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Reed's Armory -- A Malcolm Reed Fanfiction Archive .. |
Title: All Saint's Day
Author: RoaringMice
Author's e-mail: [email protected]
Fandom: Enterprise
Rating: PG-13
Category: Gen
Sequel to: Halloween
Summary: Hoshi has had better days. So has Malcolm. And Trip's not exactly thrilled. Set in season one.
Comments: Swears, Angst. My thanks to Impress for her Halloween challenge, although I've twisted it from her intentions. The ".at this point you're abusing sarcasm." line is from a Buffy episode I saw this morning before work.
Archived to Reed's Armory on 11/11/04.
All Saint's Day--November 1st
"All Saint's Day honors and recognizes all of the saints of the church, many of whom were martyrs, while all Soul's Day honors all the faithful departed..." Hoshi looked up from her reading, sighing. She rubbed her eyes, then looked back down at her padd. "All Saints Day and All Souls Day were moved to November 1st and 2nd to downplay the Pagan holidays of Halloween (All Hallow's Eve) and..." She looked up again, running one hand across her eyes, stretching in her seat.
Hoshi glanced at her chronometer. "It's late," she thought, rolling her shoulders to work out the stiffness she felt there. "I'd hoped that this would distract me, but..." She glanced in the mirror above her desk, gazing at her reflection, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. Sighing, she reached over her desk to grasp her padd, and checked her mail again. "Nothing from Malcolm...not that I thought there would be." She laughed cynically, and put her padd back down.
Hoshi remembered last night's events, dwelling once again upon her conversation with Malcolm. "Now what?" Hoshi thought. "I can't just leave this." Hoshi sighed, running her hands through her hair, tugging on the ends in frustration. "If it's true, then he's really in trouble. And if it's not true..." Hoshi released her hair. "God, I hope it's not true." Looking back up at her reflection, she muttered aloud, "I'd really like to be shown to be an over-reacting idiot on this one."
Hoshi tried to read again, but gave up, pushing her padd aside. "Forget it," she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She shifted restlessly, then sprang up, grabbing a sweater and opening the door.
Hoshi took a breath, then rang the chime. When no one responded, she rang again.
Trip answered his door, disheveled, his hair on end, his face bleary. He squinted, and blinked against the light in the corridor.
"I'm sorry to wake you, Trip." Hoshi smiled tentatively. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Trip yawned, standing aside so that Hoshi could enter. "Everything all right?"
Hoshi shrugged, then walked past him into the dim cabin. She turned to look at him. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I really need someone to talk to."
Trip triggered the door closed, then motioned to his desk chair, settling himself on his bed. "Sure." He yawned again, then peered at her, concerned. "What's going on, Hoshi?"
Hoshi was silent for a while, staring over Trip's shoulder at the stars.
"Hoshi?" Trip asked kindly. "What's wrong?"
Hoshi started talking, not looking at Trip. "What if I suspected..." She turned to him. "What if I thought someone was deliberately hurting themselves?"
Trip hesitated, looking carefully at Hoshi. "This isn't you, is it?"
Hoshi smiled grimly. "No, no. Someone I know."
"On Enterprise?"
Hoshi addressed her knees. "I'd rather not say."
Trip sighed. "Okay...So, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure...this person keeps getting hurt, and it's possible that..." Hoshi looked up at Trip, her eyes bright. "I mean, I think he might be doing it to himself. I'm not sure if he even realizes it..." She leaned forward in her chair. "Trip, I'm concerned--this guy takes risks. Maybe needlessly." She leaned back, her hands up. "Ah, I don't know...I'm no psychologist..."
"But you're noticing something..."
"Yeah, although I'm not sure...but it's enough to get me concerned." Hoshi stood abruptly. "Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about..."
Trip looked up at her from his seat on the bed. "Have you talked to him?"
