<USS Avalon> A Welcomed Secret By Victoria McEntire & Andy Maluhia

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Andy watched the vibrant and  somewhat excited Science officer go flying up 
the corridor and shook his  head.  The guy's a nut but ya gotta love him.  He 
pinched the bridge  of his nose. The headache that had started up on the bridge 
was not going to  leave him alone.  
 

 
"I don't have time for  this.  I can't be dealing with an ouchin' head if I'm 
boarding ships," he  said to the empty Science lab.  "Maybe Sick Bay's got 
something  quick."

"Hey VIXON!" James called from her office.

Victoria sighed  and smiled softly at the little Ensign who'd come in with a 
few scrapes from  playing racket ball.  When he stood up, she had to strain 
her neck to see  him properly so maybe not so little after all.  "Please be 
careful," she  said mildly before heading back to her office.  "What is  it?"


"Nothin,  just wondered if you wanted a cup of coffee."  James beamed at his 
sister  from the couch when she shot daggers at him.  If they'd been younger, 
she'd  have tossed one of her desk ornaments at him, but her personal grace 
had  exploded over the last few years to the point where all she did was sigh 
and get  him a coffee: black, sweet and strong.

"Don't you have stuff to  play with in Engineering?" 
 
Andy ducked into Sick Bay with a  sigh, passing an ensign on his way in.  The 
main room looked empty but he  could hear voices in the CMO's office.  He 
generally avoided Sick Bay like  the plague because it usually meant being sick 
or hurt and neither of those were  things he cared for.  Suck it up, Marine.  
You got a job to do.   He knocked on the door. 
 
"Anybody home?" 

At the looks crossing  his sisters face, everything between sheer joy and 
absolute embarrassment, James  rolled his eyes.  "Oh no," he groaned.

Victoria very delicately  stuck out her tongue at him before calling Andy to 
come in.  "What can I do  for you, Captain?" 
 

Andy offered James a quick smile then turned the smile back to Victoria.  
"Hard as Marine heads may be, I have one killer headache and I need it gone  
before I leave the ship," he said simply.  "I hate to bother you on a  break, 
though."

"I wasn't on a break," she said quietly.  "My  brother is here purely on an 
irritation visit."

"Love you too, Vix,"  James said, rolling to his feet and kissing his sister 
on her cheek.  At  the flinch he saw when he used his personal nickname for 
her, he bellowed.   "See ya around, Vix."  With that, he bounded out.

Sighing, Victoria  led Andy back to main Sick Bay, her cheeks already a light 
pink.  By the  time the Captain left, she'd be bright scarlet.  "When did 
your symptoms  begin?" 
 

"Right when the Captain mentioned anything temporal.  It never does  any good 
to deal with that sort of thing," he said easily.  "My aunt always  said the 
worst part of it would be the Time Cop guys but I'm thinking the  headache 
will do."

"That would do it," she said, her colour rising  another notch as she smiled 
up at him.  "I'll get you a pain-killer, just  sit down a minute."  Within 
that minute, she'd returned with a  hypospray.  "Are you allergic to anything?" 
 

Andy crossed his arms over his  broad chest, thinking.  The action pulled his 
sleeves up slightly,  revealing the start of the tattoos that went up his 
arms.  "Can't say that  I am, Doc.  All Maluhias are horse healthy," he said 
with 
a  grin.

"Good," she said as she held the hypo to his neck and injected the  drug into 
his system.  Glancing down at his arm, she smiled, blushing even  brighter.  
"What do they mean?" she asked, brushing his arm with a  feather-light touch. 
 

Andy glanced down at where her hand  was.  Tiny hands, he told himself.  He 
looked up and suddenly realized  that, unlike him, she wasn't in uniform.  He 
couldn't say he was sorry  about that either.  The dress she wore was really 
very soft and  flattering.  Pushing that thought out of his head, knowing it 
wasn't  exactly the time to be thinking it, he pushed his sleeve up further to 
his  elbow. 
 
"Before I left for the Corps training program,  my great grandfather and my 
uncle told me I couldn't forget home and  family.  These all remind me of both 
of those.  Most of them are the  plants that grow around home but there are a 
few critters.  And Tutu Kane's  name across my other bicep," Andy told her.

"Ohana," she said, tracing  the beautiful drawings.  "Am I right?" 
 

He'd been lost in the fact that  this cute little woman had her hands on him 
and in a way that seemed vaguely not  professional.  He wasn't about to 
complain.  He was actually rather  enjoying it.  The word she used, though, 
shook 
him out of his daze. 
 

