TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET

by Kate

Subject: R/T
Rating: NC-17 - definitely not for the kiddies!
Disclaimer: The usual: Paramount is god: I'm just sneaking out with Riker and Troi for a
quick spin.
Setting: Post-Nemesis, with an assist from Graham Nash

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the Graham Nash song, "Sleep Song." You'll find that the events in my story follow those described in the song. That is, until the end of the story! This song is solidly rated "G".

SLEEP SONG Graham Nash

When you were asleep I was kissing your forehead
You gave a frown so I kissed you again
You started waking and put your arms around my waist
Just making sure I was there then you drifted away
Then you drifted away

And when I awoke I found out I'd been dreaming
Some of my bed clothes were still on the floor
I looked around realised you were leaving me
I saw the back of your dress as you slipped through the door
As you slipped through the door

And when I return I will kiss your eyes open
Take off my clothes and I'll lie by your side
Then I will wait till the sandman has done with you
And as you sleepily rise you'll find I'll be there
You'll find I'll be there

Life on board the Titan was incredibly busy. As much as Will had thought he knew what the captaincy of a star ship involved, he found his knowledge wanting. One of the more unpleasant realities he had to deal with was the fact that he could not always ensure that his duty schedule coincided with Deanna's work schedule. This meant that there were many evenings where one of them would be home, the other on duty and their respective sleeping and rising times totally out of sync.

This night and the next were to be two of those evenings. He needed to be on the bridge until quite late, as the Titan had been put on extended duty near the Neutral Zone. There were several Federation outposts along the perimeter of the Zone that needed monitoring. Things were still politically very shaky since Shinzon's overthrow and demise. While there had been overtures of peace from the Romulans, the Federation, Will included, knew better than to take those overtures at face value. Only time would be the proof of their true intentions.

So the crew of the Titan had spent the day warping from one outpost to another and would be doing so the next day. Because of the mission's importance, Will had scheduled an extended tour of duty for himself for both days. He knew that would mean Deanna would be asleep by the time he got off duty. He also knew that meant that she would be gone the next morning before he woke. "Two nights in a row," he groaned inwardly as he contemplated missing her company for two days. "Some marriage," he mumbled as he brought himself back to the present, to focus on the task at hand.

::::::::

It was late - 0200 hours, in fact - when he finally came off duty the first of the two nights. He was totally spent. It was exhausting work handling not only the normal day-to-day concerns of the ship, but also carrying the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the outposts along the Neutral Zone. He felt weary to the bone and brain dead. Knowing he would be given at least six hours away from command did nothing to lessen his exhaustion.

Slowly he dragged himself off the bridge and into the turbolift. The turbolift seemed to Will to move at a snail's pace, he was so tired. "If it moves any slower," he muttered to himself, "I'll fall asleep where I stand." He leaned heavily against the lift's wall until he arrived at his deck. Stumbling out of the turbolift, he barely had the energy to properly acknowledge crew members that he passed on his way to his cabin.

After what seemed an eternity, he finally arrived at his cabin. The moment he stepped in, a quiet peace began to steal through his body. "Ah, Imzadi… Even asleep, you renew me," he smiled to himself.

He went into their bedroom where, in the dim light shining in from the living area, he stripped down to his boxer shorts. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he came and slid under the covers. He turned immediately to gaze upon the sleeping visage of his Imzadi. He couldn't resist placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. As soon as he had done so, she began to frown.

"No, Imzadi, it's just me," he whispered. He then softly kissed her lips. With that, she stirred and began to open her eyes. She smiled sleepily as she saw Will staring down at her, his love suffusing her being. She wrapped her arms around Will's torso, snuggled against his chest, and quickly fell back to sleep. He smiled as he thought to himself, "This isn't as much of her company as I wanted, but my Imzadi is still here with me…" Her slow, quiet breathing quickly lulled Will into a deep, restful sleep.

Will slept the sleep of the exhausted. Erotic dreams of Deanna swirled through his mind. The next thing he knew, he heard muffled sounds in their bedroom. Was it the continuation of his dreams? Half-awake, he felt the bed clothes move, the contour of the mattress briefly change. He heard quiet padding about the floor, the sound of water in the bathroom. Then, the soft rustling of clothes being pulled on. He lifted his head off the pillow and opened his sleep-glazed eyes, just in time to see her quietly slip through their doorway and the door close. He mumbled an incoherent goodbye as he dropped his head on the pillow and fell back to sleep.

Later, he awoke for the day, feeling refreshed and calm. "It was so nice having my beloved next to me in bed…But it would have been nicer if I could have had time to talk with her last night," he thought to himself as he trimmed his beard. Suddenly, he dropped the razor and felt his body sag as if somehow defeated. "Oh god, we won't be done with our assessment of the outposts for another 18 hours. I've got to go through this again." He held his bowed head in one hand. "Another night without her," he muttered.

Will's tour of extended duty on the bridge went smoothly. But his need to be attentive not only to routine ship matters but also to the outpost monitoring, combined with the extra time he had to remain on the bridge ground him down slowly but surely. He had to draw on hidden reserves of strength to finish his tour of duty.

It was again quite late when he finally turned over command to his executive officer. As he left the bridge, he thought to himself, "She'll be asleep. Again." He sighed wearily. "I can't keep doing this."

After what seemed like an eternity, an exhausted Will Riker found himself at their cabin door. He punched in their access code and let himself in. It was quiet and dimly lit in the living room, dark in the bedroom. He noticed a hint of her perfume - lilac, he smiled - in the air. "Mmmm, smells so good… Imzadi," he said to himself. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, letting the scented air fill his nose and lungs. As had happened the night before, a sense of calm began to suffuse his body and mind as he felt the peaceful energy emanating from Deanna. "Thank you, Imzadi," he whispered to himself.

