Finding Home
by Philippe de la Matraque
Sequel to Alien Us

Chapter Seventeen

They had spent the rest of the morning talking well into the afternoon. He put in a call to Admiral Issu. She reached out the Academy to see if they had a place for her. Issu set him up with two semesters of engineering courses and promised sonic showers for the flat and their future on-base housing. They only now needed transfers from *Enterprise.

"I'll miss Phlox, the captain, Travis," she said.

"Trip," Malcolm added and she nodded. "I'll miss the adventure, too. But I think I'm ready for safe."

She nodded. "We'll have different adventures. Marriage, cats, kids."

"Cats?" he asked.

"Lily will need someone to play with. But I get to name the next one."

They took in a few more sights around London and even went on a couple Original London Walks. Hoshi had chosen Haunted London. Reed chose Ancient London and they were tickled to find that they went to some of the same buildings in both tours.

They spent the nights together, moving one step closer each time until the orcs were utterly banished from the bed, as long as he had Tactile on.

Four days later he put her in a ship to Japan. An hour after that, he was greeting Trip and Lily.

"She did not like the trip," Trip told him as they rode the elevator up to his floor. "Howled the whole way. So, what did you and Hoshi get up to during your time together?"

"Double-decker tour bus, all things touristy," Malcolm told him. "Shopping."

"You going to be okay without her?" The elevator stopped and Malcolm led Trip to his flat.

"Well, you are poor substitute, but she needs time with her family." He touched his forehead. "Besides, we can still talk."

"Tell her I said hello." Trip set the carrier on the floor and opened it. Lily stepped out gingerly, sniffing the air. "She'll probably need to explore a bit." He walked to the big window and opened the curtains. The view was cut short by the buildings across the street but a bit of sky was visible. It was cloudy out and gray, but not overly cold. "What can we do that isn't touristy?"

Malcolm did have an idea. "In that case, I'll go hire a flitter. Ready for a field trip?"

They started at a stately house about thirty minutes outside of London. Malcolm parked the flitter in the street a little south of the house. They stayed in the flitter and didn't get out. "It's still technically in Father's name," Malcolm explained. "I lived here until we moved to Malaysia."

Trip bent to get a better look out the window. "It's rather big."

"Old, too," Malcolm commented. "Madeline earned her Architecture badge on it. That's how she knew she could safely climb out her third-story window to rescue me from a boat."

Trip turned to him. "'Left in an anchored boat with no oars,'" he repeated. "That was here?"

Malcolm nodded. "Lake's off the side and behind the house. You'll just have to trust me on that. I'm not going to fly over it, but if you look over there—" He pointed to the right. "You can just see a bit of the boathouse."

Trip looked but turned back smiling. "Like I said, rather big."

"Well, Father was an admiral." Malcolm turned his seat to face Trip directly. "The first twelve years were fine. Strict by your standards, perhaps, but I knew my parents loved me and I them. The drowning started the change. And that was at Evington, so we need to go there next." He turned back around and lifted the flitter off the road.

This was a longer trip, so he answered Trip's questions as best he could.

"We ate what was in front of us. We were little, we had to at least try everything. And that one plate was it. No seconds. If we were hungry, we ate even what we didn't like. But I think Mother could tell from our faces and served less of those things."

Trip shrugged. "Okay, but you never asked for a particular meal, like on your birthday or anything?"

Malcolm shrugged, too. "Maybe before I started school but I don't remember. My birthday was during the school year."

"Boarding school," Trip said, putting it together. "And you didn't get to choose the menu there."

"Exactly." Malcolm saw the school ahead. "But one time they served pineapple in the spring. I ended up in the infirmary with an allergic reaction, but I just loved it."

"And didn't tell anyone for decades."

Malcolm set the flitter down in the Visitors' lot amongst others. Apparently, they weren't the only visitors.

They walked up to the main gate. A man questioned them there. "Are you here for a student?"

