A/N: I was wondering if readers would understand why T'Pol winked at the end of the last chapter. You're right, volley -- it is out of character for her. In fact, that's why I had her do it. But it probably needed a bit more explanation, so I inserted a few sentences in this chapter to do that.

CHAPTER 4

Word of the impending nuptials spread quickly. To Hoshi, it seemed like everyone on the entire ship was talking about it by the next morning. The buzz died away to an expectant silence, however, when Malcolm and his lovely entourage appeared in the mess hall for breakfast.

Hoshi had to stifle a smile as he entered. He stepped through the doorway, doing his best to ignore that he was being trailed by the five colorfully dressed D'nini. They looked like baby ducklings following their mother, especially since they glided more than walked. Enhancing the impression was the way their sleeves flowed with their movements, reminding Hoshi of bird wings.

After all of them had selected food in the serving line, Hoshi saw Malcolm turn toward the women and say something. He must have told them to sit at a different table from him, because their eager faces fell and they moved off by themselves.

There was no argument from the D'nini, Hoshi was happy to see. One of the ground rules T'Pol had laid down was that they could be in Malcolm's presence but had to maintain a distance if he so requested. No doubt it was uncomfortable for him, but at least it seemed to satisfy the D'ninis' craving to see him.

Malcolm's gaze came to rest on Hoshi as he looked around the mess hall. She jerked her head in a "come here" motion. He didn't move toward her, however, until she saw him gauge the distance between her table and the D'nini. Apparently reassured that he would be far enough away from them for comfort, he headed in her direction.

Hoshi didn't speak as he sat down and put his napkin on his lap. She let him start eating before she said, "I'm surprised to see you here."

He grunted. "Believe me, being out in public with that horde is almost as bad as being alone with them," he said, then blushed as Hoshi grinned impishly at him. "It's a good thing my cabin is off-limits to them," he added hastily, "or I'd have to jump out an airlock to put myself out of my misery. In fact, that's what I thought I was going to have to do yesterday when they caught up to me. If it hadn't been for T'Pol winking--"

"T'Pol winked?"

"Yes, she winked," he said. "I've never seen her do that before. Then I realized she was trying to tell me something."

"It's not that bad, Malcolm," Hoshi said, seeing him warily look toward the D'nini. "You can handle three days of this."

"As long as they stay at a respectful distance, it shouldn't be a problem." He paused to take a bite of his breakfast, then continued speaking around a mouthful of pancake. "It's the other people who don't have that restriction that are driving me bonkers."

Hoshi was about to ask what he meant when Travis joined them. The helmsman sat down but turned in his chair to look at the D'nini. They were all looking back. As Travis faced Malcolm again, he said with a straight face, "It's probably a good thing you're keeping up your strength."

Malcolm stopped eating to stare coldly at the other man, and Hoshi hurried to intervene.

"Shame on you, Travis!" she said. "Can't you see how hard this is for Malcolm? I'd think you'd have a little sympathy."

Travis thought for a moment. "Actually, I'm jealous, and so are the other men on board. That's why we're rubbing it in."

"I didn't know amateur psychology was your hobby," Malcolm muttered sarcastically.

Hoshi pushed back from the table and got to her feet. "I've got to get to the bridge and take care of the final arrangements for when the abbess gets here in a few days." She dropped a hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get this all straightened out."

She noticed the envious expressions of the D'nini congregation as she patted Malcolm reassuringly on the shoulder before taking her leave. She took their reaction as an encouraging sign. The plan she and T'Pol had come up with just might work.

Malcolm couldn't concentrate. Flashes of vivid, shimmering color kept popping up in his peripheral vision every time he'd become immersed in some task or other. It reminded him of the way a hostile ship with cloaking technology would suddenly appear, then disappear from the scanners. Just because it was the D'nini flitting in and out of his personal radar didn't mean he was any less tense than he would be in a potential combat situation.

He sighed and put down the tool he was using so he could rub his temples. A chorus of concerned murmurs came from behind him, and he whirled around and held up his hand. "Stop right where you are!" he told the advancing women.

