Disclaimer: They are not my dolls, I just pose them in the positions
of my choosing.
Note: This takes place during the episode `Yesterday's Enterprise'.
I always wondered what happened to Deanna in that episode, and well
it was on TV today so I thought what the hell. Because this is
another timeline, please remember the characters are a little
different. For example, I noticed Riker and Picard had this whole
tension thing going on, so cut me a little slack if I take creative
license.
Rated PG for language.
What Might Have Been
Will was fuming. *He is going to send them back to die on
the word of some bartender.* He thought as he walked down the
corridor with his customary swagger. A part of him had always
thought the old man was losing it, but this was just plain crazy.
Sending the Enterprise C back through the anomaly was a suicide
mission, Picard just signed their death warrants.
He was still nursing a grudge by the time he made it to ten
forward and sat at his customary place at the bar. He noticed some
of the crewmembers from the C sitting at a corner table, enjoying
diner together. *Having their last meal,* he thought bitterly before
turning back to the bar. He ordered a whiskey straight up from a
perky blonde, if he wasn't so pissed off he would have hit on her,
but Picard had drained him of the energy for even that.
As he waited for his drink (she may be cute, but damn she's
slow) he spotted the ebony-skinned woman who had started all this
nonsense in the first place. In truth, Riker had never liked Guinan,
she was nice enough, but something about her rubbed him the wrong
way. The fact that Picard had decided to send one-hundred and twenty-
five people to their death based solely on her word only served to
irritate him even more.
Will watched her closely as she made her way through the
room, stopping occasionally to talk to someone. As she was talking
to a young ensign, she locked eyes with him for a moment and for the
second time in his life, he felt like someone was weighing the value
of his soul. Guinan smiled at the ensign, walked away from the
table, and made a line straight for him.
She took a seat beside him and sat there, as if she was
waiting for him to strike up a conversation. He tried to ignore her,
but found it impossible when she was sitting there looking so serene
and all knowing.
"Have you ever been to the planet Betazed?" Riker jumped a
little at the sound of her voice, he wasn't expecting her to say
anything. It took a moment for her question to register, and when it
did, all he could muster was a stupid look in response. "It's a
lovely planet, green, and warm, and the people there are wonderful,
so full of life, so open. Don't you think?" He nodded; even though
he knew he looked like a moron, he couldn't seem to get his tongue to
work. *Why is she asking me about Betazed? How does she know?*
"I know you don't believe me," she continued as if she did
not even notice his lack of response. "You think it sounds crazy,
*I* think it sounds crazy, but I know this isn't right."
Finally, he had control of his tongue again. "How do you
know?" He wanted to release some of his frustration on this strange
woman, but his voice sounded hollow instead.
"Do you know a woman named Deanna Troi?" This time the
impact of her question hit him immediately. He could feel the blood
drain from his face; hear his heart hammering in his ears. He
swallowed the lump that had suddenly grown in his throat, and tried
to speak, but nothing came out. How long had it been since he had
heard her name spoken aloud? Years, at least six years, but he
whispered it in his mind everyday. He nodded; it was all he could
do. Guinan looked at him with pity, but pushed on.
"She died didn't she?"
"In the war," his voice was a whisper.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like that. In the right time
she is alive, and she serves aboard this ship, with you."
His head reeled. Suddenly he wanted everything she was
saying to be true. For just a moment, he felt that he could gladly
trade the lives of those one-hundred and twenty-five people just for
a moment with Deanna. He remembered vividly the last time he talked
to her. Two days before their wedding, two days before their lives
would be joined forever. He remebered the black cascade of her hair,
the way she glowed with excitment.
She was waiting for him to join her on Risa, when the planet was
suddenly attacked. She was one of three-hundred casualties. He
remembered her funeral, the sound of her Mother's screams of grief.
All those memories flashed through his mind in one blur, all the pain
came back as if it were yesterday. Finally, he forced his mind away
from the open wound, and looked at Guinan.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I know it's not easy to grasp, but in order for all
the wrongs to be set right, those people have to go back." Guinan
stood from the bar stool and with one last pitying look went back to
being the mysterious bartender.
Will threw back his drink in an attempt to wash away the bad
taste that had formed in his mouth. He was torn between his earlier
frustration at sending them to their death; or packing them back on
the ship himself. His mind was eaten up by what-ifs. He still was
not very comfortable with the idea of sending them back, but now he
believed. He believed, because he had no other choice. Within just
a few minutes Guinan had given meaning to his life, filled a void in
his heart. For the first time in a long time, he had faith; faith
that what might have been would become reality.
THE END