Delusions

"I believe we should leave them alone." T'Pol held back the privacy curtain, giving pointed looks to Phlox and Trip.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'd like some time t'gether …" Looking everywhere but Hoshi, not willing to meet the panicked look in her eyes, Trip sidled outside the alcove. Phlox merely gave the two 'lovebirds' a wide smile.

Once on the other side of Sickbay, Trip broke out into a hurried whisper. "Wha'd you do that for? I don't know if Hoshi ready t' be alone with the Cap'n."

T'Pol ignored the outburst. "You will need to contact Lieutenant Reed and apprise him of the situation. Gather up Ensign Sato's belongings and transfer them to the Captain's quarters." Giving him an almost thoughtful gaze, she continued. "Get one of the Ensign's close friends to help you arrange things so that it appears that Ensign Sato has lived with the Captain for some time. The rest of the crew will also need to be notified of what has happened so that this charade will work and the Captain does not suffer further mental degeneration. I will inform Starfleet myself."

Trip blinked at the rapid-fire commands. "Uh, right. I'll go find Malcolm." With a nod at Phlox, he went out the door.

"How long do you estimate it will take for you to repair the damage to the Captain's mind?"

Phlox stuck out his lower lip, looking up at the ceiling as if for inspiration. "Oh, not too long, I'd say. Two weeks perhaps, eighteen days at the most."

"Very well. Please be alert to any other aberrations in the Captain's behavior. It would be best if this was the only abnormality to result from his injury."

"Certainly. Although the scans have shown no other sections of damage."

T'Pol nodded. "You will keep me apprised of his progress."

"Of course."

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"Are you alright, sweetheart? You look a little tired." Jon slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Just … worried about you." Giving his hand a brief squeeze, Hoshi shot a glance at the three vague forms on the other side of Sickbay.

"How long was I out for? I'm starving."

"About four hours. You missed dinner."

Jon chuckled, pulling Hoshi between his knees. "Is that a note of pique I hear in your voice? I promised you a candle lit dinner tonight and you're getting one, marauders or no marauders."

Hoshi thought frantically, trying to ignore the heat radiating off Jon and the kisses he was trailing down her neck. "Chef's cleaned up already. You know how he is. If you miss dinner, too bad."

"I believe I'm still the Captain of this ship," came the muffled reply as Jon worked his way up the other side.

"I'm sure Phlox would rather you go straight to bed. Right, Phlox?" Hoshi turned gratefully to the doctor as he came through the curtain.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"I think, ah, Jon should get some rest. Our candle lit dinner can wait."

"Yes, that probably is a good idea. I need to speak with the Captain about his upcoming treatments, I believe Commander Tucker wanted to discuss some things with you right away, Ensign."

Hoshi caught the meaning in Phlox's words. "Of course. I'll see you later." Her smile faltered at the intimate look Jon gave her. Once free of the curtain, she nearly ran from Sickbay.

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"The Captain really thinks he and Ensign Sato are married?" Malcolm's voice expressed disbelief as he, Trip, and Liz Cutler arranged Hoshi's belongings around Archer's cabin.

"For the third time, YES." Trip held a picture of Hoshi's family and looked around the room in a confused manner.

"Oh for God's sake, give me that. Sir." Taking everything out of the two officer's hands, Liz pushed them over to the couch. "It may be a cliché, but this is woman's work. How did it happen?"

Trip explained as best he could as Liz, without much rhyme or reason, at least to a man's eye, combined Archer and Hoshi's personal effects. Porthos just watched, tail thumping.

"Poor Hoshi." Liz shook her head as she checked over the room. "The Captain's cute and all, but he's the Captain!" She blushed, realizing what she'd said. "Sirs."

Trip just laughed and waved her off. "Hopefully it won't taoo loo long, and this all will be over soon."

Liz blushed again as something occurred to her. "I wonder if she'll have to …" She was cut off as the door chime rang and Hoshi stepped into the cabin.

"Phlox said you wanted to see me, Commander?" Hoshi's jaw dropped as she noticed her pictures on the shelves and her robe in the bathroom. The blood drained from her face as she saw her quilt covering the bed, and the reality of being 'married' to the Captain hit her. "Oh no. No one said anything about this!!"