-1PART 7

"Where's Hoshi?" Hallee asked as she came back to the table, balancing a glass of milk and some cookies.

"She had ta go back ta work," Trip said as she handed him a cookie.

"Where am I goin'?" she asked as she climbed back up in the chair and started to dunk the cookies.

"Yer commin' with me. Ya just gotta, GOTTA remember not to touch a thing unless I tell ya that ya can. Ok?"

"Yeah," she said, concentrating on the cookie.

"Hey, this is important."

"I'll look with my eyes and not with my hands," she said, repeating the code that's familiar to every kid.

"Good girl. Soon as yer done, we'll drop Porthos off and be on our way."

"He can't come?"

"Engineerin' is no place for a dog or a kid, but I guess we'll have to make do."

Hallee soon finished and Porthos was dropped off with a quick side trip for something for her to draw on. Soon, Hallee had been parked in one of the less busy parts of engineering and told not to leave without asking to talk to him.

"Trip?" she asked after 20 minutes.

"Yeah Darlin'?"

"I'm bored," she declared.

Trip's blood ran cold at the sound of those words. His mother had always said that a bored kid was trouble until they could be sent out side to play and there was no outside for Hallee to play in.

"Okay, well," he said as he tried to think of something for her to do.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to some of the panels.

"What are they for?" Trip sighed, once again, he had been saved by curiosity.

He picked her up and brought her over to the panels and started to explain things. Hallee yawned a little as she listened. She wanted to learn about things, but it was warm in engineering and her tummy was full and she was starting to get sleepy.

"Hey, no sleepin' here. I don't have anywhere ta put ya," he warned her.

"Sorry," she said around a yawn.

He sighed. This wasn't going to work. He sighed and stepped away from what he was doing. Leaving instructions to call him if they needed him, he left his domain with a four year old on his hip and headed for his quarters. He made a mental note to kill, or at least injure, Hoshi later.

"I didn't wanna leave," Hallee complained.

"Tough luck. There's not a lot of space for a kid in there, never mind a sleepy one," he said.

"Are you mad?" she asked, still not quite sure where she fit into things.

"Just a little frustrated. This ship just ain't built to have kids on it. It's gonna take a couple of days to get things organized," he assured her with a sigh.

"Are you sure yer not mad?" she asked again.

"I'm sure," he told her.

She drifted off into silence, her fears somewhat erased and enjoyed the ride.

PART 8

"You really should stop fidgeting," Travis told Hoshi.

"How can you see what I'm doing?"

"Reflections," he told her as he turned around to look at her.

"I'm not fidgeting," she argued with him. He smiled at her.

"Right, you're doing a new dance maybe?"

"Something like that," she answered as she turned back to her console.

The Captain and T'Pol hadn't returned from their lunch meeting yet so it was just her and Travis on the bridge with a few other officers milling around.

"I heard you inadvertently got your self a room mate," Mayweather said, breaking the long silence.

Sato sighed.

"Does everybody know about Hallee?"

"Small ship." She sighed again.

"Yeah I did. And I left her with Trip and I feel kind of guilty. The bridge has got to be better for her than engineering."

"You let him take a kid to engineering?" he asked as he looked at her again. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Yes. It seemed like a good idea at the time," she said in her own defence.

Travis chuckled at her.

"Ah, he's probably teaching her how everything works by now."

"Hopefully," she said as she turned back to her console. "Aren't you bored? Just sitting out here, doing nothing?"

"A good pilot is never doing nothing," he told her.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, so we never look like we're doing nothing."

"That's better. At least we know who does all the work around here."

"Thank you for the credit Ensign," Archer said as he came onto the bridge.

Hoshi started to formulate a response, but when she saw the smile, she simply returned it, though hers was a little more sheepish than his.

"Where did you find a babysitter on such short notice?" he asked.

"I left her with Trip," she said.

"In engineering?"

"I think so. I left her in the mess with Trip. I don't know where they went after that," she said as she turned away from him.

Archer stayed quiet.

"Since commander Tucker seems to have fallen into the role of defacto guardian right along with you, I'd like to meet with the three of you tomorrow to work out some schedules. How does lunch sound? Give everybody a chance to wake up," he said.

"Sounds fine for me, sir," she said.

"Good. I'll see you all then," he said as he sat down in his chair, watching Travis and wondering if he was actually doing anything or not.

