The BLTS Archive - Camping Out first in the Direction series by ShoSen (shosen@totallykawaii.com) --- Disclaimer: All stories not found in the Originals section are works of fanfiction. The characters are not the property of the fanfiction author, and belong to their respective copyright holders. No money is being made from the production of these stories. --- The lighting in the camp was low, the fire down to embers only. Trip sighed, relaxing back on the ground as he looked up at the stars and smiled. "Think she's up there yet?" "No," his companion grumbled, rustling the covers he was burrowed under. "Still feeling bad?" No answer. "I'll take that as a yes." The blankets rustled. "Well, they'll be here soon and Dr. Phlox'll take care of ya." "I'm going to sleep." The blanket moved and eventually Malcolm Reed appeared, looking pale, his eyes red and swollen. "Damn, you look terrible." "Thank you very much," Malcolm grumbled. "Good night." He stumbled into the tent, leaving Trip alone by the fire. Camping out had seemed like a much better plan when Enterprise had still been in orbit and Malcolm hadn't been suffering from an allergic reaction to one of the plants around them. Trip sighed; somehow, all their expeditions turned out wrong. If they weren't being frozen and suffocated, they were being sun-baked and dehydrated, and those were the times they weren't being shot at. They always seemed to come out of it all right, but while they were in the middle of it, well, it seemed like this was never going to end. With a sigh, Trip extinguished what was left of the fire. He sat in the night-dark for a moment longer, and then he joined Malcolm in the tent. The Armoury officer had vanished under blankets again, but Trip could hear thick breathing, so he knew Malcolm was in there somewhere. As Trip was preparing to get into bed himself that breathing broke off into a choking cough and Malcolm struggled to sit up. "Easy," Trip said as he knelt to pull some of the blankets away and helped Malcolm into a more comfortable position. "Thank you," Malcolm murmured when the coughs broke off and he could breathe again. "Did you take something from the med-kit?" Malcolm nodded. "Guess it didn't work." He felt Malcolm laugh weakly. "It made be quite drowsy, but that's about all." That explained why he was leaning against Trip as though he'd melt to the ground if the engineer moved. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep?" "I think I won't be able to do anything but," Malcolm mumbled his reply into Trip's shoulder, causing the engineer to grin. "All right then, let's getcha lying down again." He attempted to get Malcolm settled back in the blankets and himself out of them, but the sick man was now more than half asleep and less than half his usual level of co-ordination. In the end, Trip settled for having them both lying down, covered in half of the available blankets. Malcolm's head was still resting on his shoulder and his arm had somehow gotten trapped around the Armoury officer. It would probably asleep by morning, and he wasn't looking forward to the pins and needles of it waking up, but for now he was tired and comfortable, and he was just going to go to sleep. Malcolm started coughing again, and Trip responded instinctively, holding the other officer tighter and rubbing his friend's back. "I feel terrible," Malcolm muttered as he settled back down again. "How did you ever survive in the Eagle Scouts?" Trip chuckled. "Lots of medication," came the response, and then Malcolm sighed as he started relaxing again. "This is nice though." "What is?" Trip shifted to look at Malcolm, but the Armoury officer had finally slipped into his drug-induced sleep. Lying back in the blankets, Trip closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the body beside him and the feeling of Malcolm's head resting on his shoulder. He smiled lightly. "Yeah, this is." --- continued in the second story in the Directions series 'Staying In'