Wow. Er. . . What's it been five months? I am so very, very, very sorry. I started writing another fic, and honestly meant to continue this, but I completely forgot about it. I again apologize sincerely, and if you guys feel like throwing sharp pointy rabbit's teeth at me, please, feel free!

"Would you please open it?" Kelly asked. She knew she was whining now, but Malcolm deserved it. He wasn't opening his present.

"Kelly, I don't really think that me opening it-"

"Open it!" She said, tackling him on the bed. She sat down on his chest. "I'm not moving until you do." She said. Malcolm gave her a sly grin.

"Do you see me complaining?" He asked. Kelly glared at him.

"Open it, or I'll. . . .I'll get up." She said. Malcolm set the small package on the table next to the bed, and slid his arms around her waist. Kelly shifted on top of him, and grinned. "I'm going to get up." She warned, and Malcolm suddenly moved, swinging her down to the bed, underneath him. His knees were pressing her thighs together. Kelly started to reach up to push him off, but Malcolm pinned her arms to the bed.

"Try to get up now." He said with a grin. Kelly glared at him, but Malcolm could tell there was a smile behind it.

"You're trying to distract me." She said. Malcolm grinned as he caught her lips with his. After a moment he pulled away again.

"Is it working?" Kelly grinned mischievously.

"Kiss me again and find out." Malcolm leaned down to kiss her again, but as he did, her leg snaked out from under him. She wrapped it around his waist and flipped him over so she was sitting on him again.

"I'll take that as a no." Malcolm said as she handed him the box.

"Open it." Kelly said heatedly. Malcolm sighed and slid out from under her. He pulled off the paper and lifted the top of the box. He lifted out the contents, a black sweater. Kelly grinned at the look of surprise on his face. She positioned herself behind him, sliding her arms around his neck. "You look good in dark turtlenecks." She said, kissing his neck. "They made your eyes stand out." Malcolm turned and caught her lips with his. When he pulled back he grinned.

"How about I give you your present then?" He asked. Those huge gray eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"You got me a present?" She asked as he got up, crossing his quarters and pulling out a large, square box.

"Yes." He held out the box. "Picked it up a couple of weeks ago on Druidsa, when the Captain gave us the day to explore." Kelly tore off the paper to find a box, she tore off the lid to find a smaller box. When she pulled off the lid, she found an even smaller box. She eyed Malcolm.

"There is something in here, right?" She asked. He grinned.

"Yes, only one more box." He replied, shaking his head. Kelly could tell he was nervous, what was he nervous about? Did he think she wouldn't like it? She opened the last box to find a small velvet jewelry box. Her throat constricted as she lifted it out. It was about the right size and shape for a ring. She stared at it for a moment before Malcolm's hands closed around hers. "Open it, please." Kelly's stomach was twisted into at least a thousand knots as her fingers moved of their own accord, lifting the lid to the box. Inside lay exactly what she had thought. A ring.

Her breath caught in her throat as her mind raced. Was he asking her? It wasn't like she hand never thought about it before and she had been thinking about it more seriously since she'd met Malcolm. Her mouth opened and closed, but she didn't seem to be able to get the words she wanted to say out of her mouth. Malcolm was looking increasingly uneasy as the seconds passed and she was still silent.

"Kelly, could you um, say something?"

Her mind continued to race. She wanted to speak, yes, but what was she supposed to say to him? She didn't even know what she thought.

"Holy shit." She finally said something, but did she have to sound so shocked? The box fell out of her hands, the room suddenly felt too small. The walls seemed to be closing in on her. As Malcolm bent to pick up the box, she tore out of the room. She didn't want to look back because she knew he was going to look hurt. She knew if she looked back at him, she was going to go back in there and do something she wasn't sure she wanted to. She ran through the corridors until she burst into the observation lounge. She had been sure it would be empty, after all, it was Christmas, but it wasn't. T'Pol was there, standing in front of the window, her feet spread and her slim hands clasped behind her back. She turned as Kelly burst in, and raised an eyebrow.

"I - I'm sorry." Kelly blurted out. "I j -just thought it would be empty. I'll just. . ."

