The next morning, after breakfast, Jay and Malcolm sat in the cafeteria together in order to work on the Patti Socorro matter. Karin was getting some more experience at Tactical while Julie led the MACOs in another readiness drill. Brian and Craig flitted in and out in order to clean up as Lili stayed in the back, decorating a cake. She didn't really want to go out there, fearing she'd lose her poker face and tell them both – or they'd figure it out on their own – far too soon. And so she concentrated on lettering – a little cake for Jeris and Jobiram was the plan – she figured they might never have had a cake decorated with their names in icing on it before. Welcome Jobiram and Jeris she wrote out carefully in script, adding serifs and flourishes and a decoration of pansies.

"Well, what have you got so far?" asked Malcolm.

"Not too much," Jay admitted, "I questioned my people a bit but then I was captured."

"I see. Did you find out anything?"

"Not really. Assuming Hodgkins knew what he was talking about – and I don't think the man had any reasons to lie on his deathbed, for God's sake – well, this means someone's not coming clean."

"Right," Malcolm said, "and then there are my people. I haven't questioned them, in deference to your assignment to this matter."

"Huh. Well, maybe we should question each other's men; see if we can get any sort of information out of them."

"Perhaps," Malcolm allowed. He then told Jay about what Craig had confessed to.

"I think Ensign O'Day is right," Jay said after a while, "He doesn't sound like he was one of the attackers. Besides, I'm not so sure he'd have the time to go to Engineering, do the remote programming on your PADD address, grab the can, spray the message – and make it coherent – then take the can back to the storage area and then go after Socorro."

"Still," Malcolm said, "those men didn't get all the way to climax; at least, there was no evidence of that found at the scene."

"I'm not so sure I want to think about what that means," Jay said, "they might've just changed unis afterwards."

"You may be right," Malcolm said, shaking his head. "Clearly, they knew enough to do that, and not, well, not leave any DNA evidence."

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "it was obviously premeditated. Put that together with the flickering lights – I gotta figure that the lights being out was related. Somebody did that as prep work."

"And then they got the others there," Malcolm said.

"How?"

"There must be another anonymous PADD message."

"Then it's all related," Jay concluded.

=/\=

Chip bounced Dan and Sandra's daughter Kimberly on his knee as they sat in the Observation Lounge. "And then maybe we'll talk about The Three Little Pigs," he said to her as she giggled at him.

"You're good with her," Sandra said, "Ya want her?"

"Huh? Nah, that's okay," Chip said, "although I do want one or two of my own someday. But I'm not so sure Deb would cooperate." He laid the bait out again.

"Huh, well, someone could be a surrogate, I bet," said Sandra, "that waitress. She's gotta be way, way, way past having kids and all. Ask her or something."

"Lili?" asked Chip.

"Yeah, but God knows, I mean, get Phlox to knock her up using a test tube. I mean, who'd wanna hit that?"

"Still, I mean," Chip said, "somebody wanted to hit it with Socorro, right?"

"You mean Chef?" Sandra asked. "There's another loser," she sneered.

"And others," Chip said cautiously. "I mean, there were votes for Socorro, right?"

"Well, between the smelly dog and the dried-up old prune, I guess fellows took the dog," Sandra sneered.

"The waitress made it a bit of a horse race at times," Dan said, "but the dog usually won that one."

"What about, uh, you know, really hitting it with the, uh, the dog?" Chip asked, cringing a bit at having to put it quite that way.

"What are you talking about?" Dan asked cautiously.

"Oh, you know," Chip said, peering around to make sure they were alone, "like what happened earlier this month."

"I had nothing to do with that," Dan said.

"'Course you didn't," Sandra said, "Why ever would he wanna hit it with the dog when I'm right here? But there are other guys who I bet did."

"Like, um, like who?" Chip asked.

"Lots o' guys," she said, "like, well, most of the unattached guys. I mean, where's Curtis gonna get any? Or Torres? Or those two guys who follow the waitress around and hang on her every word?"

