Rated: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters...blah, blah,
blah!
***
They were in love...
Deanna and Will Riker were in their shuttle craft
returning from their honeymoon on Risa. Their ship
awaited them docking near Earth.
Their time on Risa was incredible, filled with
love, passion and plans for the future. They discussed
having a family - Deanna wanted a boy and a girl, not
necessarily in that order. They agreed that at some
point, after having their family they would both move
plantside, either on Betazed or Earth, to raise their
children in a peaceful environment, without all the
dangers in space.
**
Deanna cleared the remains of their dinner from the
shuttle's dining area, and went to Will who was
sitting at the pilot's seat. She stood behind him and started
massaging his shoulders gently.
"Mmm, that feels great, Dea. As always..." He sighed
and leaned his head back towards Deanna, closed his
eyes and enjoyed Deanna's ministrations. Deanna bent
and kissed him. Will backed away a bit, took Deanna's
arm, and pulled her to him, to sit on his lap. Deanna
smiled at him and put her arms around his neck.
"Two more days until our honeymoon is officially over,
and we get back to duty," she said. "I don't really want
to get back to the ship. I wish we could stay here for
a little while longer." "Well than, I suggest we use
the time we have left efficiently," Will said and
pulled Deanna into a breath-taking kiss. It seemed as
if the kiss lasted forever, but suddenly it was
shattered. The shuttle rocked wildly in space, spinning around fast, throwing
Deanna, who was sitting unprotected on Will's lap,
wildly into the bulkhead. Will held on tightly to
his console, trying to stabelize the shuttle that was
caught in a whirlpool in space, all the time calling
Deanna's name, but receiving no answer. Deanna was
laying unconscious on the floor.
It seemed endless to Will, but after a minute he got
the shuttle under control, and managed to get it out
of the huge spinning whirepool. He left his position,
and ran as fast as he could to Deanna, who had been
thrown all away to the other end of the cabin. There was
blood covering the carpet under her head. Hysterically, Will kept
calling her name as he retrieved the emergency kit nearby. He
took the medical tricorder, ran it over her body, and his
eyes darkened. The tricorder showed she had her left
hand broken, a broken rib that threatened to puncture
her lungs and a hemorrhage in her head.
Not having much medical training, Will needed a
doctor desperately. However they were alone in space.
The closest ship was two days away. Even so, Will put
bandages on Deanna's head, trying to stop the
bleeding, and pressed hard. He took a hypo and injected it to
her to ease her pain, covered her body with a blanket
and waited.
While he was waiting, he tried to touch his mind with
hers, to communicate with her. " Dea, honey... wake
up..." She didn't respond.
He tried again " Imzadi, can you hear me?" There was a
stirring, the slightest movement of her body, and her
pupils began to move under her eyelashes. She was
conscious again.
Pain... her entire body hurt, she tried to take a
deep breath to ease her agony, but instead a weak moan
of pain escaped her. She could barely breath. She
barely opened her eyes, and immediately saw the most
beautiful sight there was for her. Her husband was
kneeling next to her, holding her hand
and trying to calm her down. "It will be ok, Deanna,
just hang in there, honey. I'll be right back."
He ran to the com system and sent a distress call to
any ship within the area, and hoped that some help
would get there before it was too late. He got
back to Deanna, took her hand again and saw her
condition worsening.
"Hey, don't you dare die on me Deanna... Please, just
hang in there.." he begged her.
" I...I'm... try...ing..." she whispered weakly. Every
moment her situation was deteriorating.
She saw her whole life passing infront of her. Her
family on Betazed, her father, graduating the
university, meeting Will, the Enterprise, and of
course, her wedding. All of it. She had been through a
lot in her life. But she had to fight for her life,
she couldn't believe it was truly the end. Deanna
tried to borrow Will's strength.
Will, however was thinking about their future. They
just got married. Their honeymoon hadn't ended yet,
for God's sake. What about all their plans for a
family, children... He couldn't let her die.
Will was using one hand to caress Deanna's hand and
soothe her, his other arm was hugging Deanna's form to
hold her close to him and feel her breathing. His lips
whispered in her ear to let her hear his voice, let
her know he was still with her. By talking to her, he
somehow felt like he was keeping her alive.
As time passed by, Will saw that Deanna was losing the
battle for her life. Her skin became paler than
before, her thoughts were incoherent, her body shaking
like a leaf, from the cold of the approaching end.
Will watched all this in horror, helplessly, not knowing
what else he could do to save his Imzadi.
" It...It's ...so...c...cold...." Deanna barely
whispered. Will tightened the blanket around her even
more. "It'll be okay, sweetheart, it will be okay..."
he told her softly. She closed her eyes, and forcefully opened
them again, still refusing to give into the tempting
sleep her body wanted. However she knew she wouldn't
be able to resist much longer.
"Will, what...whatever...ha...ppens... I'll always...
love you... and... be with...you..." She tried so hard
to finish the sentence.
"Deanna..." Will was looking down at her, with tears
in his eyes.
"Don't go, Dea... don't leave me!" he begged. The
tears flowed from his eyes. His beloved wife, the only
'woman', he had ever loved was slipping through his
fingers, and there was nothing he could do.
Deanna saw everything becoming foggy, objects in the
shuttle started swirling, losing their normal shape,
and changing themselves. Will voice was becoming more
and more distant, even though he also tried to
communicate telepathically. She felt the ache easing,
and the ground underneath her seemed to slip.
Her body seemed to be floating. The darkness was
getting closer and closer, and sleep more seductive.
With her last strength she whispered, barely audibly
again, " I... love... you.. Imzadi"
And her eyes closed...forever.
The End…???