The BLTS Archive- Sweet Kisses by Glitterchicauk (glitterchicauk@yahoo.co.uk) --- Disclaimer: Don't own. . . though if Starfleet wanted to give me Trip. . . : ) --- Hoshi was hungry. Very hungry. She didn't know why, for most of the day she'd lay immobile with the other women of the Enterprise while those greedy aliens had tried to loot the ship. The chronometer said it was 2.23am and she knew she had to be on the bridge at eight. Deciding that if she wanted to avoid T'Pol's accusing stare and Travis's smirk as she yawned her way through her shift, she'd better go get something to eat. As she ran a brush through her hair, she contemplate if she should change. Her uniform lay folded at the end of her bed, ready for the next day but she decided not to wear it, instead pulling her Starfleet issue fleece over the top of the tank top and shorts that served as her pyjamas, slipping on her training shoes and slipping out of her cabin. --- The corridors of Enterprise were empty, as they usually were during the night shift. More than two thirds of the crew would be tucked up in bed, the rest occupied on the bridge, in engineering or doing routine maintenance that if done during the day, caused too much disruption. As she rode the turbolift down, she thought over the previous day's events. The crew had been gassed into unconsciousness, apart from Commander Tucker who had been in decon. The captain had been woken up the pirates who were certain that there was a vault full of gold hidden somewhere on the ship. T'Pol had been revived later and as she had overheard her tell the captain, opened her eyes to see the commander in his underwear bending over trying to revive her. Too bad she's a Vulcan, Hoshi thought, stepping out of the lift and proceeding to the mess hall, she won't share the details of the view. Stepping into the dimly lit room, she walked over to the hatches, searching in vain for something sweet preferably with chocolate. "If yer' lookin' for dessert, I'd forget about it. I got the last piece of the Chef's cherry pie." Hoshi let out a small yelp, hopping backwards towards the wall as she heard the low drawl from the corner of the room. "Commander, I didn't see you." She walked nearer to the table he occupied, near a viewport. "Obviously. I didn't think you'd want anyone seein' you in yer' PJ's. Cute shorts by the way." Hoshi blushed, remembering her state of dress, or lack of it. Looking closer however, she discovered a smart come back. "Well I'm not the only one." Trip looked down at his own attire, dark blue pajyma pants, white muscle shirt and his own fleece, emblazoned with the NX-01 insignia that adorned all Starfleet uniform "extras". "I didn't expec' anyone else to be up." "Neither did I." A awkward pause fell. "No more pie, huh?" "Nope. But I'll share. Can't let a beautiful lady go hungry now, can I?" Hoshi smiled and grabbed a fork from the dispenser, before joining him at the table. Trip pushed his plate towards her and she took a piece of the pie, savouring the gooey warmth. "This is good." "Remember this act of generosity next time you complain about your console going wacky." "Hey, how can I be expected to do my job when my equipment is faulty?" "I gotta look after a lotta consoles on this ship. Give me a break!" Trip paused to put a forkful of the pie into his own mouth. "But linguistics is a very important part of this ship. We need it operational otherwise we're liable to tell some new race that we 'appreciate the doughnuts and have many comets to offer'." Trip almost choked on his mouthful. "And it's a very useful tool for translating the Ear People's curses." "Ear People? Curses?" "Well what else are we going to call them?" Hoshi pulled her legs up to her chest, unzipping the fleece a little. A little playful bantering had raised her temperature several degrees. "Good point. It was hardly a usual first contact situation. They didn't try to blow the ship to pieces for one thing." Hoshi laughed, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "No, but they did call you a `liberal fool who lets his wife go clothed around'. Or something to that effect." "How do you know about-? Me?" Trip looked genuinely confused. "T'Pol." "T'Pol - what exactly did she say?" She smirked at his expression. "She set up recording devices around the ship so that we could study any information the aliens might give away later. I had had to translate the parts of the recording that were in their language." Trip ducked his head before raising it to smile sheepishly at her. "So you heard the wife thing then?" She smiled back. "Mrs. Charles Tucker the Third. Hmmm. . . Hoshi Tucker. . . Or maybe you should become Charles Sato. . . " "Alright already!" he interrupted, eyes crinkling in amusement. "I must say I'm disappointed. The captain only thinks I'm worth five bars of gold?" "Don't worry darlin', I wouldn't have let you go for less than 20." She reached over and slapped his shoulder. Realising she probably shouldn't have