Author Notes: Thanks for all the support!

Chapter 3

Malcolm shot up, gasping for air. The nightmares still hadn't stopped, and were beginning to leak into his conscious mind when he was awake. He was shaking violently. That nightmare had been worse than any of the others. Startled, he realised that he was crying, and he viciously wiped away the tears. Two days ago, Phlox had been forced to move him to an isolation room after a particularly violent episode in which Malcolm had completely lost control, trashing sickbay. The Doctor seemed to think that Malcolm might be a danger to himself.

Malcolm drew his knees up to his chest, and curled up in the corner. Four days. It had been four days since the nightmares, since this hell had started. His friends came to visit him when they could, but many didn't like to see him the way he was. Trip came to see him the most, but to be honest, Malcolm dreaded the visits more and more. One of the things he hated most in his life was lack of control, and now he had that constantly. What worried him the most was the possibility of the violence returning when someone was alone with him. What if he seriously hurt one of them?

Malcolm clenched his fists. He knew that sooner or later, the crew of the Enterprise were going to have to accept that yes, he was going nuts, to put it bluntly. Hell, even he couldn't find a rational explanation for his behaviour. In fact, at the time, his behaviour always seemed so normal. Malcolm snorted. There, he had to be going crazy. Only crazy people thought of their behaviour as normal.

Archer and Phlox were waiting for Trip. Neither wanted to have this conversation, but they both knew it was inevitable. As Trip entered, he knew something was wrong, "What's going on?"

"Please sit down Mr Tucker." Phlox gestured to the biobed.

Now Trip was really suspicious. He stayed standing, "Get to the point."

Phlox sighed, but continued, "I have spoken with Starfleet and my colleagues on Earth about Lieutenant Reed's condition. It has been decided that, in our medical opinion, Malcolm should be returned to Earth so that he can receive the help that he needs."

Trip stared at both of them in shock, "You want to have him committed? Most of the time he's fine! Like you said, the stress-"

"No Commander." Phlox said gently, "It is the medications that I have been giving Mr Reed that have been keeping him as lucid and as docile as he currently is. Unfortunately, all tests indicate that his condition is deteriorating rapidly, and we simply don't have the facilities aboard to cope."

Trip didn't reply, he only glared at them. Archer sighed, "You know this is for the best, Trip. We've all seen him. He can't stay here. He needs proper care."

Trip looked at the ground furiously, "Have you told him yet?"

"No." Archer said softly, "As his closest friend on this ship, we thought you'd like to tell him."

Unable to speak, Trip nodded, and then left in the direction of the isolation rooms. Using his access code, Trip tentatively walked into Malcolm's room, only to see him curled up in the corner, unmoving. Hoping that Malcolm would be himself, Trip spoke up, "Malcolm?"

At first, it appeared that he had gone unheard, but then Malcolm looked up, "Trip?"

"Yeah. How're you doing?" He sat down on the opposite bed.

Malcolm frowned, "Why're you sad?"

Damn. Well, at least this was the child-like Malcolm, not the violent one. As simply as he could, he tried to explain, "Because the Doc just told me some bad news."

Malcolm immediately shifted his position from sitting to crouched. He looked scared, as if he was ready to bolt, "You're going away."

Trip frowned. Where had that come from? "No, Mal, I'm not going anywhere. Promise."

"Liar!" Malcolm leapt off the bed and stood in a corner diagonal from Trip, wrapping his arms around himself, "Everyone goes away. They always lie. They pretend. They hide behind masks, say they're nice. Then they show their faces and make everyone scream!"

"I'm not lying Malcolm." Trip tried to keep his voice level, "It's kinda complicated. Please sit down."

"Complicated? Life was simple until people came along. They made it bad and now everyone is screaming." He slid to the floor, covering his ears as tears formed in his eyes, "Why won't they stop screaming? Why is there so much blood? Keep laughing in the night. Laugh as they scream…"

Malcolm curled up into a ball, rocking. It tore Trip up, seeing his friend like this, but he couldn't just leave. Sitting down next to Malcolm, he put his arms around him as he would a child. It wasn't fair. Why did things like this always happen to the people who don't deserve it? After a while, Malcolm calmed down, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You were right."

Malcolm sat up and regarded his friend. His eyes were now completely clear, "About what?"

"About me going away. The Cap'n has decided, on Phlox's advice, that we need to return to Earth - that you need to return to Earth."

Malcolm frowned, and then the reality hit him. He stood up, and backed away, "No."

"Malcolm…" Trip rose to keep eye level.

"No! No more tests! No more needles! All you do is poke and prod and you get no questions! You're blind in the dark and you do things backwards. And you say I'm the crazy one?" Malcolm suddenly lurched forwards and slammed Trip in to the wall. Footsteps and shouts could be heard in the hall. Trip was having trouble breathing as Malcolm put pressure on his chest, but he didn't want to hurt his friend. "The stars blink out, one by one. The long night closes in and everyone sleeps the last sleep. Tiny souls, tiny lives, all lost in a big riddle for the sun."

Trip stared in misery over the random words. He watched in despair as Malcolm was pulled off him and a hypospray was injected into his neck, making him go limp. Phlox regarded him, "Are you alright Commander?"

Trip rubbed his chest, "Yeah. Is he?"

Phlox shook his head, "I think it would be prudent to keep Malcolm under sedation until we reach Earth."

"What? That's two weeks from now! Is that even safe?"

"I assure you, Commander, it is. Besides, would you prefer that he were awake and able to do himself damage?"

"I guess not…" Trip muttered.

"Very well then; Commander, if you would-"

"What, oh, sure." Trip gave his friend one last glance, before he left to start his shift.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: Next chapter should be up soon. Please review and tell me what you thought!