Disclaimer: don't own wish i did...aren't making any money...
A/N: Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews! And as requested, more Kelly/Malcolm!
Kelly grimaced as pain shot through her leg. She was lying in Sick Bay for Phlox to make confirm that her knee was indeed not broken. Jon and Trip were gone, talking to Admiral Forrest, but Malcolm was still there. Kelly winced again, and felt Malcolm slide his hand into hers. Kelly saw Phlox notice this, but the look quickly passed and other than a slight widening of his smile, made no indication that that he had realized that Malcolm had moved.
"Well, it's going to hurt for a couple days, but nothing's broken, or sprained. It's quite interesting actually. Commander Tucker said you looked quite distressed when it happened." Kelly bit her lip.
"That was actually a little bit of acting." She said. "Bower needed to think I was weaker than I was. Had she been alive longer, I could have used that advantage. That tactic has saved my life more than once." She said. Phlox raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else as he pressed a hypo spray into her neck.
"This should eliminate the pain. If it still hurts in the morning, come see me before you go on duty. We'll see about giving you some more." Kelly nodded, moving her leg back and forth. It didn't hurt anymore. She let Malcolm help her off the bed, but dropped his hand as they walked down the corridor toward her quarters.
"Sorry I haven't been around for the past couple of days." She said. Malcolm nodded silently. "I meant to talk to you, but I couldn't without someone figuring something was up. I didn't want to jeopardize the investigation. Roberts was a good person." Malcolm nodded again, just as silently. Kelly punched in the code for her quarters, and they stepped inside. "Malcolm, come on. Say something."
"Why did you ask me for extra training?" He asked. Kelly felt her face flush. She had asked Malcolm to train her in some martial arts techniques when she had first come aboard.
"Because I wanted to get to know you." She said. "You're a mystery to me, and I like figuring out mysteries."
"You want to know what's a mystery to me?" He asked. "You." Kelly was taken aback. She had never been described as a mystery before. "First they're your record. There's nothing to indicate that you would have the Admiral's confidence in a murder investigation, or the know-how. Nor should you have been able to fight Bower like that." Kelly sat down on her bunk, feeling a little sick to her stomach. "Nor should you have been so calm when you saw Roberts's face. Even I got sick to my stomach. And what was Bower talking about? She kept saying something about a bomb." Kelly put a hand over her mouth as the bile crept up her throat. She felt her eyes burn as she swallowed it. She was going to have to lie to him. She was going have to lie to Malcolm. She had to run to the bathroom, barely making it before she threw up. After she had rinsed her mouth out, she looked up to see Malcolm watching her, looking concerned.
"Ho long have you been doing that?" Malcolm asked, sounding worried. Kelly shrugged.
"Five days." She said. "Every time I see Roberts's face in my head. I can't help it. Plus I hated having to lie to you. I still do." Malcolm sat down on her bunk next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders gingerly.
"You don't have to feel bad." He said. "We all have secrets." Kelly nodded against his shoulder.
"Yeah, well not all of us have the kind of secret that I do." She said. Malcolm leaned back against her pillows, and she moved over, curling up next to him, nestling her head against his chest. "After the Xindi attack of Earth, there were a lot of xenophobic people around. Admiral Forrest got worried when someone attacked one of the other Admirals was attacked and beaten to death, so he set up a secret program. He didn't even give it a proper name. It's just called Project six-two-echo. I was one of the first members. He recruited the smartest, sharpest people from their respective fields. I just happened to be good at all of them. We worked to keep Starfleet safe from people who wanted to stop our space exploration missions. My team and I were sent to make sure that a building was secure. Jack Bower found a bomb in the building. The Admiral was next to me, so I ordered an evacuation of the building, and dragged Forrest bodily from the building. Jack tried to disarm the bomb himself, but he couldn't. It exploded, killing him and two other members of my team who were trying to get him out of the building. I didn't realize until this morning that Paula Bower was Jack's sister. Then I knew that she had killed him. I just had to find out how."
"The weighted gloves." Malcolm said. Kelly nodded against him.
"I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to talk over the past couple of days." She said. She felt Malcolm's cheek against the top of her head.
"Do we really have to?" He asked softly. Kelly sat up.
"Malcolm, I don't want to be just another one of your girls. I know how you were back on Earth." He grimaced.
"Kelly, you're not just another girl to me." He said quietly. He looked like this was almost physically painful to talk about. "Why do you think I waited so long to do something about the way I felt?" Kelly bit her lip.
"Because Trip and I switched bodies?" He closed his eyes, and looked like he was resisting the urge to hit something. "Sorry. Sarcasm is a defense mechanism for me." Malcolm nodded slowly.
"And keeping things inside is one for me." She said, opening his brilliantly blue eyes. "All those girls on Earth, they were just distractions for me. I never really felt anything with them." Kelly swallowed. "But I do with you." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I can't explain it, but-"
"Then don't." Kelly said. "I have to admit, I have never felt closer to anyone before in my life." She said. "I don't think I have ever been in love before, not even with Harrison." When she realized what she had just said, she froze, looking into Malcolm's eyes, to see if he realized what she had just said. She had just admitted that she loved him.
"Malcolm, I-" His lips cut her off as they met hers. Once again, they were hesitant at first, like his hand on the back of her neck, but it soon trailed down her back, and pulled her on top of him as she pushed him down under her. Her body pressed against him. He gently rolled her underneath him. After a moment, he lifted his head away from her, breaking the kiss. Her breathing soft and shallow she lifted her mouth to his, but he pushed her back down gently. Malcolm had a content expression on his face as he just watched her. She smiled.
"What?" She asked. Malcolm lowered himself back down on top of her. She could feel his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear.
"I love you." He said, his breath tickling her ear. He pulled his head back above her. He reached up and grabbed the zipper of his uniform, starting to pull it down. Her door chime sounded.
Kelly and Malcolm froze. Kelly was the first to move, pushing Malcolm off of her and scrambling to her feet.
"Get in the bathroom!" She hissed, yanking her hair back into a ponytail. She opened the door to find Trip standing on the other side.
"Took ya long enough." He said with a small grin. His eyes flickered around the room, lighting on her bed. The blankets weren't exactly straight, and the sheet was a little rumpled. "Did I wake you up?" Kelly just nodded, trying to look tired. "Oh. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were all right." He said. "Doc said that Malcolm was walking you to your quarters." Kelly prayed that he wouldn't try to walk into the bathroom. She nodded.
"Yeah. He left when I said I was tired." Trip gave her a small smile.
"Well, if ya want to talk about it, you know where to find me." He said, turning and striding out the door. Kelly glanced over at the door as it closed behind him, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Think he knew I was here?" Malcolm asked, emerging from the bathroom. Kelly gave him a small smile as she slid her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. Sinking his hand into her hair, Malcolm deepened the kiss as his other arm circled her waist protectively. Her hands slid up his chest, and she pulled the zipper down on his uniform. They broke apart as she pulled it off his shoulders, pushing it down his chest. As soon as she had gotten it to his waist, she pulled off the regulation blue undershirt, and lay her hands on his chest. She leaned up to kiss him again, but he stopped her, pulling down the zipper on her own uniform. As he pulled it off, his fingers trailed lightly against her skin, making her shiver. He pulled it down past her waist before she stopped him, kicking the uniform off the rest of the way by herself. Malcolm did the same, and lay her out on her bed. He broke the kiss, and began trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder. He brought his lips back to her mouth briefly before trailing his lips down her chest. As he got further down her body, Kelly closed her eyes, and let herself melt.