As he had done the night before, he quietly slipped out of his uniform, leaving only his boxers on. Before getting into the bed, he paused to stare at Deanna, who was barely visible in the dim light that came through the door. She looked lovely to him, with her hair splayed upon her pillow and her body stretched out in a relaxed position. "Oh, Imzadi…You are so incredibly beautiful," he smiled, feeling his love for her warming his being. He slipped under the covers and leaned over to kiss Deanna's closed eyes. She stirred, opened her eyes and smiled sleepily when she saw Will's adoring face staring down at her. "Imzadi," she mumbled. Will responded simply by wrapping his arms around Deanna and pulling her close to him. He inhaled her familiar fragrance, sighed with contentment and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Will woke with a start. He had been having dreams about the current mission. The last of these dreams brought him back to consciousness. He sat up and looked about. The chronometer next to his side of the bed indicated it was 0630. An instant later, he realized that Deanna was still beside him in bed. This brought a smile to his face. "Ah, today, I start the day with my Imzadi."

Will lay down again, then turned to face Deanna. After a few minutes, she stirred. A smile lit up her face before her eyes were fully open. "Good morning, Imzadi," Will said softly as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I couldn't stand not being able to be with you any longer…" Deanna waited sleepily for him to continue. "It gets lonely on the bridge when I know I won't be spending time with you, just the two of us. Nothing to look forward to, you know."

"Is that so?" she whispered. "Uh huh," he smiled. "Mmm, I see. Well, let's see if we can make the most of what we've got, shall we?" she purred provocatively. "Sounds like a plan to me," he murmured. With that, he placed a light kiss on her lips. When he saw the smile on her face, he began to kiss a path down her neck. "Gods, Will…what a way to wake up," she moaned. "It's…my…pleasure," he breathed between licks down her chest. He gently pulled her nightgown up over her torso and, while lightly kissing his way down her abdomen, pulled the garment off. "Imzadi…" she said breathily. "This is worth waiting for."

"Even waking up early for?" he said, mischievously. "Without a doubt," she said seductively. By now, Deanna was fully awake, and her body was tingling with desire. "I missed you, Will…" she whispered. "I missed you, too," he said in a husky voice. "And I want you, Deanna…Gods, I want you now."

Deanna pulled his face back to hers. She pressed her lips against his, teasing his lips open with her tongue. As she moaned into the kiss, her hands stroked their way down his back. Then, with a grunt, she flipped Will onto his back. "No time for us in the evening. Such a busy man!" she said between the wet kisses she rained on his neck and chest. "We'll take what we can get now…" She licked her way down onto his chest. "Imzadi…" he grunted. She smiled as she felt his arousal beneath her legs. As she stroked his chest hair with one hand, she kissed her way down his abdomen to his manhood. She pulled Will's boxer shorts down around his knees. Then, while she stroked and kissed his arousal, he reached out between groans. He pulled her back up and reached to caress one of her breasts while he suckled the other. "Will…oh, gods…" she moaned. Pausing to smile at Deanna, Will began to suckle her other breast while his hand lightly stroked its way down her stomach to her center of pleasure. He then followed that by licking a hot, wet trail down to her womanhood. "Yes!" she breathed heavily.

"We'll make the most of what we've got now, will we?" Will laughed between her legs as he began to explore her pleasure center with his tongue. "Ohhh…Will! Give me what you can…" He continued to caress her with his tongue. "Sounds good… to me…," he grunted as he slipped two fingers into her. "Please, Will…"she moaned.

"Gods, De…" he gasped as she shifted positions and took him into her mouth suddenly. "Mmmm…," she mumbled around him as she licked and sucked him. Will pushed her back onto her back. "I want you now, Imzadi." With that, he spread her legs open and entered her. But, though he felt he was about to go over the edge, he wanted to make sure that Deanna was ready to peak as well. With all the self control he could muster, he looked questioningly into Deanna's face. As she stared back at Will through passion-glazed eyes, she grunted, "Yes, Will…" And, before he could move again, she wrapped her legs around Will's hips and squeezed him with her pelvic muscles. "Oh geez…That's it, Imzadi…I can't hold on any more," he moaned. With that, he began to thrust repeatedly, first slowly, then with increasing speed and force.

"Gods…" Will groaned as he hit the blinding pinnacle. "Imzadi," shouted Deanna as she, at the same time, rode the crest of her peak - and then the next one, as Will continued his thrusts. Will shoved his tongue into her mouth and continued his plunges, now more slow and deliberate. Deanna shook from the force of cresting again and then fell back, panting. With a sigh of satisfaction, Will rolled off of Deanna and lay next to her.

They lay there together in satisfied silence for several minutes, their bodies sweat slicked. Slowly their breathing returned to normal. "If this is what happens when we don't have much time together…," Will began, "Maybe you should come to bed late more often, Imzadi," Deanna returned. "Uh huh," acknowledged Will as he turned to look at the chronometer beside the bed. "Oh damn, it's time to go back to the real world, Deanna," he sighed, then gave her a tender kiss on her mouth.

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Later that morning, Will was sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge. He found his mind going back to the last two days and nights. Thoughts of his special time with Deanna that morning brought a smile to his face. As he felt his love for her fill his being, he mused to himself, "Yes, sleeping or awake, you've just got to take what you can get."

THE END