Letting Go
Disclaimers: Some of the characters are mine; some are Paramount's.
I won't be getting paid for this. It's only for fun.
As she folded clothes from Elizabeth's dresser, Deanna was crying.
She remembered giving Liz the sweater she was now folding for the
recently past Christmas. The dark blue sweater matched Liz's eyes
perfectly. It's what attracted Deanna to the sweater in the first
place. Liz had loved it.
Deanna's attention was drawn to the photo on the dresser. The photo
was taken a few days after Christmas during a family ski trip. It
was taken in Alaska at the Riker family home. Liz was wearing the
sweater smiling the smile that was so like her father's. Will was
standing between Liz and Deanna smiling a smile identical to Liz's.
Will's and her son, Andy, looked a little devilish in the photo. His
smile was normally like Deanna's but not when he was up to mischief.
Right after the photo was taken, he bombarded his parents and sister
with snowballs.
Deanna smiled at the memory of that family vacation as she put the
sweater in the suitcase and placed the photo on top. As she closed
the suitcase, she realized that that vacation would be their last as
a family. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes as Will came up
behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He had felt her pain as
he was putting the finishing touches on his remarks for the ceremony.
"Hey, we'll have more vacations like that." He said.
"It won't be the same."
"Sure it will." He turned her around in his arms and gave her a
quick kiss. "We better go. It won't do for the keynote speaker and
father of the Valedictorian to be late."
"You're right." Deanna smiled. "Maybe the Valedictorian can
pack
her own things in between graduation parties and before she leaves."
"The Enterprise doesn't leave orbit for another week so she'll have
plenty of time to pack." Will put his arm around Deanna and they
started out the door. "If you're this emotional with her graduating
from the Academy, I can only imagine how you'll be when she gets
married."
"I'll definitely be worse then." She smiled mischievously. "And
you'll be even worse then. After all, she's your little girl. In
fact, I'll bet the keynote speaker will show some emotion when his
little girl receives her degree today."
"No, I'll be more emotional when she leaves next week." Will said
with a laugh.
The End