He was still amazed that they actually obeyed him. This was the second or third time this had happened since he'd come to the armory to try -- in vain, as it turned out -- to get some work done. Maybe they were biding their time until the ceremony under the assumption that he'd be permanently in their clutches after that. This plan of T'Pol's and Hoshi's better work, he thought as he turned back to the work table. As it was, he was going to be a nervous wreck by that time.

The main door to the armory opened. Malcolm turned to see who was disturbing what little peace he had. The new arrival was Trip. As he approached the tactical officer, the D'nini parted before him like the Red Sea -- and the Yellow, and Blue, and Green, and Silver.

"Hey, Malcolm!" the engineer said as he came to stand next to his friend. "How's it goin'?"

"It's not." Despite speaking in a whisper, the frustration in Malcolm's voice came through loud and clear. "I can't get a bloody thing done with them around."

Trip glanced at the hushed assembly watching Malcolm. "Maybe ya ought to try finishin' the work on the firing relays. At least they wouldn't be able to follow you up in the crawlways."

"I tried that," Malcolm said grumpily, rubbing a hand across his eyes. "They insisted on remaining in the corridor below me. Every thirty seconds one of them would yell and ask if I was okay. I couldn't get anything done because of all the interruptions. I finally assigned Foster to fix the relays." He turned his back on the women. "It's like being surrounded by a bunch of velvet sharks," he said under his breath.

Trip grinned, amused despite knowing how unsettled Malcolm was. "It's only for a few days. Surely you can tough it out?"

A hoarse laugh erupted from Malcolm. "I honestly don't know if I can." He lowered his voice. "I've seriously been considering checking myself into sickbay for some imaginary ailment or injury."

"This isn't like you, Malcolm," Trip said. "You usually avoid sickbay like the plague."

Malcolm hung his head. "Right now, sickbay is looking better and better."

"Ya know," Trip drawled, "if I was in your position, I'd be workin' it to my advantage."

Malcolm's head shot up and he stared at the engineer. "I know how'd you take advantage of it. Your track record with alien women speaks for itself."

"That was a low blow, Malcolm," Trip said with a touch of heat. "But you're my friend, so I'm gonna help you anyway."

Malcolm snorted skeptically.

"Think about it," Trip continued, drawing Malcolm farther away from the watching women so they wouldn't be overheard. "You can tell 'em you can't...you know...do anything...until after the ceremony. Let 'em get closer, but only when other people are around. The mess hall, for instance. Imagine how jealous the other men on board are going to be, especially when they see you surrounded by these beautiful women. And all the female personnel are gonna wonder what's so special about you," he said with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

Malcolm stared at Trip. "The female personnel...?"

"Yeah. And after this is all over, you shouldn't have any trouble gettin' a date for movie night," Trip said and laughed.

After a moment, Malcolm laughed, too, and slapped Trip on the arm.

Hoshi ran into Travis in the corridor outside the mess hall on her way to breakfast the next day.

"How's Malcolm holding up under the pressure?" Travis asked as they neared the mess hall door.

Hoshi shrugged. "I haven't talked to him yet today, but okay, I guess. The 'keep your distance' rule seems to be the only thing keeping him sane. If it wasn't for that--" The words she was about to say died in her throat as they stepped into the mess hall and she saw the subject of their conversation. He was seated at a table, surrounded by admiring D'nini. Although the table was small, meant for only four people, all five of the alien women were squeezed around it and Malcolm.

Hoshi heard Travis' startled intake of air as he took in the scene. "Would you look at that?" he said in awe. "I thought he was scared to death of them."

"So did I," Hoshi said, feeling an unaccustomed twinge of jealousy. Decked out in their shimmering outfits, the D'nini put every female crew member in the mess hall to shame.

Malcolm seemed to be enjoying himself, she noticed. Only yesterday he'd been more nervous than she'd ever seen him. What was he up to?

Giving herself a mental shake, she moved over to the serving line, still keeping an eye on the group seated in the center of the mess hall. She saw Neon Blue D'nini put a delicate hand on Malcolm's arm as she said something to him, and he didn't even flinch!

So preoccupied was Hoshi that she almost ran into Trip ahead of her in the serving line.

"Watch it there," Trip told her, putting out his hand to prevent a collision.

"Sorry," she said, glancing yet again at the crowded table where Malcolm was the center of attention. "I can't believe the change in Malcolm."

Trip grinned. "Yeah. Great, isn't it?"