"I tried. Last night, I tried, but...he shut down. Just said no, then basically kicked me out." Hoshi looked past Trip, out the window. "Although..." She glanced down at him. "...I asked him if he thought he was doing this on purpose, getting hurt. And he said no. But then he wavered. I think he wasn't sure, just for a second there. I think he doubted..." Hoshi sat down in the chair, hard. "Damn it. I wish I didn't know." She paused. "No, I take that back. I'm glad someone knows. I just wish I knew what to do next."
Trip took her hand in both of his. "Damn, Hoshi."
"Yeah. Damn."
All Soul's Day--November 2nd
Hoshi strolled into the gym, her towel slung across one shoulder. She stopped dead at the door. "Fabulous," she thought. The gym was empty but for Malcolm, bandage on one arm, staring straight ahead and pedaling one of the stationary bikes. Taking a deep breath, Hoshi took a step into the bright space. Malcolm glanced up at her, and she nodded. He stared at her, his eyes cold, then refocused on his exercise. Hoshi walked over to him.
Malcolm stopped pedaling and turned to her. "What do you want, Hoshi?" he said bluntly.
"Can we talk about what happened?" Hoshi's voice shook.
"I'd rather not." Malcolm turned away and started pedaling again.
Hoshi reached out and placed a hand, gently, on his bandaged arm. "Malcolm..."
Malcolm pulled away abruptly and stopped pedaling. He stood and pinned Hoshi with his gaze. Through clenched teeth, he hissed, "Whatever you think you know, you don't." He got off the bike, leaning across it towards her. "And it's not your business."
Hoshi took a step back. "Malcolm, I just..."
Malcolm cut her off. His voice rose. "I'd appreciate it if you would..." He paused, and took a breath. He continued more calmly, his voice back under control. "Hoshi, we have to work together. But otherwise...Please, just leave me alone." Malcolm turned and stalked out of the gym.
Hoshi watched the doors close behind him. "Well, that went about as well as I'd hoped."
The captain had chosen Trip, Malcolm and Hoshi as the initial landing party on an abandoned planet they were passing. After completing a basic survey, they focused on one building in the largest city, which seemed to have been an archive or library.
The team wandered around the empty building, their footfalls echoing off the walls, leaving footprints in the dust. Hoshi walked ahead, recording the text on the surfaces for the universal translator. She got to a particularly densely written wall panel and paused, peering up. Trip and Malcolm gathered around her.
"Any progress, Hoshi?" Trip craned his neck to see to the top of the panel.
"No, not so much, not yet. This language is complex..." Hoshi's voice faded as she scanned another line of text.
"What do you think it says?"
"Um, well...this part here...this is definitely about ritualistic killings...and this here, this involves the transmutation of entrails into...um..."
Malcolm peered up at the wall. "Quaint."
Trip looked over Hoshi's shoulder, trying to read her translations, and laughed. "We could have fit right in with these folks." He looked at Malcolm with one eyebrow raised, deliberately emphasizing his accent. "Had us some real fun."
"Unbelievable," Malcolm said, dryly. He grimaced. "Americans."
Trip straightened and turned towards Malcolm. "Okay, at this point you're simply abusing sarcasm." Then he smiled.
"I'm sorry, I have a gift," Malcolm shrugged, walking towards a nearby archway.
Hoshi, trying to focus on the translations, looked up from her padd, turning to Malcolm. "Why are you always so bitter?" she said sharply, annoyed.
Malcolm turned back towards Hoshi, suddenly angry. "And why do you have to get into everyone's business?"
Hoshi stepped closer to Malcolm, her eyes sparking. "Why are you such an ass?"
"Guys..." Trip tried to interrupt.
"With you around, it's not been difficult..." Malcolm's voice drifted off and he cocked his head to one side, listening.
"Hey, don't stop the invective on account of me..." Trip grumbled in the sudden quiet, not noticing Malcolm's distracted expression.
Malcolm turned to Trip, using his hands to indicate a need for silence. "I heard something in the next room," he said softly, removing his weapon from its holster as he crept towards the archway.
