It was plain as day. Well, plain as day to anyone who had eyes to see and who knew the good Lieutenant as well as Meara Shaw did.

At the end of her first day learning the ropes in the Armoury and getting to grips with the ship's weaponry, the MACOs and some of the crew had converged on the gym for some extra-curricular training. Reed and Hayes were exchanging blows and parries amongst the other pairings. Meara was watching them from the corner of her eye while she let Sato practice some offensive moves on her. Her real training session would take place in the mornings with Reed and Hayes. She smiled. She was looking forward to wiping the floor with the both of them. Hopefully, a woman kicking their backsides would cause a move of solidarity between the two men.

The tension in the air between Reed and Hayes hadn't been lost on her at their introductions. Something similar had surfaced between her and Malcolm all those years ago when their paths converged. It was the night after she had met Dr Soong and the truth of what she was had been laid out in front of her in all its glory. Meara was pretty sure it was a mistake. She just wanted to be a regular human being and so, in an effort to do that, she had gotten ridiculously drunk at some little known dive (and it took a hell of a lot for an Augment to get the beer buzz she craved that night). She had proceeded to embarrass a particularly distasteful excuse for a man in the bar, by basically drinking him under the table. His brothers were none to impressed and she should have guessed they wouldn't let the sleeping dog lie so decided to poke her as she headed down the street back to her quarters. Her reaction time was a little sluggish at first and by the time she had pulled herself together, the wiry British cadet had appeared, giving as good as he got, and he took a fair bit on her behalf that night.

She watched as the two men revelled in their sparring. Hell, it looked more like a dance. Meara wondered if any of the other members of the crew could sense it, but at the moment everyone was focussed on their own combatants…

After Meara had finished what the thugs had started, she escorted a hobbling Malcolm Reed back to her quarters, cleaned him up and gave him her bed for the night. As with the night before, the cold light of the next morning was a revelation for Malcolm as he recalled what had happened. He was a little in awe of the young cadet. Though shy and awkward at first, she could see something in him that she wanted to draw out and that's exactly what she did. A friendship was forged, and though she knew Malcolm wanted more, now that she understood and accepted the path that fate seemed to determine to march her down, she couldn't do that to him. She didn't hesitate however, to give him the confidence he needed to seek out relationships on his own terms. In some ways, he was more broken than her. He gave her perspective and an understanding in the fragility of being human that she only gained through her friendship with him.

Yes, there were advantages to having Augment attributes. Multi-tasking was as easy as breathing for a start. She could keep her mind on the mission and still have room on the side to help out an old friend. And that's exactly what she planned to do for Malcolm.

Hayes was mesmerised.

At 0900, he had arrived at the gym to find Shaw and Hayes already warmed up and just about to go a second round laying into each other.

Malcolm dropped his guard when he saw Hayes step through the door. "Well. How good of you to join us, Maj—!"

Hayes grinned. Malcolm's sentence had been cut short by an extraordinary combat move from Shaw, that had him with his face planted in the mat and in an armlock that he hadn't a hope in hell of escaping from unless Shaw allowed it.

"There's a time to drop your guard, Lieutenant. Standing in front of me when I'm itching to kick some arse isn't it."

"Nice to see you haven't lost either your touch or your quick wit, Ensign," Malcolm replied. Meara smiled and released him. She'd always found this was the way to begin breaking down Malcolm's guard. He was a fighter, a defender, a protector of those he perceived vulnerable. It had taken Meara a lot of time and effort to show him that it was his vulnerability that made him strong for others. An extended time in space, the loss of crewmates and a battle for their very survival, it would seem had undone all her good work. Well, it was nearly two weeks until Enterprise reached Klingon territory, and she'd have a damn good shot at waking up that sleeping beauty.

Meara looked over at Hayes and greeting him with a nod. She hadn't missed his appraising look as she squared up to Reed. He obviously had a type - slender, wiry and coiled with a concealed strength - was it, seemingly. There were many possibilities here to make two people very happy. There would be time to bridge the gap. First of all though, she was going to demonstrate to the both of them exactly why she had been chosen for this mission…

"Holy shit! That was—" Hayes' head was still spinning from the workout Shaw had just laid on them both. They were walking the corridor en route to their respective quarters.

"Indeed." Reed was dripping with sweat. Meara had stretched muscles the men apparently had forgotten they possessed. Malcolm's body felt as though it had been pommelled in a way he imagined it might feel had a Sumo Masseur applied himself rigorously to the task. Even his bones felt stretched. If that were possible.

Neither man was about to admit that they'd both been turned on by the session in ways that extended beyond their physical exertions with Shaw. Thank the stars for loose pants and a semblance of self-control, thought Malcolm.

Hayes was rapidly losing his self-control, however. "See you in the Armoury, Sir," Hayes tossed out as they parted at a juncture. "Right you are, Major," responded Reed. God, I need a shower, Hayes thought. A really, really cold shower.