"Ah, yeah, that's it.   Ohana is family and that's quite a lot for us," Andy 
told her.   "They...ah...go up to my shoulders."


When she reached where his sleeve cut them  off, Victoria took her hand away. 
 "Maybe you could show me..."  Her  eyes danced as her colour rose one more 
notch.  The heat that her  embarrassment was causing in her face was making her 
a little light headed,  which was, in turn, making her bold.  "Perhaps you 
would like to come to  dinner."  There, she'd said it and now she wanted to 
faint.  Nausea  curled through her stomach but she let none of it show on her 
face.  After  years of illnesses of one sort or another, she was very good at 
hiding how bad  she was feeling. 









 
Andy blinked and pulled his head  back for a second.  He was a bit surprised, 
to put it mildly.  The  thought had never occurred to him but it wasn't an 
unpleasant one.  He  grinned at her, the act making him far younger than he 
was. 
 He reached out  to take her hand.
 
"I think I might like that  actually," he said, his warm brown eyes dancing.  
"But you have to do me  one favor."

Butterflies had started in her stomach the moment he took her  hand and they 
were making the dizziness worse.  "Of course," she said,  smiling, "what is 
it?"
 

"You can't call me Captain Maluhia," he said with a wink.  "My  name's Analu, 
Analu Maleko Maluhia to be exact, but most people call me  Andy."

Her smile broadened.  "Andy, okay.  Then you must call  me Victoria."  She 
kissed him lightly on his cheek and brushed his arm  again.  "How's your head 
now, Ca... Andy?" 
 

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly.  "Much better,  
Victoria. I, ah, think that if any of the doctors I've ever seen had kissed me  
and 
asked me out, I might not hate being in Sick Bay so much," he said  
mischievously.  "Better not count my uncle on that list.  I love the  guy but 
he's not 
kissing me."

"He ever ask you out?"  She offered  him a tiny smile, her eyes dancing as 
she curled her hand around his, squeezing  tightly.  A small shiver ran through 
her but she merely shook it off and  ignored it. 
 

Andy laughed out loud and squeezed her hand carefully.  It was so  much 
smaller and more delicate than his that he felt as though he were holding  
glass.  
"Baya?  Nah, he's the one who taught me to swim while my dad  was gone and 
helped with the tattoos.  Might have smacked me in the back of  the head but he 
definitely never asked me out."

The way he touched her  was so light and careful that it almost made her 
laugh.  "Concussed whilst  swimming?  Not sure that's how I'd teach my nephew 
to 
swim, but if it  worked, it worked."  Leaning against him, she couldn't believe 
how rash and  brave she was being and how hard it was to not simply give in 
and start shaking  violently.  "I won't break, you know." 
 

"No, not while swimming.  He kind of looked after me and my brother  while my 
dad was stationed on another island," Andy replied even as his arms  enfolded 
her.  Soft.  He wasn't used to holding somebody so  soft.  He leaned forward 
to rest his nose in her hair.  She smelled  good, too.  "You sure about that 
not breaking part?  I'd hate to have  to explain to your brother  'bout that."

"Promise.  If you  broke me, he'd just piece me back together anyway, he's 
good at that."  She  swallowed hard, laying her head on his chest.  Her whole 
body was taught,  wound tighter than a spring just to hold herself still.  
Hugging him  tightly, she felt another shiver run through her.  "Oh fudge," she 
muttered  as she started to shake. 
 

"Hey, what's the matter?" Andy asked as he felt the tremors.  His  first 
instinct was to let her go, as if he'd actually done just what they were  
joking 
about and broken her.  Instead, he loosened his embrace slightly so  he could 
look at her face.  She was infinitely more fair skinned than him  and the flush 
was quite obvious.  "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she  said, giving up and letting herself shake, the mere fact that he 
held her making  them less.  "I'm weak," she admitted.  "My body doesn't like 
huge  changes in emotions, it objects and makes me," she swallowed as she fell 
against  him, "shake.  Sorry... fudge," she muttered again. 
 

Andy was not a man given to romantic relationships.  He was always  the one 
that shyed away from women  and blamed it on his career.  That  didn't mean he 
was a fool or that he hadn't been raised properly.  His  voice was amazingly 
soft for a man his size.  "So then just stay here until  you settle down.  Talk 
to me.  Tell me about the pretty lady doctor  who managed to get the Marine 
to stay longer than he had to."