"Well, maybe those two guys – you mean Delacroix and Willets, right?" Sandra shrugged. Chip continued, "Maybe they want the, the waitress."

"Only if they have mommy issues. 'Course my own regular, huh, clientele, they couldn't be bothered."

"What about Chef?" asked Dan. "I know he used to come around, before you and me, we really got together. And now he's with the dog." He was a bit accusatory in his tone.

"That's just the exception that proves the rule," Sandra sniffed.

The baby started crying, so she scooped up her daughter and left them there.

"You really wanna know?" Dan asked.

"Hmm?"

"I mean about, you know, about who wanted to hit it with Socorro."

"Yeah, I suppose," Chip said.

"I am totally sick of Sandra," Dan admitted, "She is a nasty, nasty witch. And she's all set to go back to doing whoever, whenever, for whatever trinkets and privileges she can get, kid or no kid, husband or no husband. But I'm kinda stuck, yanno?"

"So you're looking for an alternative?" Chip asked.

"Swap with me, Chip. I'll even give you our bunk. It's kinda nice. The corner ones are a little bigger, yanno. Just, c'mon, man, I can't stand it much longer."

"Did you, um, did you, uh, do anything about it before?" asked Chip.

Dan seemed to realize that the questioning had gone a bit too far. "I gotta go," he said, "you think about my offer."

=/\=

Little meeting adjourned, Malcolm quickly got a haircut from Sekar and then went to his station on the Bridge. It was quiet so he turned on his PADD and began tapping out notes. There was one unattached male MACO – he'd question him first – Eddie Hamboyan.

Then he smiled a little and wrote out a short note to Lili – Can't wait to see you tonight. He hit send and then turned his PADD off.

=/\=

Jay, too, checked lists, and looked around for unattached male Security crewmen while the rest of the MACOs went through another drill. The only name on the list was Tristan Curtis. Then he remembered that Brian Delacroix had been in Security before he'd gone into Food Service. Maybe Hodgkins had thought of that while he was dying? There was also Ethan Shapiro in Tactical, but the assault seemed beyond that brain injured crewman's capabilities. Jay put Brian on his list, and then turned his PADD off.

"Okay, let's do a 3K," he said, "around the perimeter of the gym." He needed to burn off all of his nervous energy, thinking about the evening to come. He stretched with the rest of the MACOs and they began running. Oscar Tiburón, as always, came in first.

=/\=

Phlox was looking over notes when the Sick Bay doors swished open. "Ah, Mister Shapiro!"

"H-hi ... Doc."

"I think you may know why I asked you here."

"Yes ... Ik-Ikaarans. Heal ... me?"

"Yes, that's right. But I wanted to see what you thought about it, before trying anything. After all, this is not just a skinned knee that you've got."

"N-no. What's ... the, the ... danger?"

"Human and Ikaaran brains are far from identical," Phlox explained, "For example, the Broca's area, in human's, it's on the left side, somewhat near the front. In Ikaarans, it's near the rear, although it's still on the left side of things. That's the speech center."

"Yes. Mine ... mine is ... it's damaged."

"An unfortunate side effect of, well, of your time in the airlock."

"Don't, don't sugar ... coat it," Ethan said, "I ... tried ... to ... end ... it all."

"Very well," said Phlox, "I think that's a huge step in your progress. Owning up to what happened, and accepting it; it's rather commendable."

"Th-thank you. Now," Ethan said, "wh-what are the risks?"

"The risks are, since there isn't a perfect one-to-one correspondence, the healing process might not work correctly, or even at all. Or there is the possibility that you could become damaged by the empathic healing process itself."

"You will ... will never ... know ... if it works ... unless ... you ... ex-experiment. Right?"

"That is correct."

"Then I vol-volunteer."

"Are you certain?"

"Y-yes."

=/\=

Jonathan was on the Bridge when the communicator call came in. "Is Crewman Shapiro sure he wants to do this?"

"He's quite adamant about it, Captain," replied Phlox.

