucker, Lieutenant Archer, please proceed to the west." Malcolm glanced at Kelly.
"Is splitting up really necessary Commander?" Kelly asked. T'Pol arched an eyebrow.
"Logically, splitting up will prevent us from covering the most ground." Kelly shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't have a good feeling about this place." Kelly said, and shivered. Trip threw him a meaningful glance, and Malcolm glared at the chief engineer, who shook his head.
"We are splitting up Lieutenant." T'Pol said. "You and Commander Tucker check out-"
"I'm getting a power reading." Trip said, cutting T'Pol off. All three of them looked over at him.
"I thought you said this planet was uninhabited." Malcolm said, in an almost accusing tone. T'Pol looked about as confused as a Vulcan could get.
"It is." Kelly pulled out her communicator in sync with Malcolm as he pulled his phase pistol.
"Lieutenant Archer to Enterprise."
"Go ahead Lieutenant." Hoshi said.
"We need confirmation of a reading Trip just found." Malcolm eyed her. He had hear people talk like that before, but not ever in Starfleet.
"What reading was that?"
"Trip picked up a power reading, at these coordinates." Kelly said, sending them to Hoshi.
"Hang on Lieutenant." She said. There was a momentary pause.
"Kelly?" This time it was Jon. "I want the four of you to check it out." He said. Kelly nodded.
"Got it Captain." She said, and snapped her Communicator shut. Malcolm shook his head. He was surprised she hadn't said affirmative instead of 'got it.' She had been talking like a military officer, not Starfleet. He had a fleeting image of Kelly in full camouflage gear, and shook his head again. He highly doubted it. Suddenly realizing they were waiting for him, he moved toward the source. Malcolm entered the building first, followed shortly by Kelly, her own pistol drawn. Trip had thought they were both mad, arming themselves for an uninhabited planet. Trip was close behind Kelly.
"There's no one here." He said. Kelly holstered her phase pistol.
"He's right Malcolm." Malcolm nodded.
"I'll check the perimeter." He said. Kelly nodded, finishing her scans of the room.
"I don't think that-" A light flashed against her eyes, and suddenly everything went black.
Trip's limbs felt light. In fact, his entire body felt light. He opened his eyes to the familiar lighting of sick bay at night. He got to his feet, thinking that he was a little shorter than usual. He made his way to the sink in the corner, and splashed some water on his face. The next thing he had to do was find the doctor. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror, and shouted in shock. The face staring back at him wasn't his own. It was Kelly's.