"I'm  one part  of five," she started, the shivers slowing, but she leaned 
into him closer  anyway.  "Quints, you know?  I'm the youngest, smallest and  
weakest.  My brother, James, he's second youngest.  I'm the only one  of us to 
follow Mum into medicine.  She's back at HQ now, a  consultant."  She curled up 
in his arms.  "What else would you like to  know?  I'm not exciting, I go 
where my career sends me and I'm mostly  boring.  But..." and again she 
swallowed 
hard, the shivering starting up  again, "but I've liked you for a while, it's 
just taken me a long time to tell  you." 
 

He was still sitting on the exam bed but she was so small that it was  easy 
enough to simply scoop her up and hold her.  He felt an unaccustomed  flush on 
his face at her comment.  "Are you kidding me?  I'm sorry but  I must be 
completely blind like my brother says," he said with a chuckle.   "I'm glad you 
did, though.  A guy could get used to this."  He held  her as gently as he had 
before.  "I'm the first Maluhia in the Fleet unless  you count my aunt by 
marriage.  T'Aris is at HQ, too."

"What does  she do there?"  She kissed his cheek when she could finally hold 
herself  steady, liking the way he had so easily pulled her close.  Only her  
brothers and father had ever held her even remotely like this. 
 

"She teaches a few classes, especially the xenocultural  ones.  My brother 
and I were the ones to introduce her to Baya,  though.  Met her on the beach 
going to go snorkeling."  Andy chuckled,  feeling his cheeks warm again.  "I 
have 
the excuse of being completely  clueless but why didn't you say anything 
sooner?"

"Because...  I'm  shy.  And now you've seen first hand what happens when I 
try to get over  it."  She wanted to kiss him properly but knew if she made 
that 
move first,  she'd be ill for a week.  "James has been trying to get me to, 
even  threatened to do it himself when he got tired of hearing about you." 
 

He laughed out loud again.  "And here I thought he was just  interested in my 
guys' workouts," he said, his shoulders still shaking with  laughter.  
"You're a very pretty lady, Victoria.  Do you suppose I'd  be in violation of 
officer ethics if I went with my instincts instead of my  brain?"

"I think that just holding me like this is in violation of  officer ethics, 
so in for a penny, in for a pound, I say." 
 

"Good."  He tilted her chin up slightly and leaned his head down  slightly to 
kiss her.  Mindful of her delicacy it was feather soft.   "I got a lot of 
poundage.  I can deal with it."

She smiled up into  his eyes, her heart beating too fast.  Pressing her lips 
against his  firmly, she kissed him a little deeper.  When she pulled back, 
she tapped  him lightly on his nose.  "I don't break, remember?" 
 

"So I see."  He was still holding her on his lap, against his  chest.  He 
leaned to kiss her again, this time supporting her against his  arm as he 
leaned 
into her.  "You're also very lovely,  Victoria."

"Why didn't I do this before?" she asked quietly, her body  stilling itself.  
"You can let me down, if you like, I seem to be better." 
 

"Good things come to those who wait, or so I'm told," Andy said with a  
jaunty grin.  "I'm glad you're better but I don't know if I want to put you  
down.  
This feels entirely too good."

"Good, because I don't want  you to either."  Snuggling in, she felt herself 
sigh contentedly.   "You're as lovely as I thought you'd be and gentler than 
I'd dreamed."   Blushing, she looked into his eyes.  "I don't get out much," 
she admitted,  "and James has heard all about what I think of you." 
 

"Oh now that's a shame for you but good luck for me I'd say," Andy  said as 
he brushed her chin with one finger.  "Ah but you did ask me to  dinner, didn't 
you?"

"I did.  I live right next door in the CMO's  quarters.  I warn you, James 
does too.  He has his own quarters but he  never stays there."  With a tiny, 
rueful smile, she added, "Maybe I'll kick  him out tonight." 
 

Andy grinned but he shook his head.  "I'm on standby so to  speak.  Me and at 
least two of my squads maybe be going over to that other  ship.  I, ah, 
wouldn't mind but I might have to leave and very quickly at  that," he said 
softly. 
 "Besides, your brother might decide to play big  brother if you know what I 
mean."

"No, what do you mean?" 
 

"Haven't got any sisters myself but I got plenty of girl cousins.  I  don't 
care how old I am, I can see a big brother coming after a guy who's  makin' 
eyes at his pretty little sister," Andy said wryly.  He kissed her  again.  "He 
could even come back now."

"He's heard more than enough  about you, he's been begging me to do this for 
months.  Why would he get  all protective now?"  Victoria laughed lightly as 
she laid her head on his  shoulder.  "I could make you dinner now, if you've 
got time." 
 

