After grabbing a light breakfast from the mess hall, Riley made her way to the gym. A couple of butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach, but she was't going to let them get in her way. The first of Mallory's tests went quite well; a hand-to-hand spar with one of the MACOs, Corporal Amanda Cole. Most of the equipment had been pushed to the sides to give them space, just a few of the mats had been left in place for safety. Captain Archer and T'Pol watched from the side-lines and the camera in the room recorded the session so they could send a video back to Earth. Despite having wanted to watch, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed were advised to stay away and they would just have to review the tapes later on. The Captain could tell that their presence in the room would have affected the Lieutenant's performance, and it wouldn't be fair on her to have that kind of distraction.

Jonathan was certainly impressed with her combat skills as she ducked and weaved to avoid the blows from the experienced Cole, and the attacks that she got in, using a mixture of Earth tactics and some obvious Vulcan manoeuvres, along with a couple that he didn't recognise as belonging to either culture. When he glanced to T'Pol he thought he could see the slight signs of a smile from her, though it was hard to be certain from standing by her side. The Vulcan was certainly better at keeping her emotions under control these days, though the man had come to recognise those minute moments when she let that slip.

Later that afternoon came her all important firearms test. Once again Captain Archer and T'Pol watched as she fired upon the holographic target. In the ten seconds she had she managed a score of fourteen, a score unbeknown to her surpassed her brother's. She was certainly proving to him that she was a very capable officer. To her it was just like before when Captain Archer was looking for his Tactical Officer, she was just basically doing the same thing she did back then, some six years ago, with a few added techniques she had picked up along the way. She was able to prove her skills with both the phase pistol and a rifle during the time allocated for the test. Yet again the cameras were recording so that Admiral Gardner could watch and replay.

Two days after the physical tests and it was a written exam. Sitting in the command centre with T'Pol watching over her almost made her feel like she was back at the academy, but she didn't have the nerves like she had back then. She kept her cool and completed the exam in record time. She was fairly confident with her answers, and only hoped that everything she had written was still true for this reality.

A couple of days later, the results were due back and she was standing in Archer's ready room. The suspense was beginning to get to her as they waited for the call from Starfleet. Archer was sat in his chair and was fairly relaxed, while Mallory began to pace up and down the room. She was far too fidgety to be wanting to be sat down. Porthos began to watch her as she was the only thing moving around the small space, but the ever faithful beagle remained on his cushion, silent as a mouse. Two empty coffee mugs sat on the table next to Archer.

"Nervous?" He finally asked, breaking the silence. He picked up his mug and stared at the bottom, having forgotten that he had drunk it all ready. He was going to have to refill it soon, but for now he'd have to cope without his caffeine, but if the call didn't come soon he was going to have to call for another couple of mugs to be brought to them.

Lieutenant Riley began rubbing her hands together, just because it was something to keep her hands occupied with while they waited. "You could say that. This call could very well be a career changer for me."

"You don't think you passed?"

"Anything's possible, Sir." She replied. "I think I've proven that just by being here." She took several deep breaths, trying to calm the nerves, but it didn't seem to be helping. "What is taking them?" She now crossed her arms over her chest, still pacing. Her fingers tapping against her upper arms.

"Patience, Riley... I'm sure they'll call when they're ready." Almost as soon as he finished speaking the comm bleeped. "See." He smiled and pressed the little white button. "Go ahead."

"The call from Admiral Gardner is here, Sir." Hoshi Sato's voice sounded over the comm system.

He glanced to his side as he watched Mallory begin to straighten herself out. He paused for a couple of seconds to give her time to prepare before replying. "Put him through to my ready room." After a couple of tense seconds the face of Admiral Gardner appeared on the screen. "Good morning, Admiral." He greeted.

"John." Gardner replied back. "And Miss Riley, It's nice to finally be able to speak to you."

Mallory nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Admiral." Though she was beginning to worry as he had just addressed her as 'Miss'; not a good sign. Had she failed, was this going to be the call ending her career with Starfleet, forcing her to hang up her uniform? She shifted the weight on her feet slightly as she waited for the results.