PART 9

"Are you coming to movie night?" Travis asked as the two left the bridge after their shift.

"Probably not," Hoshi replied. "As much as I'd like to see Death To Smoochy, I doubt a four year old will want to."

"The rating might be a little high," he threw in.

"Well, that too," Hoshi said with a smile as she headed to Trip's quarters.

She had decided to start there and then move on to engineering.

"Have fun," Mayweather said as he went on his way.

"Thanks," she said as she pressed the button by the door.

Trip snapped out of the doze he had slipped into.

"Come in," he called as he glanced down at Hallee who had dropped off at some point.

He turned down the music as Hoshi walked in.

"Well, you're just sliding right into this role, aren't you?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"I didn't mean too. She was just happy to sit and listen to the music and she fell asleep and I guess I was on my way out too," he said with a yawn and a smile.

Hoshi sighed, her plan for the night went out the window. She hadn't counted on a nap in her plans. This pushed everything back. Then something else occurred to her.

"She doesn't have anything else to wear but that," she observed as her mind started work on a solution.

"I'll donate a shirt to the cause," Trip said as he got up with Hallee. "There, an authentic Starfleet night shirt," he told her as he came back out with it, he had put Hallee on his bed.

Sato chuckled.

"Well, we're one step ahead now, aren't we?" she asked him as she took the shirt and sat down on the couch. Trip sighed and sat down beside her.

"So what are ya doin' with her tonight?"

"Not much, I guess. I definitely hadn't planned on her taking a nap."

"She's had a big adventure today, travelin' through time and space an' all. That kinda thing takes a lot out of ya," Tucker told her.

Sato shook her head.

"You know from experience?"

"Somethin' like that," he told her as he glanced over at her.

"The captain wants to see the three of us at lunch tomorrow. I guess I should suggest some shore leave."

"Sounds good," he said with a strech.

The two sat for a bit and just listened to the music.

"Do you think we'll ever find a way to get her home?" Hoshi asked out of the blue.

Trip paused. He hadn't really thought about that yet.

"I dunno. Considering that fact that she just appeared on board was a little strange. If we had found 'er on a planet, it would probably be easier to get 'er home," he said as he glanced over at her.

She nodded and thought about things for a bit.

"How do you think she'll be here before we tell Starfleet?"

"Probably not long," he said. "A few days, maybe a week or two at the most."

The two looked at each other. They knew what being sent back to earth meant; never ending tests, public housing and a lot of instability. Definitely not a way to live one's life.

PART 10

Trip reached over and grabbed Hoshi's hand. "Don't worry though, the Cap'n'll fight for her."

"And if he doesn't?" Hoshi asked.

"I will," he told her.

"Grown on you already?" she asked with a smile.

He blushed a little.

"She's a cute kid. I'm startin' to like her," he replied.

"Starting to? She's been the only person you've called 'darlin'' since she got here," she countered.

Trip really blushed this time. Hoshi laughed.

"Come on," he said as he stood up and pulled her with him.

He was gonna distract her if it was the last thing he did. He turned up the music slightly before he took her into his arms again.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she went along with things.

"We're dancin'," he told her.

"You're just trying to change the subject."

"Is it workin'?" he asked.

She stayed quiet for a moment.

"Yes, it is," she said after she decided that he knew what he was doing and wasn't going to walk all over her feet.

"Oh good," he said with a sigh. "Yer pretty good at this," he commented.

"Something I picked up in high school. It's what you get for cutting class on options day," she said with a smile.

He laughed.

"Well, all least ya didn't get stuck with something like Astrology," he commented.

"Well..."

Trip stared at her.

"You didn't."

"No, I didn't, but I had you there for a moment."

He smiled and shook his head and spun her out, almost missing her when he saw Hallee in the doorway of the bed room.

"Hey darlin'," he said softly as he turned down the music.

Hallee rubbed an eye, glanced at him then headed for Hoshi, arms out, wanting to be picked up. Sato complied with the girls wishes and Hallee promptly made herself comfortable.

"So, you two gonna stick around fer a while?" he asked.

"No, I think I should get her relatively settled since it seems she'll be staying for the night.

There are also some minor details to be worked out," she said as she picked up the shirt Trip had donated to the 'clothe Hallee' fund as it had been named.