It took all of two second for Andy to make up his mind.  His grip on  her 
very steady, he hopped of the table then set her easily on her feet.   His easy 
grin was still there.  "I'll have the lieutenant finish the rest  of the squad 
assignments but if we get called, I have to go."

Drawing him  gently by his hand, she pulled him to her quarters.  "I don't 
mind, we're  all in the military, right?  We all have to live by our duties."  
When  they were inside, she reached onto tip toe and kissed him lightly.  "What 
 do you eat?" 
 

"Your choice.  I'll eat anything that's dead," he said with a  chuckle even 
as he wrapped an arm around her waist.  She felt perfect  there.  "If it isn't 
my job, I'm easy to please."

"Do we have time  for me to cook for you properly?  I'd love to make you 
something.  I  imagined this was going to be so sweet and romantic, candles and 
freshly cooked  food."  She sighed, shaking her head.  "We don't have time, do 
we?" 
 

"I honestly don't know," Andy replied, melting a bit at the look on her  
face.  "But if we waited around for things to happen all the time, things  
would 
never get done.  Do what you think is best, Victoria.  I  personally enjoy life 
as it comes and I'm enjoying being with you right  now."

"I know," she said brightly, "I'll compromise, make a starter and  then 
replicate the rest."  She beamed at him, slipping easily out of his  arms and 
gliding over to the kitchen area.  Taking out two large bowls, she  started 
tearing 
up pieces of lettuce into each, slicing cucumber on top.   Then, as she 
started to hum quietly, she began to pull things out of her  refridgerator - an 
extremely unusual piece of equipment in a Starfleet officer's  living quarters. 
 


"Now I know I've been  blind.  It's a rare thing to find a woman who can cook 
and sing," Andy said  as he watched her.  The ever present grin was 
mischievous.  "Unless it  involves something I caught, I don't cook that well.  
Singing...I think it  drives the Z-man crazy."


Blushing again, Victoria set about making dressing for  their salads.  When 
done, she laid the table and presented the food with a  tiny bow.  "It's hard 
to give someone food poisoning from a salad."   Waiting for him to sit first, 
she chuckled, "Not impossible though, but  definitely hard.  I once had this 
yeoman come in with severe food poisoning  from trying to impress a girl with 
his salad preparation skills."  Her  chuckling took on a slightly mischievous 
note.  "I'm not even going to tell  you what he'd put in it."  

"Oh now wait a minute," Andy said, shaking a  finger slightly.  "That's not 
fair.  You can't look at me like that  then not tell the rest of the story.  
All Maluhias are not only rather  larger than life, we also have a good sense 
of 
humor."

"Let's just put it  this way, they're known for their aphrodisiac properties 
and taste kind of salty  when they're fresh.  It's just..." she grinned 
wickedly at him, "they don't  work so well when they're not.  Needless to say 
his 
lady friend didn't eat  his food and nor did she return for another try once 
he'd stopped being sick." 
 

Andy's shoulders shook with laughter.  "The poor guy.  I feel  for him.  I 
trust you, though, Victoria.  No smart doctor makes more  work for herself and 
I 
don't think you'd do that for me," he replied.  He  leaned over to kiss her 
cheek.  "You know what I have in my quarters,  though?  I used to dive for 
those things when I was home.  I have a  perfect pearl from the first one I 
ever 
brought back up."

Her heart  fluttered again as she pulled out his chair and waited for him to 
sit.   "They're really rare, even now, aren't they?  My mother has a string of 
 them, antiques handed down from her mother."  A sudden wistful smile played  
through her eyes and over her lips as she too sat. 
 

"Hey, now, what's the matter?  That look is too quick.  I don't  want you 
getting hurt or sick on me, Victoria," he said, dark eyes watching  her with 
concern.

With a shrug, she said, "I get sick all the time, I'm  used to it.  But the 
look?  Oh, I just sometimes wonder what my  Grandmother was like, my Mum's Mum 
that is.  She died when my Mum was at  the Academy but from what Mum says 
about her, she sounded like an amazing woman;  spiritual and loving.  My 
Grandfather isn't the sweetest man in the known  universe, my parents tend not 
to talk 
about him, with good reason." 
 

Andy tapped her nose as playfully as she had done to him prior.   "You might 
get sick all the time but I don't like seeing people in pain unless I  caused 
it," he began, looking slightly mischievous again.  "Smart move on  your folks 
part about the grandfather, then, I say.  Ohana isn't just the  ones you're 
born to but the ones you choose.  I bet you more than made up  for his lack and 
still kept your grandmother within."