"Former student," Malcolm replied. "I'm Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and this is Commander Charles Tucker of the Enterprise."

"Oh, dear me." The man immediately opened the gate. "I didn't recognize you out of uniform. We're honored by your visit. You're probably our most famous alum. I'll call the headmaster to meet you. Go right on up to Woodbead Hall."

Trip chuckled as they approached the building. "Nice to be famous. There was talk about naming my old high school after me. But it doesn't exist anymore."

As soon as they'd stepped inside, an older man in black robes rushed toward them and shook both their hands. "Welcome to both of you. And thank you for your service in saving us from the Xindi. I'm Headmaster Southwark. Would you like a tour?"

"Just the highlights for my American friend," Malcolm answered.

The tour led them past classrooms and dormitories, the library, and other such staples of English boarding schools. The buildings here were old as well, and they seemed smaller to Malcolm now. The students must have been notified, because they all looked up wide-eyed as they passed.

As they approached Grayton Hall, Malcolm spoke up. "Thank you for the tour, Headmaster, but I'm sure you have other duties to attend to. We can find our way from here."

"Of course," Southwark replied. "Take as much time as you like." He shook their hands again and then hurried off.

Malcolm led Trip past the large bulk of Grayton Hall and toward the gardener's cottage. He stopped at the corner. "I heard it first. Laughter, but mean, and a younger boy crying, 'No, please!.'"

"Twelve?" Trip asked for confirmation.

Malcolm nodded. "Three older boys, bullies, tormenting a boy, younger than me. They were on top of him, trying to force him to eat a worm as it turned out. I stayed here for a moment, deciding. I'm still not the tallest person, and, at twelve, I was still rather small. If I moved forward, they'd have seen me. If I went for a teacher, they'd be gone by the time I got back."

He looked back at the side of the cottage. "Then I saw a rake. I took it and ran back to this spot. Leslie Morris and his goons, Gerald Balinswheel and Terrance Bishop. Leslie was atop Victor Renslow with the worm. I wielded the rake and told them to get off."

He stared to shake and breathe hard. He leaned on the cottage wall for support.

"You don't have to," Trip told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Malcolm shook his head. "If I tell it enough, it won't hurt anymore." He slid down the wall. "But I think I'll sit."

Trip sat down in the grass with him and Malcolm continued. "After a bit of waving it this way and that, it worked. They got off Victor, and I asked him if he was alright just as Gerald threw something." He put a hand to his left temple. "Rock hit hard. I couldn't see, there were kaleidoscopes behind my eyelids. I tried to keep swinging the rake, but I was afraid I'd hit Victor. It gave them an opening."

Malcolm wasn't seeing Trip anymore, but he knew he was there. He remembered to keep it slow and breathe. So, he narrated the memory and left out some of the details. "They beat me until I couldn't tell up from down, then they dragged me somewhere I couldn't tell. The cold water around my head brought me back to my senses. I fought to get up, but there were three of them."

"The fountain," Trip said from somewhere in front of him.

"That's when I first heard her voice. A sultry voice telling me the air in my lungs was the problem. And my chest did hurt from it. I blew the air out, but there was none to take in."

He closed his eyes, and blew out his breath slowly. He did that a few times. "Mistress Linscott was coming to see her lover, the greensman, when she found us. I guess Leslie and his gang ran off. She resuscitated me and called emergency services. I was whirled off to hospital."

He could see Trip again. He looked concerned. And angry. "That's awful. They could've killed you. What happened with them?"

Malcolm shook his head. "Nothing much. Couldn't be in class together, teachers watched them like hawks."

"And I repeat, 'They could have killed you.'"

Malcolm shrugged. "Mistress Linscott had bad eyes. She couldn't positively identify them. My guess is that Victor was too scared and didn't come forward. I was too ill, fighting pneumonia. Their families gave large donations to the school. They were allowed to stay."

Trip shook his head. "You still went to school here?"