hit her far senior officer, she retracted the hand and mumbled an apology. "Hey, we're both in our pyjamas. I don't think I'll be pulling rank on you just now." "Crewman Lawler will be jealous that you didn't choose her as your wife. She's had a crush on you since we came aboard." "Really?" Trip grinned. "She's pretty an' all but not really my type." "Oh? And I am?" Trip nodded earnestly, earning a sceptical stare and raised eyebrow. "You're really spending too much time with T'Pol. That eyebrow thing is just freaky." Another long stare later and Trip decided he better fill in the blanks. "Course' you're my type. You're smart, beautiful, funny. . . and brave." Hoshi snorted in a most unladylike fashion. "Yeah, I'm real brave. If it hadn't been for you talking me out of leaving, I'd have been on the first transport back to earth." "Have you ever wondered why I convinced you to stay? Hosh, you're gonna make a great officer. Yeah, you had the jitters. . . so what? You've saved our asses more than a coupla' times. We need you." She still looked slightly sceptical but her mouth curled up in some semblance of a smile. "Thank you." "No thanks necessary. Its an honour to compliment a lady." Another silence fell, although this time it was far more comfortable as they demolished the rest of the dessert. "So you often share pie with men in the middle of the night?" "Nope, this is a first. I was in dire need of a sugar rush and the Hershey's Kisses I brought on board are running low." "You brought Hersheys? So did I. Reminds me of home. That's how I won Nat's heart-" His face drew as he thought of the girl he'd left behind. "I heard about- I'm sorry. I guess this kinda life isn't conductive to having the white picket fence life." "I don't know. If you found the right girl-or guy. . . " he said, eyeing her. ". . . it could work. Not exactly a normal life. And perhaps not now. Enterprise is hardly suitable for children. . . but maybe some day every Starfleet ship will have families on board." "Maybe some day. Can you imagine it? Children would grow up learning all sorts of languages, from lots of different planets." "And ya gotta admit. . . what an adventure for kids. Seeing new worlds, meeting new people. . . god I woulda killed to do this when I was little." "I bet you would have. I can see it now. Charles Tucker aged 9, looking up at the planets and wondering what'd it be like to travel the galaxy." "Yep. And Hoshi Sato, staring at the ground determined never to leave it." "Hey! Where's all the brave, beautiful, smart comments?" "I apologise. . . " He took her hand. ". . . oh most wonderful, bravest, smartest, prettiest woman in the known galaxy and beyond." He raised it to his lips, keeping eye contact, and placed a kiss just above her knuckles. "Thank you, most brave, handsome, clever and witty engineer space has ever known." She laughed and withdrew her hand, wondering why she was so reluctant to do so. --- ". . . so Malcolm's being the grim reaper incarnate, and he didn't seem to wanna listen to me. . . .then we heard your voice. God I don't think I've ever been so relieved in ma' life." "Were you scared? Malcolm said you were so confident you'd be rescued. . . ." "Scared? Jesus, I thought we were goners. I'd jes rather go down in flames than just go without a whimper." "Commander Tucker, Ensgin Sato." T'Pol nodded to the two seated crewmembers as she entered the mess hall, heading towards the replicator. "You're up late T'Pol. Meditation not working tonight?" T'Pol fixed her gaze on Trip, quirking an eyebrow. My meditation has been satisfactory. However I am not up late. By the ship's chronometer it is 7.12am." Hoshi and Trip looked at each other startled. "You've gotta be kidding me!" Hoshi said, slipping her shoes back on and retrieving her fleece from the back of her chair. "I do not, as you say kid." "I swear we just finished that pie." Trip said, shaking his head and indicating the empty plate. "See you later Sub-Commander." Hoshi called, exiting the mess hall, Trip close behind. They ran along the corridor to the turbolift, side stepping a crewman carrying a large box. "I can't believe we were talking for almost 5 hours!" Hoshi muttered, tapping her foot impatiently as they waited for the lift. "Time flies when you're having fun." Hoshi shot a small smile his way before the doors swished open and she stepped inside. "Yeah. It was fun." "Maybe we should do it again sometime. How's dinner tonight grab ya?" "Sure. And there's a movie in the mess hall. Streetcar Named Desire." As the lift stopped and they started their separate ways, Trip to the left and Hoshi to the right, he called out to her retreating form. "See ya there!" She stopped and turned around. "You bring the kisses!" She shot one last smile at him before running towards her cabin at as close to warp speed as any human could get unaided. Trip watched her back until she turned a corner and disappeared from sight. "You bet I'll bring the kisses Hosh." --- The End