"Oh, we did.   My father has a huge family.  We have more aunts and uncles 
than we know  what to do with."  She shrugged again as she pierced a piece of 
lettuce and  then giggled.  "Eat up before it gets cold," she said with a wink. 
 
Andy did as he was told.  "It's good," he  said after his first bite.  
"Y'know, that ship over there's full of all  sorts of temporal mishaps just 
waiting 
to happen.  I'm thinking I must be  the only one aboard that hasn't got actual 
kin on it.  I might have met  Zachan's folks a few times but no real ohana."

"Ah yes, we're the  temporal time bomb, if you'll excuse the pun."  
Continuing to eat, Victoria  watched her guest with increasing joy.  "I was 
discussing 
it with my  brother earlier, we'd love to go over and just look around.  James 
was  drooling at the thought of getting to play around in her Engine Room.   
Problem is, the instant our parents see him, they'd know who he was.  He  just 
looks way too much like our father.  I have to admit to a certain  amount of 
curiosity as to their Sick Bay though.  Mum always said it was  small compared 
to the Avalon-C, but she had it set up to her exacting  requirements and 
those I'd love to see."  Tilting her head slightly to the  side, she observed, 
"And you are having a very odd effect on me: you're making  me ramble, I never 
ramble.  I'm the quiet one." 
 

"There's two reasons I can think of for that.  One, I like eating  and, salad 
or not, this is good food, and two, I like listening to you  talk.  I have 
female Marines but they're just Marines to me--not women,"  Andy replied with a 
somewhat self-deprecating shrug.  He sat back slightly,  arms crossed over his 
chest, thinking.  "I think I'd be safe if I avoided  the Z-Man's dad.  His 
brother was my religious instructor til I went to the  Corps."

"You had a religious instructor?"  Victoria finished off her  food and smiled 
as Andy finished his.  Standing, she gathered the bowls and  placed them next 
to her sink.  Moving closer to him again, she kissed him  delicately on his 
cheek. 
 


"I did indeed.  We have managed to harmonize our  traditional ways with the 
religion that Zachan's dad follows, mostly because Rev  K respected our culture 
as much as we respected him," Andy explained.   "Kahuna a`o are well treated 
by our people."

"I've met  Zachan's parents, we were practically raised together.  Ming's a 
lovely  man, I like both of Zachan's parents very much."  Biting her lip, 
Victoria  internally debated kissing him again and then thought better of it, 
moving away  to the replicator.  Her fingers flew over the controls and soon 
two  
portions of lasagne materialised before her.  Smiling gently, she set one  in 
front of Andy and the other at her own setting before returning to the  
replicator and creating fresh mango juice. 
 

"You're gonna spoil me, Victoria.  I may have to  return the favor," Andy 
said as he looked over what she laid out on the  table.  "I've met them, too, 
but 
I know his Uncle Daniel better.  Sent  me off to the Corps with a 'don't do 
anything stupid' and a blessing."  He  grinned at the memory.

"I thought you couldn't cook," she said, grinning  as he tucked into his 
food.  "I'm sorry it's not prepared fresh, but it's  to my recipe I promise." 
 

"I can't--believe me I can't.  But, like I said  before, I was raised right.  
If this whole thing with that ship goes well  and we're all in one piece, I 
wouldn't mind seeing more of you," Andy said  softly, forgetting dinner for a 
moment as he took her hand.

Her smile was  bright but it lasted barely a minute as her communicator 
buzzed.  "This is  Lieutenant Commander McEntire, what can I do for you?" she 
said, 
her eyes on  Andy but full of regret.

"This is Yeoman Striker, ma'am, sorry to bother  you but...  well, it's kind 
of embarrassing..."  The nervous voice on  the other end of the link quivered.

"I'll be there momentarily,  Yeoman."  Her smile was sad as she stood.  "I'm 
needed, Andy, I'm  sorry." 
 
Andy stood up and offered his  hand to help her up.  "I ought to get back to 
the platoon, too."  He  nodded toward the dinner remains and held a finger to 
her chin.  "I'm sorry  we didn't get to finish but I do hope there'll be more 
to come."

Before  she could stop herself, she leaned up and kissed him fully on the 
mouth, sinking  deeper into his embrace.  "Me too," she mumbled as she kissed 
him 
again.  

"Walk me out?" he asked, putting  his arms around her.

"Of course," she said, leaning against him as they  walked, a tiny, 
satisfied, genuine smile warming her  face.

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