"Not by choice," Malcolm said, nodding. "A long line of Reeds were Evington graduates." He watched Trip carefully. "I did fantasize about blowing up the school with them in it."

Trip stood. "Now why doesn't that surprise me?" He offered a hand and helped Malcolm up.

They started to walk back toward the gate and the Visitors' lot beyond. "I did get my revenge though."

Trip chuckled. "Oh, do tell."

"I got my own thugs by 'helping' with some older kids' homework," Malcolm explained. "Two years to the day, they helped trick Leslie Morris on a boat ride to partake of some liquor they purloined from their fathers' collections."

"That's not just revenge," Trip said. "It's a whole revenge scheme. Two years?"

"Mostly," Malcolm replied. "Took time to make them loyal."

Trip chuckled again. "Of course, it would."

Malcolm went on. "But there was no liquor at the dock. I and my goons gave him a beating." He sighed. "Then I told them to throw him in the river."

Trip stopped so Malcolm stopped with him. But he kept talking. "He said he couldn't swim. And I replied that I couldn't, not anymore. He cried. And I saw something in his eyes that stopped me. I saw myself reflected in his tears. I saw that I'd become Leslie Morris. All my anger poured out, and I looked up and saw a star, or a starship. I told them to take him to hospital, and I sat on the dock. I heard her, trying to coax me in. But above that water was sky, and above the sky was space. And I knew I needed to go there."¹

Trip blinked. "Remind me never to get into a practical joke war with you. That was quite a turnaround. But it fits. You are the most anti-bully person I know. Leslie ever rat you out?"

Malcolm shook his head and started again for the lot and the flitter. Trip caught up with him. "I probably wouldn't either. Not knowing your change of heart, he was probably too scared of you."

Malcolm allowed a smile. "I like to think so."

They reached the gate. "Do come visit again, Lieutenant," the gateman offered.

Malcolm just smiled and nodded as they passed through. When they were past hearing range, Malcolm continued. "At home, things changed gradually. They were very concerned and angry while I was in hospital. About a month after, my father took me wading in the lake, I ran from him. He called out that he wouldn't have allowed me to drown. And it was probably true. But I kept running, hiding. Mother tried picnics by the lake. No food if I didn't go. Father tried the thing with the boat. He tried harder and got angrier. He stopped talking to me on the rides home from here. By the time the pier happened, I don't think he loved me anymore."

He opened the flitter and they got in.

"It's hard for me to get my head around it," Trip admitted. "That a father would choose tradition over his son's wellbeing. I'm very sorry you had to live with that."

Malcolm nodded, taking his seat. "Me, too. I remember how they were before. I think that's why I kept hoping." He started up the flitter for the return to London.

"Probably still hurts," Trip offered, "but you don't need them anymore."

No, he didn't. "Your turn now," Malcolm said. "Tell me stories about my new family."

"How much time we got?" Trip laughed.

When Malcolm came to Japan, her parents greeted him formally with bows and ceremony. She 'helped' him through the ceremony so he never missed a beat. That over, there were hugs all around, and he was welcomed into the family. That night her parents and sisters and their families all celebrated with them in Tokyo at Hoshi's favorite restaurant. Hoshi helped him again by going through the menu with him to find something he would enjoy. No one noticed, of course. She even slipped him a Japanese word now and then to ease him into the family.

She watched him when she wasn't helping. He smiled openly, and participated in the conversation easily. Being part of Trip's family had changed him. Not so much that she loved him any less. It was more of a healing change. She felt that healing, too. She felt more like herself since she had after Sharu.

They stayed another week, then went back to Mississippi to share the news with her future in-laws. She had barely met them the day Enterprise had returned. They were a lot like Trip, so it was easy to like them. And she could see that they had really accepted Malcolm. They asked about their future plans, and they confided in their desire to leave the ship and stay on Earth.

It was harder with the captain. Malcolm, Hoshi, and their parents were all invited to dine with the captain. Trip flew them up to the space-dock. None of the parents had ever left Earth before. The fathers were more or less thrilled while the mothers bonded in their nervousness.

