The Three of Us

Part 9 - Of Convents and Cathouses

Lili put out assorted Danish and toast as the meeting's participants arrived. Will looked at her as she worked but didn't say anything and didn't help her at all. She put the blueberry jam in front of Jay Hayes as he sat down. The jar was close to being empty. "I'll make more soon. Don't worry about finishing it," she told him.

"Oh, uh, thanks." He smiled to himself a little and helped himself to some toast.

Brian came in with a bowl of scrambled eggs and a smaller bowl with some shredded Cheddar cheese in it. "Hang on, I'll get Commander T'Pol's breakfast in a second," he stated.

Malcolm sat down and Lili brought over a selection of teas. "I see you're running low," he commented.

"If you don't mind herbal teas, I can make all sorts of new kinds. Just tell me what you like."

"Uh, orange maybe, or lemon might be nice. And something sweet, too," he smiled at her.

"Oranges and lemons, say the bells of Saint Clements. So I can surprise you?"

"Of course, Ensign." He took a bag of the orange pekoe and waited for her to pour him some hot water.

Brian returned with a bowl of Scottish steel cut oats and a plate of sliced avocados. Lili then left the room and appeared with a plate of sliced cantaloupe. "We've got quite an assortment today," she reported, "thanks to Mrs. Miller." She smiled at Shelby, who was beginning to show a bit.

"Are we all here?" asked the captain as Hoshi and Travis ran in at the last minute.

"Sorry we're late, sir, Maryam and I were having a little trouble with the translation matrix," Hoshi explained.

"Some sort of problem?" Jonathan asked.

"It might need some maintenance," she speculated.

"I'll put José or Jenny on it," Tripp offered.

"All right," Jonathan said, "We are here to talk about Crewman Sloane. And we also need to talk about the couples."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow before digging into her food.

"It's entirely possible that some of these issues can be resolved with the same solution," Jonathan said. "To wit – I've gotten more requests for people who want to live together. There were two more this morning – it was Nyota and Billy and Ingrid and Mark."

"Ah, the riot starter," Tripp mused.

"I suppose," Jonathan said, "At least maybe now there will be a little less rioting. At least, that's my hope."

"You think there will be more? I've talked to my men already," Jay reported.

"Not necessarily," Jonathan stated, "but the two of them are now, I figure, off the table for the others."

"Roommates will have to shuffle again," Hoshi said.

"More coffee, sir?" Brian asked Jay.

"Anyway, this is a tangent. First, I want to talk about Sloane. She, uh, she told me something rather disturbing," Jonathan said.

"Such as?" Malcolm asked, feeling a little queasy. She worked under him, and was technically his responsibility, but disciplining her had proven ineffective. And then there had been the matter of their personal lives. He had made a pass, she had told him he was closeted, and had done so very publicly. To deny it would mean he was, to the others, protesting too much. To agree to it was a lie, for he was not gay. To retaliate would be unfair. So he said nothing and, uncomfortably for him, his silence seemed to imply consent to most of them.