"If this works, well, I suppose we'd owe them something," Jonathan determined, "and we wouldn't be able to just dump the Ikaarans at the next stop on our trip."

"Well, they did volunteer to do farming. That might be the best way to resolve matters, at least for now," Phlox suggested. "There is also the very real possibility that this will not work, or will not work as expected. I'll keep you posted. Phlox out."

He clicked his communicator open again. "Phlox to Jeris. Yes, please come to Sick Bay. I have a, well; I suppose I should refer to it as an opportunity for you."

"We're on our way."

=/\=

Ethan sat on the scanner bed, and was monitored. Phlox read the instruments above his head. "Heart rate is good; so is pressure. Are you ready?"

"R-ready."

"Please proceed," said the Denobulan.

Jobiram put a hand on Ethan's forehead. The familiar glow traveled up his arm to his own head, and then it ping-ponged around a bit before returning to his hand and then Ethan's forehead.

"The incoherent movement; my understanding is that that means you were unsuccessful," said Phlox.

"No, wait," said Ethan, straightening up. "I don't know if anything else is fixed but, well, listen to me. I can talk without hesitating."

An attempt to walk without his cane proved less successful. "You are still weak on your left side," Phlox said. "The damage to the left side of your brain appears to be repaired, but the damage on the right side is still there."

"That's something, at least," Ethan said, "I don't know how to thank you."

"I'm just glad we could do this," Jeris said, "although I am disappointed that we could not repair all of the damage."

"Mister Shapiro," said Phlox, "while I doubt that you can return to work in Tactical, you may be able to do something else on board."

"Yeah," Ethan said, thinking, "I bet I can. Holy cow! I bet I can!"

=/\=

Dinner was a rollicking affair, with Ethan happy and actually telling jokes. Chip fed him all sorts of straight lines and they laughed with Karin and Josh. Ethan seemed all right with that, gazing fondly but not with lovesickness.

Jeris and Jobiram sat at a nearby table and were warmly accepted by Jenny and Aidan. Malcolm sat nearby, with Tripp and T'Pol, as Hoshi and Sekar and Patti sat with Jay at yet another table. When Lili brought out the cake, there was a rounding chorus of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow sung by everyone. "I suppose you all like us," Jeris said to the assembly.

"I suppose we do," said Captain Archer, coming out of the Captain's Mess with Travis and Julie and little Paul.

=/\=

Lili cleaned up as quickly as she could. Time was rushing by, and she wanted to be in her cabin for her guests' arrivals. It would be horrible, she figured, if they got there before her. It seemed as if it would be the height of awkwardness.

"Slow down!" Will commanded, watching her wiping off tables like a whirling dervish.

"I've got appointments!" she yelled, a tiny bit desperate.

"Appointments?" he asked.

"Dates," she said.

"Oh. Dates – plural?"

"Uh, yeah, plural," she confirmed.

"Leave," he commanded, "Willets and Del can get this one. Plural, huh?" He shook his head. "I'd tell you to not do anything I wouldn't do, but you already are."

"Thanks!" she ran out with Susie Money Lattimer following. Free at last!

=/\=

Malcolm was about to go to Lili's quarters when he decided on a detour to Botany. Shelby was still there, adjusting the lighting, when he walked in. "Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, "something in blue, have you got that? Any, any flowers like that?"

"Hmm," she looked over her charges. "I mostly have daisies right now," she said, "but I do have a blue iris that is about to open. So I can give you a little daisy bouquet with an iris center." She started to put the bouquet together. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Guy?"

"The recipient of the flowers."

"My God, does everyone think I'm a gay man?"

"Oh, my apologies. So, I guess these are for Lili, eh?"

"Yes," he smiled. "Not, uh, not a man, for God's sake."

"Of course not," Shelby was apologetic. "Congratulations." She tied it all up with a green ribbon and gave him the bouquet as he thanked her.