"Oh, alright then. See you two at dinner?"

"You should," Sato said as she left. "Thanks Trip," she called.

"No problem," he said as he turned back to his quarters to gather his PADDs, turn off the music and then quickly headed for engineering to try and salvage his shift.

PART 11

Hoshi gave up on trying to start a conversation when Hallee just started nodding to her answers. She sighed as they stopped at the quest quarters and she opened the door and stepped in.

"Want to have a look around?" Hallee lifted her head up and glanced around before Hoshi put her on the ground.

"It's bigger than Trip's quarters," she commented as she looked around.

"I think they're bigger than just about everyone's," Sato said as she looked around too.

"There's only one bed," she commented out loud.

"But it's big," Hallee said as she climbed up on it and started jumping, her troubles quickly forgotten. Hoshi watched her for a second before shaking her head and leaving.

"Don't fall off," she called.

"FIVE LITTLE MONKIES JUMPIN' ON THE BED!" Hallee started to sing as loud as she could. Hoshi started to laugh as she looked around a little more, wondering if she was going to get any sleep tonight at all.

"Oh to be a VIP," she whispered to herself. The room was bigger than her quarters, but not by much. Then again, after 3 years on Enterprise, almost any other room looked bigger than hers.

"There's monsters in there!" Hallee yelled as she ran out of the room and glued herself to the ensign's legs. "They banged on the wall and yelled at me! They're gonna eat me!" Hoshi looked down at her.

"They're not monsters. The banging and yelling was who ever is living on the other side of the wall. They want you to be quiet." Hallee paused.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Ya sure?"

"I'm sure," she told her. "Now, do you think you could unglue yourself before we both fall over?"

"Oh, right," Hallee said as she unstuck herself and made a mental note to ask Trip if Hoshi was right.

Saying that there was someone living next door was too easy. The monsters might have gotten to Hoshi and she needed to be safe. Space ship monsters might be smarter than planet monsters.

PART 12

By the time diner rolled around, Hallee had forgotten all about asking Trip about the monsters. She knew that it wasn't long after supper that she was going to have to go to bed and she didn't like the sound of that. It wasn't her room that she was sleeping, or her bed and she didn't have her stuffed tiger or her blankie. She knew that Hoshi wouldn't know how to do things right and she just plain missed home by now.

Hallee followed Hoshi silently to the mess hall and just pushed her food around her plate while they were there. When she had finished, Hoshi leaned her elbows on the table and watched Hallee mostly stare at her plate.

"Are you done?" she asked quietly.

Hallee looked up at her and nodded with a sniffle. Hallee knew she was going to cry, but she wasn't going to do it in the mess hall if it killed her.

"Want to go?" She nodded yes again and the two cleaned up and left.

"Sorry," Hoshi said to Trip as the two of them passed him as he was just coming in.

"I'll check in on things later," he said as he watched them go, not really sure if Hoshi had heard him or not.

He sighed. He didn't know who this would be rougher for; Hoshi or Hallee.

Trip, true to his word, showed up on Hoshi's door step about an hour later and could hear how well it was going. He braced himself, decided against ringing for entry and just broke the door code.

"I see this is where the party is," he commented.

The ensign's head jerked up when she heard him and the two stared at each other for a while.

"Come 'er darlin'," he said as she pried Hallee off of Hoshi. "You tell me all about it and we'll give her a break, okay?"

Hallee nodded her head and started to pour out her troubles to Trip, who was struggling to pick up what she was saying through the sobbing.

Hoshi quickly bolted from the main room and into the bathroom where she closed the door and sunk to the floor, burying her head in her hands and tried to collect herself. Everything she had worked so hard at, getting over being home sick, the space sickness, everything was starting to surface again and she needed to get control of it. Quickly.

PART 13

"There, see? It's not so bad," Trip told Hallee as she finally started to drift off.

Commander Tucker had started to pace the room with her, making sure to pass by the bath room so he could keep an ear on Hoshi.

"I wanna go home," Hallee got out with a few more sobs.

"Me too," Trip told her. "I miss ma room and momma in the kitchen in the mornin's and doin' nothin' all day." Trip waited for a reply, but got none and he sighed.

"Finally," he muttered. "Hope you have a better sleep than I'm gonna have," he told her as he tucked her in on one side of the giant bed.