"That is not necessary Lieutenant." T'Pol said, her eyebrow arching even further. "Though I would have thought you would be spending your time with Captain Archer, or Lieutenant Reed." Kelly flinched at the mention of Malcolm, and T'Pol's brow only arched further. "Did something happen between you and Lieutenant Reed?" She asked. Kelly turned to leave. "If you wish to talk. . . Perhaps I can help." Kelly closed her eyes. T'Pol was probably the one person who was not going to be mad at her for running away or be mad at Malcolm that he had asked her. She turned back around. "You appear agitated. Did the Lieutenant do something?" She asked. Kelly shook her head.

"No. No, it was mostly me." She leaned back against the wall, then let her knees bend as she slid down until she was sitting on the floor. "Every relationship I've ever had, I sabotage. I just don't want to do that with Malcolm." Then it her. She already had, by running away. "But I think I just did."

Trip had seen Kelly racing down the corridor, completely oblivious to the stares she was getting. She looked positively terrified. His face flushed with anger, he marched straight down to Malcolm's quarters, positive he had done something to make her look like that. It had been a long time since Kelly had looked that scared. He jammed in his override code for the door, and stepped in, but something made him stop dead in his tracks. Malcolm was sitting on the bed, a small ring box in his hands. He was staring at it. Trip didn't even know if Malcolm knew he'd come in.

"She didn't say anything." He said softly. "Why didn't she say anything?"

"Malcolm? Is that what I think it is?" Malcolm closed the box and tossed it on the bed next to him. He didn't look up at his friend as he got up.

"If you think it's a ring, you'd be right." The door shut behind him with a soft hiss, just barely louder than Malcolm's voice.

T'Pol eyed Kelly. "So you ran away?" Kelly nodded, shaking her head.

"I don't know why." She said with a sigh. "I just got scared. I didn't with Harrison, but now. . ." She shook her head.

"Every person is different, and we act differently around them." T'Pol answered.

"Are you always that cryptic?" She asked. T'Pol gave a small shrug.

"I am merely trying to say that Lieutenant Reed is a different man than Harrison. You have to think about how you feel about the Lieutenant, not about Harrison." Kelly nodded, exhaling slowly.

"I really screwed this up."

"Perhaps you should have a talk with Lieutenant Reed." Kelly nodded, getting to her feet.

"Thanks T'Pol." She said as she hurried out of the room. Shaking her head, T'Pol turned back to the stars.

Kelly was growing frustrated. She's gone back to Malcolm's quarters to find him gone, the ring in the box on the bed. She'd searched the armory, but still hadn't found him. She headed down to engineering to find Trip standing at a station, frowning at a blank screen. He looked up as she approached, his frown increasing.

"So, what's the prognosis?" She asked, slowing in front of him. Trip shook his head. "I take it you talked with Malcolm?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He looked pretty messed up Kell. Why'd you take off?" She sighed, shaking her head as she folded her arms around herself protectively.

"I have no idea." She admitted. Trip shook his head, still staring at the blank screen.

"Well, I hope you two get it straightened out before dinner." She eyed him, looking slightly confused. "Dinner? With the Cap'n? Cap'n's mess?" Kelly closed her eyes.

"Damn." Turning, she headed out of engineering.

"Kell!" She turned back at Trip's call. "What're you gonna say?" She gave him a wan smile.

"What I should have said in the first place." With that, she ducked out of engineering.

What was it about him that seemed to repel women for long-term relationships? He had never understood this. He had thought, stupidly that she might want to spend the rest of her life with him. She didn't. She didn't say that. He told himself.

But she ran out of the room.

Maybe she was just scared. A hopeful voice said in the back of his mind.

I was scared too. I was afraid she was going to say no. A straight no would have been better. At least then I wouldn't have to wonder.

Malcolm looked down at the speed control on the treadmill and punched it up a few numbers. His legs were burning, aching with fatigue but he didn't care. Maybe it would be better if he'd never told Kelly how he felt. But then he wouldn't have had her, even for the short amount of time they'd had. Why had she run? She had run away from him. Him. Malcolm. The doors opened and bright light from the corridor spilled into the dim room, keeping him from seeing the face of the person entering. He didn't need to though. He knew every curve of that body, how every part of her body moved. He turned his eyes back to the speed controls of the treadmill, and another muscle pinched, though it had nothing to do with his exercise. The music he was listening to stopped and Malcolm scowled. He would have to hear her, though he was pretty sure he didn't want to listen.