=/\=

Lili let Susie go, telling her that she'd be staying in for the remainder of the evening, or at least would be covered. She tied back her hair, and then let it loose, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. "Man oh man," she said to herself, "nothing's gonna cover those nascent crow's feet! And damn, those parentheses lines are getting bigger." She dabbed on makeup, trying to hide her flaws without just emptying the entire bottle of concealer on her face and calling it a day.

She rummaged through her closet. Sapphire dress? Maybe some other time. Turtlenecks? Too frumpy. Shorts? Too chilly and too provocative. Jeans? Okay. Tee shirt? Too casual. She finally found a yellow boatneck top at the back. So much of what she had was designed to just go under her chef's whites that she had forgotten about it. It was a close fit with a good neckline, showing off her repaired left clavicle but also her neck, which was still rather swan-like and had not yet started wrinkling.

=/\=

Jay rushed to his quarters once dinner was over and showered – and took care of something else. No sense in having a clouded mind that night. He thought of her touches and her kisses and thought of what it would be like when they went southward on his body. He hoped it wouldn't be too long, but was mindful of the fact that she might want to go slower with him than, say, Susan Cheshire had.

He toweled off and combed back his hair with his fingers. Then he combed it over to the side, remembering that she had said it would look good that way. "Maybe some other time," he said to himself. "Right now, I need something reliable." He combed his hair back the usual way.

Aside from his regulation uniforms and gym attire, he had a full-dress uni and a true antique – a general's uniform from the Third World War. Susan had gotten it for him as a gag gift, and it still fit him. He considered it briefly. "Definitely some other time," he said to himself.

He also considered the full-dress uniform but it seemed a bit much. He checked the time and made an executive decision, grabbing clean boxers and a clean regular uni. Ready, and early, just the way he wanted to be.

=/\=

Lili was fixing her hair for the umpteenth time when her door chimed. She glanced at the clock on her computer – nineteen fifty-six. "Early, huh?"

She opened the door and it was Jay. Without even asking for an invitation or saying anything, he swooped her up and pushed her a bit back into her quarters, kissing her. She finally drew a breath. "Well, hello to you, too!" The door shut behind him as a few of the other denizens of C deck walked by.

"He's not here," Jay said, "maybe he's not coming."

"Oh, he'll be here," she said.

"Well, it's rude to be late," Jay said.

"He's not late; you're early." She insisted. He kissed her neck, standing behind her. She turned and faced him. "I just want this to go well," she said, a little nervously.

"It will," he said.

"Man, I am nervous," she complained, "I better go powder my nose again."

"Your nose looks fine. Uh, oh, yeah."

She disappeared into the bathroom to take care of business and try not to hyperventilate.

=/\=

Malcolm strode down C deck's hallway, supremely confident, shoulders back, head erect, feeling like a million bucks. He held the flowers in his left hand and then switched them, trying to hide a little sweat on his palms. "You're ahead of all of the men aboard save one," he whispered to himself, "You will win this."

He cleared his throat and swallowed, and hit her door chime as MACOs walked by, looking a little. Rumor Central would, most assuredly, have a great deal of fodder.

=/\=

Inside Lili's quarters, the door chime could be clearly heard. "Could you please get that?" she asked, voice quavering just a little bit. Her mascara had run slightly and she desperately needed to fix it, and finally just wiped it off as fast as she could with a tissue, heart pounding like an express train.

=/\=

The door slid open, and Malcolm Reed unexpectedly found himself face to face with Jay Hayes. They stared at one another for a split second. Jay spotted the little bouquet. "For me? Aw, ya shouldn't have," he joked.

Malcolm reddened. "Sorry, I believe I may have the wrong cabin."

Lili heard his voice and dashed out of the bathroom, still clutching the tissue which she'd been using to wipe away the errant mascara. "Come in!" she beckoned.

"Uh, all right," said Malcolm. Then he remembered he had flowers in his hand and presented them to her awkwardly. "Uh, these are for you."

"Oh! How pretty! Thank you!" she enthused. "But I don't own a vase."