Malcolm kept looking out the window. "Madeline never saw this," he told her quietly.

Captain Archer and T'Pol met them in the bay. "Should we change into uniform, sir?" Hoshi asked, feeling underdressed in her sun dress.

"Why?" he asked. "You're still on leave."

The parents took a moment to look back at Earth through the viewports, then they were all ushered into the captain's mess.

The main course was steak and rice. There was bread and salad on the side. T'Pol, of course, skipped the steak. The conversation was mostly small talk and getting to know each other. Her parents and the Tuckers hadn't met before this. Hoshi was still intoxicated by Malcolm's presence and nervous for their announcements.

They waited until the dinner plates were removed and dessert was served. Ice cream with pineapple syrup.

"Captain," Malcolm began as he touched his spoon but didn't lift it. "Hoshi and I have some things we'd like to say."

"That's fine," Archer replied. "I did happen to notice something shiny on Hoshi's left hand. I do hope that's one of them."

Hoshi smiled and held up her left hand with the ring. "We'd be honored if you performed the wedding here."

The captain smiled widely and stood to shake both their hands. "Absolutely."

Trip and T'Pol congratulated them. The parents already knew. Malcolm cleared his throat.

"On a less happy note," he said. "We also request transfers."

That quieted the room.

The captain's smile faded. "If it's because we don't have joint quarters, we'll figure something out."

Malcolm shook his head. "It's not that, sir." She took his hand on the table. "I can't be your Tactical Officer anymore. Imagine a dangerous mission and I have a flashback. I do still have them. That would put this crew or this ship into a much worse situation. But at R&D, I can work to protect all the crews on all the ships. My demonstration to Admiral Issu was a proof of concept. I wrapped the house in EM shielding. It's not the right medium, but think of it, we could create shields that wrap around our ships. I can help with that."

Trip offered a sad smile. "He's got the goods. Headmaster at his old school kept going on about Malcolm being the top student in his form."

The captain looked to Hoshi.

"I'll still work on the Universal Translator," she told him. "I'll teach, and I'll probably tick off less admirals."

The captain nodded. "You're sure you can walk away from seeing new worlds, hearing new languages?"

"Well miss it," Malcolm confirmed. "But we're ready for different kinds of adventures." He squeezed her hand. "Marriage for one. More therapy, definitely, more cats and maybe even children one day."

"More cats?" Trip asked.

"Lily needs a playmate," Hoshi told him. "And another kitten will keep her occupied while we're at work."

Archer smiled a sadder smile. "Granted. We'll miss you both, but not until after the wedding. Now eat up before the ice cream melts."

Malcolm stood with Trip and Travis near Captain Archer as the music started. They were all dressed in their dress uniforms. Malcolm felt it was stiff, but he liked the formality of it. He was a little nervous but not much. He knew this is what he wanted for his life. To be with Hoshi for the rest of it. Marriage made sense. He turned as the door opened and Hoshi's father escorted her in. She was wearing a brilliant white kimono, and her hair was done up like images he'd seen of geishas. You are beautiful, he told her.

She smiled but didn't reply. Her father deposited her next to him, and they held hands as they turned together toward the captain. Malcolm barely heard the words the captain was speaking. He was just lost in it, kind of like wallowing but in a positive context. This was the pinnacle, the best day of his life.

Hoshi had her family with her: mother, father, and two sisters. Malcolm had his new family, the Tuckers. Phlox and T'Pol had come, as did a few of her other girlfriends from the ship. Malcolm had also invited Trevon. He and Phlox stood with T'Pol, observing an Earth ritual of mixed cultures. The service was fairly standard for America and Europe and well, Starfleet. Hoshi barely heard it. This was the start of a new life together with Malcolm. It was going to be different in so many ways. No ship, a home on Earth to share, new careers.