"Malcolm, I need to talk to you." She said. In the dim lighting she could see the pain on his face. Pain she'd caused.

"I don't want to hear it." Malcolm hit the stop button and jumped down, snatching his towel up and heading for the door. Kelly grabbed his arm, but he jerked it out of her grasp.

"Malcolm-"

"Whatever you wanted to say, I told you I don't want to hear it!" He shouted. She stopped moving and just looked at him in shock. Malcolm had never yelled at her before. He had hardly ever even raised his voice, and that had only been when they disagreed about the weapons systems. He could see the tension in her body, the way she was standing, holding herself, her arms around her body protectively. She was blinking a lot, and her eyes were brighter than usual.

"Malcolm, please." Her voice was shaking, and Malcolm's heart nearly stopped. He had scared her. He had never wanted to scare her like that, at all. "Just listen to me, okay?"

"Kelly, you made it pretty clear what you want." He said quietly. He hated how vulnerable he felt right then, and was surprised at how close he had allowed Kelly to get. He hadn't allowed anyone to get that close, ever. No one could ever hurt him this much. Only her.

"Malcolm, I don't know why I ran. Okay, well I kind of do. I was scared. I wasn't expecting you to propose to me like that, this soon. I freaked out and ran." She said and noticed that Malcolm had stopped edging toward the door. "It wasn't a no." He froze in place, and Kelly's heart stopped beating as she waited for a response.

"What are you saying?" Malcolm asked. Kelly let out a slow breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Are you saying. . . ?" Kelly swallowed as she felt her heart start again. She was amazed that she hadn't keeled over right then and there.

"Yes." She said slowly, her eyes closed as she made herself not fall over. "I'm saying yes." Strong arms were suddenly around her, lifting her off her feet in a hug. Malcolm spun her around before sitting her back down on the ground. Gray eyes met blue as they smiled at each other.

"Does this mean we're not fighting anymore?" He asked. Kelly slid her arms around his neck, hooking her fingers together behind his head.

"When were we fighting?"

"Did you not just hear us shouting at each other?" He asked. Kelly grinned, leaning in and trapping his lips with hers. His lips parted, enveloping hers as his hands slid around her waist, pulling her into him.

Trip strode down the corridor aimlessly. He had about an hour to kill before the Captain's dinner and had nothing to do. Kelly had gone off looking for Malcolm, so they were both presumably busy at the moment, probably duking it out or something. He sighed. They probably didn't even know how perfect they were for each other. They complemented each other impeccably. They argued almost as much as he and T'Pol did. He stepped into the mess hall to get a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the mess hall was relatively empty, most people were spending the day with their friends. They'd be down for dinner in another hour so most were hiding out until then. T'Pol was sitting at a table on the far side of the room, sipping her tea and reading a data pad. Trip got his coffee and headed over.

"You mind?" He asked. T'Pol shook her head, gesturing to the chair.

"Please." After a moment, she put her pad down. "May I ask you a question?" She asked. Trip nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Fire away."

"What is it about long-term commitment that scared humans?" She asked. Trip choked on his coffee.

"What?" He paused for a moment, then sighed.

"I don't know. You talked with Kelly." T'Pol nodded.

"We. . . Ran into each other in the observation lounge." She replied. "She. . . Explained the situation to me." Trip raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what'd you say to her?" Trip asked. T'Pol eyed him cautiously.

"I merely told her that she needed to remember that Lieutenant Reed is not her ex-fiancee. Harrison, I believe his name was." She shook her head. "She ran because she did not wish to. . . Hurt Lieutenant Reed." She took a sip of tea as Trip shook his head.

The comm suddenly beeped. "Senior staff, report to the bridge." Trip and T'Pol left their mugs on the table as they hurried out of the mess hall.

Again, I am so incredibly sorry about not updating. I am going to try much harder from now on, until I finish this.