"No vase?" asked Malcolm. His plans for bringing more flowers – every day if it helped – were beginning to unravel.

"No. I, uh, I didn't expect anyone on board would ever give me flowers." She scanned around her cabin, crystal blue eyes finally lighting on something. "Aha!" She grabbed an old-fashioned cocktail shaker which was displayed on top of her dresser. "Here, this'll work," she said, unscrewing the top. She handed the tall cocktail shaker to Malcolm.

He untied the flowers and artfully arranged them in the makeshift vase, and then went into her bathroom to fill the shaker with water. He placed it on the center of her desk. "Tethys Tavern?" he read off the side.

"One of my first jobs out of cooking school," she explained, "I liberated it when I changed jobs."

"Petty larceny?" Malcolm inquired, chuckling a little.

"Well, the place won't be built for another sixty or so years," she said, "so I think I'm safe from the authorities. You won't turn me in, right?" She smiled a little mischievously.

"You're, uh, you're safe," Malcolm said, small smile playing about his lips.

She fiddled with the flowers nervously for a while. She finally looked up, and they were both just standing in her quarters and staring at her. "Sit, uh, sit down," she said to them, "Please."

Malcolm chose a desk chair while Jay opted for the extra bed, the one he'd slept in exactly a month previously.

She sat on her own bed, picking the tissue apart, a bundle of nerves. "Uh, well, I guess the big questions have been answered, eh?"

"Sparr– uh, Lili?" Jay asked.

"Yes?"

"How do you, um, wanna work this? 'Cause, I mean, well, who are you seeing tonight?"

"I think maybe no date tonight with, with either of you," she said. Malcolm looked down, a tad disappointed. "It doesn't mean I don't want to. It's more like, I think it would probably be better if we all talked."

"But what about?" Malcolm asked. "You said it yourself; the big question has been answered. There's me, and then there's, there's him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jay asked.

"We know what the parameters are," Malcolm said tightly, as if he were explaining things to a slow and annoying child.

"Actually, we, uh, we don't know the parameters," Jay countered, "What are the, the rules of the game?"

"Rules? Game?" Lili asked.

"It's a competition," Malcolm said, "So what are we to do in order to score points with you?"

"Points?"

"Do you, do you put the guy who brings you flowers ahead?" Jay asked, "Is there, I dunno, is the number of flowers counted, or something?"

"Will you compare our, our performances in the bedroom?" Malcolm inquired, secretly hoping that she wouldn't be anywhere near that crass.

"What? Oh my God, no! Oh, no, really, oh please, please, don't think that," Lili panicked a little more. "This is not a competition. There are no rules and no points. I am not gonna count the number of flowers or, or the number of climaxes, or kisses or PADD notes or serenades or poems or gifts or anything else that you two can dream up. I just, I just want to be with you. Both of you."

"But someday, you shall decide between us," Malcolm said, "and I daresay you'll need criteria for that."

There was silence for a moment.

"I, I don't want to think about that right now," she finally said. "I just, I want to spend time with both of you. Everything, it happens so damned fast around here. Please, let's just take this one step at a time. No rushing. No balancing acts and weights and measures."

"But–" Malcolm ventured.

"Really, I mean it," she insisted, "I don't want to be deciding so much, I dunno, stuff right now. It's been less than a week!"

"Lili," Jay asked, "what about if you get pregnant? Won't that decide things by default?"

"But Lili can't–"

"What? Who said I can't have kids?"

"But I thought–" Malcolm looked down. "My apologies. Sincerely. I have listened to rumors and, God help me, I believed them."

"I listened to 'em, too," she confessed. "There were rumors about both of you. I swore up and down I wouldn't listen but I turned around and I did just that. I'm sorry."

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Jay asked.

"That you were both gay."

"Both of us?" Jay was incredulous. "Man oh man, Sloane must've been working overtime on that. Look, I listened, too. You were paired up with all sorts of guys, according to Rumor Central."

"Like who? Or should I not ask?"