"I expect you'll want me to get right to the point of this call?" He queried as he picked up a data padd and reviewed it carefully.

"If you don't mind, Sir, that would be preferable." She replied politely, remembering her manners to the top man in Starfleet, her hands clasped behind her back, trying to hold them steady as they were beginning to shake with the nerves.

"As you are no doubt aware, your situation is a very unusual one, which is why it has taken longer to go over the recordings of your sessions and the exam paper. It's hard to say how anyone would react to what you've been through the last few days, and from what we've seen, we certainly didn't expect these results." He paused for a moment and Mallory briefly glanced up to the ceiling of the room. When was he going to tell her whether she still had a job or not? The Admiral was staring hard at her now, noticing that she was tense and the slight signs of frustration of being kept waiting, but she was keeping her composure fairly well, that he could see. Gardner smiled and placed the padd down on the table in front of him. "Miss Riley. The decision has been made to allow you to remain on Enterprise as a Lieutenant in the Security Department. Congratulations."

At finally hearing those words, both John and Mallory released the breaths they had been holding. The tension in the room dissolved almost immediately and Mallory instantly relaxed. "Thank you, Admiral." She finally managed to say as she began to smile. She looked at her Captain to see that he too had a smile on his face. "That's the best news I've heard in a long time." Words couldn't really describe how she was feeling right now, and she really wanted to hug someone, she was just going to have to contain her happiness a little longer.

"Well done, Riley." Captain Archer smiled as he looked at her. "I knew you could do it."

Gardner smiled back. "Your tests certainly proved to us that you've been through what anyone at the Academy would have been through, so there's no doubt in our minds about what happened, that you're from an alternate reality, although we certainly never expected anything like this to happen. Congratulations again, Lieutenant. I hope we'll be able to meet in person one day."

"Likewise, Sir."

"John, I'll let you get back to exploring, once you're done celebrating of course. With another Reed on the ship I know you're in safe hands. Especially after seeing these results." He tapped the padd in front of him to indicate what he was talking about.

Captain Archer nodded his head in agreement. "I've no doubt about that. Thank you Admiral." And with that the screen went blank before the Starfleet Insignia took it's place. Archer turned to look at the very relieved Lieutenant still standing in his ready room. "Now that's over, we can put you onto a proper duty. For now, I'll make sure that you aren't with Malcolm, but…" He paused to watch her, standing up. "You can't ignore him forever, he's now your boss, and you're going to have to take orders from him."

"I know, Captain… it's just hard for me…"

"I understand. You still feel guilty about what happened to him." Mallory nodded her head. "But think of this… you've been given an extremely rare chance to see him again, and a chance to be able to have a family. Malcolm, I know, still sends letters his parents every month. They may not be very long ones, but he does still write to them." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't waste this opportunity, Mallory. It's one that no one else ever gets. You're extremely lucky in that respect." He watched her carefully as she nodded her head, obviously fairly emotional right now. He let go of her and took a step back. "Take the rest of the day off, you've earned it and tomorrow you start work for real."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Captain. There is one thing…"

Slowly Jonathan nodded his head, pretty certain he knew what she was about to ask him about. "Your shadow?" Mallory nodded her head. "Is gone. Don't need him anymore now that you have officially joined our Starfleet."

"Thank you, I'm sure they'll appreciate not having to tail me anymore and be able to get back to their normal duties." She smiled again and watched as he opened up his arms, the invitation of a hug, feeling pretty certain she could use one right about now. She did and wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't the first time she had hugged him, well, she'd hugged her Captain Archer a few times after particularly difficult missions. It helped her to feel even more at home.

Porthos rose to his paws, his tail wagging as he sensed that his master was happy, and he wanted to share in some of the cuddles. A little bark from him forced the two officers to look down at the floor and smile. Mallory crouched down and gave the beagle the attention he was seeking, licking her face as soon as she was close enough. She lifted him into her arms. "You are a soppy thing, Porthos." She smiled before passing the dog to his master, patting his head a couple more times.

"Soppy, but completely lovable."

"Oh yeah." She grinned.

"Dismissed." He finally said and with that she left the ready room, grabbing her mug as she went.