To represent her Japanese culture, she wore the kimono her mother and grandmother had been married in. Her sisters and their children had folded very nearly one thousand origami cranes which were strewn around the room, and there was the Sankon No Gi.

She turned her attention back to the captain when he asked if she accepted Malcolm as her husband. "I do." Malcolm put the band that matched her engagement ring on her finger.

Malcolm said, "I do," to his question as well and Hoshi slipped his ring onto his left ring finger.

There was a small table behind the captain, and he moved out of the way so she and Malcolm could approach it. On it was a stack of three nearly flat sake cups and a small pitcher. She poured sake into the first cup, representing the past. They said the words together. "We are grateful for our ancestors who raised us and for the past that we have met." They drank from the medium cup, for the present. "We aspire to marry and work together with each other." And finally, the larger cup, for the future. "We wish to build a happy family and we pledge eternal love."

And that was it. They were married. Archer introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Reed-Sato, and the crowd applauded. Trip clapped Malcolm on the back, and Hoshi's sisters both hugged her at the same time. They turned to their guests. Mom was crying. She thought maybe her dad was, too. Malcolm shook her father's hand and bowed to her mother. Elaine Tucker hugged them both and the elder Charles shook Malcolm's hand.

They had cake and some presents were brought forward. Hoshi just couldn't wait to get away with her husband. Hoshi threw her bouquet and she and Malcolm were whisked off by Travis to the shuttlepod that would take them to Prague. Malcolm had said that Madeline had wished she'd seen it, and Hoshi had suggested it for their honeymoon.

It was evening in Prague when they checked into their hotel off Václavské Náměstí. Tomorrow they were going to walk to Staroměské Náměstí and Karlův Most beyond. These were some of the oldest parts of the city. The castle beyond the bridge was the largest in Europe.

But really, she had only one thing on her mind this evening. She and Malcolm had come a long way in their experiments. She couldn't wait to try again.

Malcolm unlocked the door to their new home on base at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. He had enjoyed Prague but was rather tired of sponge baths. He turned to Hoshi and picked her up in his arms to carry her over the threshold. She hadn't expected that and laughed in surprise.

"Welcome home, Mr. Reed-Sato," she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

He set her back on her feet. "Welcome home, Mrs. Reed-Sato. Now we mustn't forget our little ones." He stepped back out the door to pick up the two cat carriers.

Hoshi closed the door for him, and he put the carriers on the ground and opened them. Lily was the first out. She was the elder of the kittens and more adventurous. Haruko looked to his big sister to know what was safe. Together they started exploring the living room.

The place was the furnished but it lacked a personal touch. Malcolm wasn't very confident in that department, but he was sure Hoshi would make it homey.

She went to the kitchen to inspect the cabinets while Malcolm went looking for something particular. He found it in the bathroom off the home office. "I'll just be a few minutes," he called out and stepped inside.

When he finished, he took in the office. There were two desks, one on each side of the room. He figured there needed to be a cat tree on the wall between them.

He returned to the living room to unpack one of their crates. He found the litter box and litter and took them to the utility room. Haruko followed him and proceeded to initiate it as soon as he poured in the litter.

Lily meowed at him from the door, so he went back to the crates to get the cat food. Then he went into the kitchen to ask Hoshi for some bowls. But she wasn't in there. He opened a couple cabinets until he found three bowls. He fixed food for both and a water dish and set them on the floor. The two kittens started in on the food instantly.

Wondering where Hoshi had gone, he went to the bedroom and found her lying on the bed wearing nothing at all. "Lieutenant, I think you're wearing too many clothes." He smiled and started stripping. As he did, he turned up Tactile all the way.

¹Yet again summarized from Last Full Measure by Michael A Martin and Andy Mangels, Pocket Books, 2006, New York, pages 150-154.

Author's note: Yeah, I got lazy with the wedding ceremony. If anyone wants to write the dialogue and vows, I'll see if I can't edit it in and give you credit.