"You lost it?"

Jonathan Archer stared in disbelief at the ship�s Doctor Phlox, who was keeping busy, trying not to show his embarrassement.

"Well, Captain, I wouldn�t put it that way, but in a wider sense...I guess, yes, you could say that. And by the way...`it� is a `she�."

"Great, just great. It...ah...she was a gift. I think, it�s not going to be easy to explain this to the delegation tomorrow."

Jon sat down heavily, deep in thought. Then he glanced up at the doctor.

"What did you do, up until now, to try to find her?"

The doctor took his place at the opposite chair and smiled another of his broad, cheerful smiles. His good mood was returning.

"As soon as I noticed that her cage was empty, I called Lt. Reed. He promised me, he would put a team together, to search for the missing animal. Of course, he wasn�t too avid about it. I had to give him a medication against his allergy; he insisted on it. Then he said, I shouldn�t worry, that the little one would be back tomorrow at the latest. Right on time for the arrival of the delegation."

Jon stood up. Knowing, that his lover was taking care of the situation eased some of the tension he felt. Malcolm surely would do his best to bring back that little cat-like animal. So there was nothing left for him to do.

Except to get prepared for a lonely night. He was sure, that Malcolm wouldn�t rest, until the missing one was found and safe back in his cage. And while his own shift was over now, he was sure to return to empty quarters.

On his way back he thought about how he got into this trouble...

Two days earlier, they made contact with a humanoid species, who called themselves the Monari. It was a gentle, peaceful people, that had telepathic ability. They had managed to achieve warp-capability, but still were able to live in perfect harmony with nature and animals.

The first contact via comm was most promising and Jon invited them to dinner that same evening.

They came on time, bringing with them a little cage, out of which Jon heard strange scratching noises.

The dinner passed off in pleasant harmony. The conversations were interesting and both parties, the Monari as well as the Enterprise�s senior staff, were very content with how the evening had passed.

At the end, the leader of the delegation, a tall man named Asa, rose and spoke to Jon.

"On my world we have a custom. As you know, we honour the life of the animals as much as the life of the humans. We brought someone with us, to show you our gratitude, for so kindly inviting us."

With these words, he took the box from his colleague and handed it over to Jon.

Malcolm, who sat in front of him, glanced suspiciously at the box and was on his feet in an instant, when he heard little, meowing noises out of it.

Jon opened the box carefully.

And looked into two big blue-grey eyes. A little pink nose was prodding at the cover of the box and two small white paws appeared on its edge.

"It�s a cat!"

Jon said in surprise.

Asa smiled.

"We call it a xami. Xamis are very famous as pets. Especially the three-coloured ones. They are very rare, so they are very precious."

Jon smiled and opened the box a little wider. The xami was indeed very cat-like. It had a feline figure and was very small. It produced sounds, that sounded like a cat�s purring. This one was mainly white, with black and red spots all over the fluffy body. The fur was like silk and the eyes reminded the captain in a strange way of a certain armory officer. He wondered, what Porthos would think of it. He was so deep in thought about that little creature, that he missed the look on his lover�s face. Malcolm�s eyes were shining, and it seemed to take all of his willpower, not to reach over and grab that tiny animal.

Jon smiled and bowed slightly.

"I�m truly honoured to receive such a precious gift. I only can imagine, how hard it is for you, to give away such a treasure."

Pleased by this reaction, Asa bowed too, and after a few trivialities, the delegation left the ship. They made an appointment for the next day, to meet on the ship again, this time to lead a few scientists through the Enterprise. As a return favour, Trip would fly down with some of his colleagues, to get a tour through one of the Monari�s ship-building factories.

The xami however was to spend some nights in sickbay, under the careful watch of Dr. Phlox. Everything went smoothly.

The scientists, who arrived the next day on the Enterprise, were very intelligent people, and T�Pol was nearly enthusiastic about them...as far as a Vulcan could be enthusiastic.

The last meeting was scheduled to be on the next day, when they invited the ambassador of Monari, Sa�Filo, and Asa, for dinner on Enterprise.

And just before Jon�s shift was over, he got the message from Phlox, that the xami was gone...

Now he wandered, deep in thought, back to his quarters. It has grown late. Normally Malcolm would await him. They would have dinner together, then maybe watch a new game of water-polo or read something, and, after some love-making, they would fall asleep together, entangled in each other�s arms.

But not tonight, for Malcolm was somewhere on the ship, playing some kind of hide-and-seek with a little cat.

He found his quarters dimly illuminated. But just before he could wonder why, he heard Porthos snoring. The sound came from the bed.

Jon knew, that Malcolm wasn�t too keen on sharing his bed with a dog.

So he was just about to call his dog�s name, when he saw a form on his bed. He took a step closer and then his face lit up in a brilliant smile.

He went to the comm and called Dr.Phlox.

"Phlox here."

Jon couldn�t quite hide the silent laughter in his voice.

"Archer here. Doc, I guess you don�t have to worry about the xami. I just found her."

"You did? Where?"

Now Jon couldn�t help but laugh.

"You wouldn�t believe me, if I told you. Just believe, when I say, she�s all right and will be back tomorrow morning. By the way...it WAS Lt.Reed, who found her. Good night, Doctor."

Jon silently undressed and went into the small bath. When he returned, he stepped to the bed and was looking down at the little "menage a trois", that was lying on his bed.

Malcolm, his lover, lay in the middle. He had the blanket up to his chest and was in deep slumber. He was lying on his side, knees lightly bent. In this bend, using one of his legs as a pillow, was Porthos. He was snoring and every now and then he seemed to chase something in his dreams. Malcolms left hand was lying on the beagle�s back, almost reassuringly.

And there, next to the two of them, a little furball was curled up. The xami.

Her head rested against Malcolm�s chin and was settled comfortably on his right arm. She produced little purring sounds. Jon reached out and caressed the xami softly. She opened her eyes and meowed barely audibly. But it seemed to be loud enough to wake Malcolm. He also opened his eyes and stared dizzily at Jon.

"Jon!"

Malcolm tried to get up, but Jon put a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay, love. Say, you found the xami?"

Malcolm flushed a little and cursed his fair skin.

"Aaah...well...yes, as you can see. Hmm...I guess, I should explain something, shouldn�t I?"

Jon�s smile grew wider, as he saw, that Malcolm lowered his head and played with the xami�s ear. Which she obviously enjoyed.

"Yes, that would be nice. But I guess, it can wait until tomorrow. I gave a message to Dr.Phlox, so he won�t worry. Now, go back to sleep. Tomorrow will be soon enough."

With a gentle smile, Jon lay down next to his lover and their pets. He took Malcolm in his arms and gave him a tender kiss on the shoulder. Malcolm sighed softly and snuggled a bit closer to his lover.

Jon switched out the light. And with a feeling of unbelievable tenderness and a deep satisfaction, he closed his eyes and within seconds he was asleep too.

The End

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