Trip and Hoshi stood still, watching Malcolm disappear through the opening. Hoshi could hear him take a few careful, nearly silent steps, then she heard a loud crash. A plume of dust floated through the arch, obscuring their view.
Hoshi hurried towards the door, Trip's long strides outpacing hers and allowing him to reach it first. He peered carefully around its edge, keeping her behind him, then waved her forward as he stepped through the doorway.
Through the settling dust cloud, Hoshi saw Malcolm lying on his back just inside the archway. Parchments and scrolls surrounded him, and a dusty shelf hung, half-collapsed, along the wall to his right. There was an ugly cut above one of his eyes, and part of the shelf lay next to his head.
Before either Hoshi or Trip could reach him, Malcolm groaned, reaching up with one hand to his forehead, then allowing that arm to drop back to the floor. He opened his eyes as Hoshi kneeled beside him, Trip on his other side.
"You okay, Malcolm?" Trip asked, carefully assessing his injuries.
"No," Malcolm murmured, his eyes unfocused. He looked at Hoshi, and she noticed that one of his pupils was larger than the other. She looked at Trip, alarmed.
"I feel fine. I mean, I'm..." Malcolm tried to sit up, but Trip put gentle pressure on his shoulder to get him to lie back down. "The world's spinning a little bit, but..." he sank back down to the floor and closed his eyes again.
"Hold on, Malcolm," Hoshi said, opening her communicator to call the ship.
Hoshi gritted her teeth, then rang the door chime for Malcolm's quarters.
After a moment, the door opened, and Malcolm stood there, bandages still on his arm, and a new one above his eye. Seeing Hoshi, Malcolm's face darkened. He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her with a sneer. "Is this where you dazzle me with your compassionate empathy?"
Hoshi blinked, breaking from his stare. Shaking her head, she said, "I know we've had difficulties..."
Malcolm smirked.
"I feel like I've made things worse." Hoshi sighed, frustrated. "I didn't mean to...but damn it, Malcolm..."
A crewman passed behind Hoshi, and she stopped talking. He glanced at the two of them as he walked by. Malcolm watched him pass, then stood aside, waving Hoshi into his room. She entered, and the door shut behind her.
Malcolm leaned back against the door, appraising Hoshi. "Hoshi, risk is a part of my job."
"But..."
Malcolm pushed away from the door, standing in front of Hoshi, speaking to her softly. "I'm not saying I don't like it, the adrenaline. And maybe, to you, it seems I put myself in harm's way a bit too often, but I'm defending the ship, and its crew." He glanced away. "I'm not trying to martyr myself..."
"When we talked, though. You seemed unsure about..."
Malcolm interrupted, taking a step towards Hoshi. "Listen. I'd been drinking. I'd just hurt myself. Again. I was tired, and I was in pain." He quirked a half-smile. "You kind of caught me at a bad moment." Seeing the doubt in her eyes, he continued. "Hoshi--it's my job."
"So you're not trying to harm yourself?"
"No, I'm not trying to harm myself, and I don't want to die..." he laughed quietly. "In fact, I'm quite actively trying not to get killed."
Sitting with Trip at dinner, Hoshi watched as Malcolm settled himself at a nearby table. Pulling out his padd, he read while he ate.
Hoshi considered Malcolm carefully. The bandage on his arm was gone, and the cut above his eye seemed better. He looked up from his padd, catching her eye. He smiled, nodding at her, and she returned his smile.
Trip finished his meal and pushed his plate aside, catching her attention. "Hoshi, I wanted to ask you..." He dropped his voice, leaning forwards on the table. "How's your friend doing? The one we'd talked about the other night."
Hoshi sighed. "I'm not sure. At least he's talking to me again." Hoshi quickly glanced behind Trip to Malcolm, then back. "He told me he's fine, but...I'm not sure I bought it." Seeing Trip nod, she looked back at Malcolm. "I'm keeping an eye on him."
~the end~