I am the teller of tales, the spinner of stories **Version 6**.

Title: Dress Up
Author: Cassie Valentine
Fandom: Star Trek: Enterprise
Paring: Hoshi/Trip, Hallee
Feedback: Yes please
*****
Trip sat back on the bench and sighed as he watched Hallee press her face up against yet another shop window. She was searching for a hallowe’en costume and couldn’t find what she wanted. He had told her that she should decide before they went looking but she insisted that she’s know as soon as she saw the costume.

“Not here,” she said as she walked over to him. She watched him for a moment and cocked an eyebrow as she followed his gaze up to the sky. “Charlie?” she asked before putting a hand on his knee.

“Yeah darlin’?” he asked as he came back down to earth.

“There’s nothing there,” she said as she crawled onto the bench next to him.

“Didcha go in?” she shook her head.

“I can tell.” He sighed and shrugged and looked at her.

“So?”

“I’m never gonna find anything,” she sighed as she kicked her feet a little. He chuckled before rattling off some suggestions of the generic variety; vampire, Frankenstein, princess, fairy. . . “No Charlie! It’s gotta be great! It gotta be something no one else has!” she insisted. He chuckled and shook his head.

“Could always be a turnip,” he said off hand as he stood up and started walking.

“A turnip?!?” she called after him as she ran to catch up. “What kind of costume is that?”

“Betcha you’d be scared if that was all you got in yer bag,” he said casually as she caught up to him.

“Hoshi won’t let you,” she said confidently as she slipped her hand into his. He just laughed as he led her to more stores for more looking.
***
“I’m gonna be a ghost.”

“Witch.”

“Pirate.”

“DNA strand!” The entire class stopped and looked at Tyrone for a moment.

“A DNA strand?” Rachel asked hesitantly.

“Yeah!” he said. “A mutated one!” Everyone looked at each other for a moment before moving on. Tyrone was a little odd and they were all pretty well used to it by now. “What about you?” he asked Hallee.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Hallowe’en is 3 days away!” Amanda said, astonished Hallee wasn’t ready yet.

“I just haven’t found the right costume yet. There’s still time!” the 5 year old insisted to her kindergarten class. There was some murmuring and a few shrugs as the kids returned to their colouring. Hallee bit her bottom lip and let her crayon drop as she started to consider her costume again.
***
“You could always be an officer,” Hoshi said as she braided Hallee’s hair that night. She sighed as Hallee shook her head and she had to start again.

“There’s already 3 in my class, all Enterprise.”

“There’s always Anne Shirley.”

“I guess,” she said with a little shrug. She did, however, file that idea away. Red hair had to be good for something other than getting noticed when out with Trip and Hoshi.

“Or Pippi Longstocking, or do you want to ignore the red hair this year?”

“No, I don’t mind them. I just need something really good. I have to beat a DNA strand.” Hoshi looked up from what she was doing for a moment.

“Tyrone?”

“Yeah.” Hoshi shook her head.

“You know some crazy kids,” she said with a smile as she led Hallee to bed.
***
“Whatcha workin’ on?” Trip asked Hoshi later that night. Hoshi gave a sigh as she pieced some fabric together.

“I’m hoping if she doesn’t come up with any ideas, I can steer her towards a little time in a Hogwarts uniform,” she said as she nodded towards a skirt and sweater, Gryffindor colours. “Hermione always seems to work things out for her in a pinch.” Trip nodded as he took a seat beside her and watched her sew.

“And if she doesn’t?” Hoshi shrugged.

“It’ll be around for next year. Wizard’s robes always seem to let out when you need them too,” she said with a smile. He chuckled a little and shook his head.

“You gonna be done in time?”

“Probably finish tonight. Ouch!” she exclaimed as she stuck her self with one of the pins.

“Careful now,” he said, not really doing anything to help.

“Thanks,” she said as she made sure she wasn’t bleeding before continuing her work.

“A VULCAN!” they both jerked their heads up and Hoshi jumped a mile in her seat when they heard her call out. “I wanna be a Vulcan!” Hallee said as she came barrelling down the stairs and into Trip’s arms.

“A Vulcan?” he asked as he hoisted her up onto his lap. “Robes, pointy ears, no smiling, that kind of Vulcan?”

“Yeah!” she said as he eyes lit up. “Can I?” she asked.

“Why not,” Hoshi said as she finished pinning the wizard turn Vulcan robe. “Try this on,” she said as Trip put Hallee back on her feet. A few more pins were added before she was shuffled off to bed again.

“What about ears, Charlie?” she asked with a yawn as he tucked her in. “I need points.”

“We’ll talk to Phlox in the morning’,” he said. “And you can talk to T’Pol too is you think you need to.”

“Ok,” she said with a satisfied smile.

“Ok,” he said with a smile of his own. “This has got to be your fault,” he said to Hoshi as he started to laugh. She joined in his laughter and simply shrugged.

“What ever makes her happy.”
***
“Don’t think you need any sugar, darlin’,” Charlie said to Hallee as he watched her bounce around the, thankfully, empty waiting room.

“Sure I do!” she said. Phlox had been more than happy to make up little prosthetic ears for the cause and Hallee had been overjoyed. They were waiting to meet him so he could put them on.

“Well, get all yer bounces out now, Vulcans don’t bounce.”

“I know!” she said as she bounced around a little more. “Okay, I think I’m done,” she said.

“Just in time, too,” Phlox said as he opened the door to his office and ushered her in. “Now,” he said, sitting her on the table in the room. “This will be a little cold,” he said as he applied the glue before setting the points and playing with the pigmentation a little. “One last thing,” he said as he stepped back and looked at her for a moment before altering her eyebrows. “Perfect,” he declared a few moments later.

“No smiling,” she said seriously as she looked at herself in the mirror. She decided to beam away in happiness on the inside.

“No smiling,” he agreed as he ushered her out of his office.

“Lookin’ mighty fine there,” Trip said with a smile as Hoshi got the low down on how to remove things from Phlox.

“Thank you Commander,” she said. Trip struggled not to laugh at the perfect little T’Pol impression standing in front of him. “We should go, I don’t want to be late,” she said, staying in character.
***
"Well now," Charlie said at the end of the night. "You seem to have had a good time."

"I won!" she said, forgetting herself for a moment. "I mean, I'm pleased that I won the contest," Hoshi chuckled a little as they walked home from Hallee's school. After trick or treating, they had headed there for a little party that was being thrown for the kids.

"I think T'Pol would have been very pleased," Hoshi said.

"Can we send a picture? And a letter?" Hallee asked. The two were still quite close after Hallee's extended stay on Vulcan.

"First thing in the morning'," Trip said as he stopped and picked her up. It had been a long day and she was starting to lag behind.

"Oh good," she said with a yawn as she allowed herself to be carried home.

*****

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