Love is Overrated/ Chapter One

Chapter One
Present Day, Prime Universe

Malcolm Reed had never cared for life. Especially for his own life in general. Life seemed to feel the same way about him, as it always seemed to throw shit at him. But no matter what, somehow the soldier managed to pull through in the battlefield called life- although he didn't really deserve all the credit. Part of the credit had to go to his secret stash of alcohol, which he would never have been able to survive without.

Malcolm was sure he was going to pull this stunt off as successfully as well as he did all the previous. He never thought that the whole thing would backfire on him. ''Damn Slar. Damn Enterprise. Damn me and my whole life.''

He was sure he was going to die, that this was going to be the end. He was wrong. It wasn't the end. But it certainly wasn't the beginning of anything, that was for sure.

As Malcolm drifted somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, he was vaguely aware of his environment. Sometimes he heard voices- sometimes harsh and angry, other times soft and soothing. Sometimes he heard a strange beeping that seemed to align itself with his unsteady heartbeat. Sometimes he felt something brush his hand. On more than one occasion, something brushed his lips.

Malcolm almost became content with his new existence. He was okay with being on the edge of oblivion forever. However, it seemed that this wonderful world of nothingness was coming to an end. Malcolm's periods of being on the edge of consciousness became longer and more frequent. He knew he was waking up, and he didn't want that. ''Just let me go. Let me die already,'' Malcolm's mind pleaded desperately. But no one heard him.

And then, one day, it happened. Malcolm's eyes snapped open, his senses on high alert.

"Welcome back, Lieutenant Reed," a familiar voice greeted pleasantly.

Malcolm pushed himself up with his elbows, half-lying half-sitting on the biobed. "Doctor Phlox," he croaked out painfully, his heart racing. God, what happened?

"Yes, it's me," Phlox replied, sounding slightly amused. "I'm not sure how to say this, Lieutenant, but... welcome back from the dead."

What the hell? Malcolm thought. Then another man came barging into Sickbay.

"How is he?" It was clearly Trip. Malcolm stared, wondering what the heck was going on. Where was Trip's scar? Why was Malcolm in Sickbay? The questions just went on and on.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Phlox gestured to the now-awake Malcolm.

"Mal!" Trip hurried over to Malcolm and before the latter could even respond, the engineer had already locked lips with him. Malcolm stiffened under Trip's grip, which caused the engineer to pull away. "Mal? You okay?"

Malcolm stared at Trip in shock, trying to get his thoughts in working order. After a moment, he sputtered, "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!"