"Torres, Chalfont, Hamboyan, Curtis, Shapiro," Jay ticked them off on his fingers. "It's pretty much everyone you were ever extra nice to. There was also one going around about you and Willets."

"He may have started that one himself," Malcolm said, "Or at least he might not have denied it quite so quickly."

"Be that as it may, the doctor said I have another five or so years when it comes to kids," she said.

"Oh, I have been foolish," Malcolm said to himself softly. Then, louder, he said, "You would, you would be intimate with the both of us?"

"Not at the same time, if that's what you're thinking," she said. "Oh God. I mean, the mechanics of it just boggle the mind. I, ick, no, not that." The tissue, by this time, was completely shredded.

"Still," Jay said, "Phlox isn't giving anyone a birth control shot these days. The only reason anyone can get one is if they'd be endangered by a pregnancy. It's just a matter of time before Sloane has another kid from one of her," he snorted in derision, "clients. So there's a very real possibility, Lili."

"Well, um, we won't cross that bridge unless and until we come to it," she said, blanching.

"You should, uh, you should decide who you're going out with, uh, tomorrow night," Jay said.

"Let me, uh, I need to sleep on this," she said, "Maybe, maybe day after tomorrow. Forgive me, I'm just, there are ramifications to this and I need to think."

"It's late. You're tired. I'll, um, we should both go," Jay said, "and let you rest and think about stuff. G'night," he said, kissing her right cheek and departing.

Malcolm looked at her. "I didn't mean to bring up things that are difficult. I don't wish to put on any pressure." He looked at her intently. "I also want you to know." He kissed her, lingering.

"Know what?"

"That I am holding back because I wish to be respectful. And it is because I want this to last. To my mind, going slowly tends to, well; it has a better track record in terms of things lasting." They kissed again. "But I want you to understand," he said, pecking her on the lips, "it's not through a lack of passion. If anything, there is far too much passion, and I'm trying very hard to rein it all in."

"I see," she breathed.

He looked at her. Her eyes looked tired. "You look beautiful. But I can see you are tired. He is right about that much, that you need to think about all of this. But know that there are, what you are not seeing on the surface with me – it does not mean that it is not there."

"I know," she said. "Good night."

He left and almost walked into a wall of MACOs.

=/\=

Back at his quarters, Malcolm heard a communications chime. It was a message from Jay. Let's talk about the Socorro case tomorrow evening, after I'm done with working out. Twenty-two hundred hours good for you?

=/\=

Jay Hayes's Personal log, October fourteenth, 2039

I have to concentrate, but it's not easy. I want so much, so badly, for this to work.

=/\=

Ethan Shapiro's Personal log, October fourteenth, 2039

This is the first time I've written in such a long time! It feels great to be able to talk easily again! My left side is still weak. I still need a cane and I still have trouble with basic things with my left hand, everything from buttoning an undershirt to tying a boot lace to holding a fork while cutting meat. But it's progress. Thank God for the Ikaarans.

I talked to Victoria. She and José are getting overwhelmed. So I can help out with the kids. I can't really change a diaper or lift them, but I can read to them. I also talked to Sekar and I might be able to help with some Quartermaster stuff. I can't really sew but he'll teach me, as I can just rest my left hand while the right hand feeds the machine. And I can be his, heh, model.

=/\=

Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal log, October fourteenth, 2039

God, I have so not thought this whole thing through! And now they're asking what we'll do if I get pregnant! Good God, what do I do? What do I do?

You're a dope, Charlotte. Dammit, Charlotte, why do you have to be such a freakin' dope?

=/\=

Malcolm Reed's Personal log, October fourteenth, 2039

I shall meet the Major tomorrow, late, to discuss the Socorro matter. And, undoubtedly, we will discuss Lili as well. Ah, Lili – her kisses and her smiles, her voice, her touch! I have been foolish to delay. She can still have children. It should not have been so vital to me but, let's face it – it is indeed important.

And it is all right!

This will work out in my favor. I can feel it. I know it in my bones.

I will win this.