Trip finally was going to tell Malcolm how much he wanted to be with him. Trip had needed to gather up all his courage to approach the reserved Brit and finally had. Just thinking of Malcolm—a man who was maybe 5 foot 8, dark wavy hair, whipcord lean, stormy blue-grey eyes, flexible, quick, agile, and the most dangerous man on ship though you wouldn't think so just by looking at him—well, just thinking of him had Trip wanting to be with him.

Trip walked along the road of the city they were visiting for shore leave and saw Malcolm standing with his back to him, the captain and Hoshi standing with him. He watched as the captain, his best friend, hugged Malcolm and turned to run away. 'Oh god, I'm too late!' Echoed in his mind, as it was the only thing he could think of as he ran off, immersed in sorrow and pain.

Hoshi looked up just as Trip saw the captain hug the armoury officer; saw Trip's look of pain and knew the engineer had assumed the worst. Hoshi had known for a long time that Trip desired Malcolm, she also knew that the reason the captain had hugged the armoury officer was because Malcolm had admitted to have come to like the way Jon ran the ship, at a time when Jon was just slightly drunk. So Hoshi knew she would have to follow Trip and set things right. She excused herself and followed Trip until he entered the local equivalent of a blues bar.

Hoshi entered the blues bar that she knew Trip had run off to, probably intending to drown his sorrows. There he was on stage, 6 feet tall, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, dressed in faded blue jeans and one of those tacky Hawaiian shirts he liked, apparently about to sing at their karaoke night, holding his harmonica, which he must have been carrying with him while on planet.

She decided to sit and listen then try to get him back to where he was staying while in San Francisco.

Trip started playing his harmonica in the raunchy end of the blues spectrum, then stopped playing to sing:

"Oh god he's so beautiful, stormy blue eyes, smile on his face, he went with me to Risa, ended up tied up in our Starfleet issue blues, I had thought, I had hoped that he would be mine. But now—now he's feeling you, and I am so blue, I'm (bam, bam went the drums) in a turquoise kind of mood.

We laughed, we fought, we argued, he'd get that gleam in his eyes when firin' his weapons. Oh how I wish he'd fire that gleam at me! We got in trouble, beamed off a station and I had thought, I had hoped that he would be mine. But now—now he's feeling you, and I am so blue, I'm (bam, bam) in a turquoise kind of mood.

He got snarky, a bit whiny, when we were in the catwalk, he lowered the zip on his shirt, and I still wish he'd taken it all off. We watched movies together, we laughed, we argued and I had thought, I had hoped that he would be mine. But now—now he's feeling you, and I am so blue, I'm (bam, bam) in a turquoise kind of mood.

I had hoped he would be mine, But he's feeling you, And I'm so blue, I'm (bam, bam) in a turquoise kind of mood.

I had hoped he would be mine, But he's feeling you, And I'm so blue, I'm (bam, bam) in a turquoise kind of mood. A turquoise kind of mood."

When Hoshi dragged Trip out of the club he was sobbing and drunk. But she promised silently to do all she could to clear up the understanding and get her two friends together, for Malcolm had told her he was 'fond' of the engineer and in Malcolm's world that meant he was head over heels in love. So she knew she would have to try to get these two stubborn men together somehow.