Tucker started to head for the door and paused. He thought about just leaving Sato to do what ever she was doing, but something, maybe all that common sense his mother had tried to drive into him, was telling him to at least ask how she was.

"Hoshi?" he asked as he knocked on the door. Sato steadied herself.

"Yeah?" she called.

"Uh," he stumbled. "Uh, jest wanted ta letcha know that Hallee's sleepin' and that I think I'm gonna go."

Sato felt a sense of relief flood over her when she heard that Hallee was asleep.

"Are ya okay?" he asked.

Hoshi sighed, stood and opened the door.

"I think so," the woman told him, while not looking him in the eye.

"Are ya sure? 'Cause I mean, I can stick around fer a bit if you'd like," he said.

Trip was kicking himself, he sounded like some nervous teenager trying to ask for a kiss goodnight or something.

"Oh," she hesitated for a moment. "No, I think I'll be okay. I might call you tomorrow night though, if you don't mind," she said.

"Nah," he said. "Don't mind at all. See ya tomorrow afternoon then?"

"Yeah, don't mind us if we're running a little late," she said with a bit of a forced smile.

"I'll make sure that chef keeps things warm fer ya," he said.

A rather uncomfortable silence fell over the two.

"Well, anyways, I'll be seein' ya then," he said as he left. "Night Hosh," he called.

"Good night Trip," she said as she watched him leave. She felt a little bit of panic set in now that he was gone. "I can handle this," she muttered to herself as she turned around to get ready for bed herself.

PART 14

Hoshi put off the physical act of getting into bed as long as she possibly could, whether it was because she wanted to make sure Hallee was truly asleep or for other reasons, she wasn't sure. Eventually, her body threatened to collapse from exhaustion and she reluctantly crawled in next to Hallee and fell asleep a few moments later.

She woke a few times during the night because she wasn't used to sharing a bed. The few times Hallee did move she jolted awake, scared that she had rolled onto her or that something else had happened. Sato soon gave up on the bed with a sigh and moved out to the couch. Sure, it was small and a little lumpy but it was closer to the size of the bunk that she had become accustom to and she soon fell asleep again that night, hoping for a rather dreamless sleep.

As Hoshi climbed the tree, she could see the ground getting farther away and was nearly at the top. She smiled. There had always been something about trees with her. For some a mountain was there for them to climb, for Hoshi it was trees. If there was a tree, she'd try to climb it and this one was perfect. All the branches were large and steady and just the right width apart to make the climb challenging, but not dangerous. That was until her sleeve snagged on something. She pulled her arm, hoping to dislodge her shirt, but it was just pulled back even harder. She finally gave her arm one mighty pull and she lost her balance. She smiled as she fell, enjoying the sensation of the wind around her.

And then she woke up. She quickly rolled back the other way to keep from falling off the couch and once she was sure she wasn't falling anymore, she turned to find a pair of green eyes staring at her in the darkness. She jumped and gave a little shout and the eyes did the same thing and they quickly turned away and ran to the other room. Hoshi's sleep deprived brain slowly put together what had just happened as she caught her breath.

"Oh," Sato got out when she put it all together.

"Hallee," she called out as she got up, tripping in the blankets and tumbling to the floor. She quickly untangled herself and kept on her way to the bedroom where all she found was a lump hiding under the blankets. "Come on out Hallee," Hoshi coaxed as she sat down on the bed and tried to find an open corner of the blanket to peak under.

"No," a muffle voice replied.

"Why not? It must be pretty stuffy under there," she commented.

"You yelled," she got out with a sniffle, still not sure of her place.

"You just surprised me. I'm not used to sharing quarters with a kid."

"You didn't sleep in the bed," Hallee got out. "I couldn't figure out where I was and I couldn't find you and then I did and you yelled and . . .and . . . ." she got out as she finally stuck her head out from under the covers.

The poor ensign sighed.

"I tried to stay in the bed and couldn't fall asleep. I thought you'd still be asleep when I got up," she said.

"I wasn't tired anymore." Hoshi yawned, she sure was. She looked at a clock; it was early, far too early to be up.

"Well, how about this," Hoshi said as she dug up some old music disk of hers with all the mushy slow music on it and she turned it on. "You listen, I'll lie here," she suggested.

Hallee seemed okay with that, so that's what they did.