From: mriana  

The Wedding

The guest were gathering for the ceremony on the Betazed.  Friends from
the Enterprise were there and new friends aboard Will's ship were also
there. Friends and family from Earth and Betazed came too.  Thus, it was
a very large crowd which Lwaxana loved to see and she played the crowd
to the hilt.

This was the second of two ceremonies.  The other ceremony had been on
Earth.  That ceremony was a traditional Earth wedding, but this was a
traditional Betazoid wedding, which Lwaxana insisted they have.

Tom sat in the crowd dressed uncomfortably in the traditional Betazoid
style and admired the scenery.  He could not help but smile, for it brought
memories back to him of the days he and Deanna were in the Jalara.
Then a twinge of jealousy rose over him again.  He felt it was he who
should have been getting married to Deanna and not Will and the worst
part was, he had to sit through it twice.  Then his thoughts were
interupted by a familiar voice.

Lwaxana Troi was so excited about the celebration and as usual, was
trying hard to be the center of attention.

"Everyone. Everyone, may I have your attention please?"

She was dressed in traditional Betazoid wedding dress. No clothes, except
her hair dress.  Everyone reluctantly turned to see what she was going to
say.

"I am so proud that my daughter is finally getting married. And it's about
time too." she said the last flatly and sarcastically. "I want to welcome all
of you, even if you aren't dressed properly for the wedding." Implying it
was a Betazoid wedding, not an Earth wedding. Lwaxana never kept a
single thought to herself.

"Afterwards we will have a traditional Betazoid reception.  Enjoy the
ceremony."

She always had to draw attention to herself where ever she went. She also
insisted that if she had to pay for the wedding it would be a traditional
Betazoid wedding all the way.  However, she refused to pay for the Earth
wedding for it was not a traditional Betazoid wedding.

Will had been to a Betazoid wedding before, so he understood what all
was involved and the meanings behind it.  He also knew how important
tradition was to Lwaxana, so he just went with the flow and allowed
Lwaxana her fun.

She stepped down from being the center of attention and spotted Admiral
Picard.

"Captain Picard!" she yelled to get his attention.

He turned and said, "It's Admiral now." He was dressed in his dress
uniform.

"Oh, yes, well.  Why aren't you properly dressed?  You of all people
know that at a Betazoid wedding we go without clothes to symbolize
physically and spiritually that there is nothing to hide. That all are sharing
completely in unity and harmony. Away of showing openness and honesty.
Besides, I'm sure you have a nice body." she said a little seductively.

"Mrs. Troi!" No offense but I..."

The wedding was about to start.

She shrugged and said passively,  "Go however you want.  I won't think
any less of you than I do now.  Oh, and by the way, the scar on your chest,
I wouldn't worry about it.  Lots of people have scars.  Now, I must go a
prepare for the wedding to start."

Picard was taken aback. Who ever said he had a scar. Then he realized
she was sensing his thoughts as usual, but not quite accurately.  "She
must still be going through the phase." he thought.

The guest were half and half.  Half traditionally Betazoid dressed and half
fully clothed.  The room had quiet murmers of Human speech, but the
Betazoids were quietly making facial expressions and hand gestures as no
sound came from their mouths.

Deanna was seated in the crowd of guest, waiting to take her place as the
bride.  She dreaded the fact her mother insisted they have two different
ceremonies.  She would have been happy with just one.  Then she sensed
the wedding party entering and turned her thoughts back to the
ceremony.

Kyle Riker entered with a melodramatic Lwaxana Troi clutching his arm.
She sobbed faked tears as she screamed and wailed her surrealistic
lament.   Truth be known, she was enormously happy that Deanna and
Will were finally getting married.

Geordi made his enterance next, for he was the Betazoid equivalent to the
best man.  As was the tradition, Geordi pushed Lwaxana and Will's
father, who was fully clothed, out of the way. He enjoyed every second of
pushing Lwaxana aside.

Will walked into the service last.  He ignored Lwaxana and continued to
walk past her as she tried to stop him.  He could not believe how much
she was playing up her role in this ceremony.  It was almost nauseating,
but he went on and ignored her, which he was more than happy to do.

Then Kyle Riker stepped in and put up a hand to stop him in the
traditional Betazoid manner.  Will pushed him aside and for a moment he
thought he may have pushed the elder Riker a little too roughly, but when
he saw his father recovering, he almost laughed.  Will then took his place
in front of the priest.

As Will stood there waiting for the rest of the wedding party, he observed
the surroundings.  The place was decorated with beautiful Betazed
flowers and greenry.  The lighting enhanced the colours of the plants,
which made them even more vivid.  Will was sure, without a doubt, that
these plants came from the Jalara, for they looked exactly like the ones
Deanna pointed out to him years ago.  Then he saw the one plant that
struck him as most touching.  It was Deanna's favourite plant.  Muktok.
Will smiled as he noticed this little added touch.

Will waited up front for Deanna, seeming a little nervous and
uncomfortable. Was it because he was completely naked or the groom or
both?

Then Beverly, who was the equivalent to the maid of honour, approached
Deanna.   "I summon you to the place of marriage."  Then Beverly led
her to the front to stand beside Will.

Soothing traditional Betazoid wedding music started playing.

Deanna got up from her seat and strolled down the aisle smiling. She
wore a beautiful Betazoid wedding head dress and carried a bouquet of
flowers. Beverly stood on her left and Deanna stood beside Will.

Deanna was radiant and glowing on the out side. She kept a smile, even
though on the inside she too, thought she was going to be sick. Her hair
was down, with the band holding it back in place and her curls were even
tighter than usual. She sensed Will's thoughts, briefly looked at him and
smiled. Then they both faced the minister.

Lwaxana wanted Mr. Homn to do the ceremony, but Will and Deanna
manage to talk her out of that one. The next part was the one part of the
service that was Earth like and not traditionally Betazoid.

The minister addressed everyone in the traditional Betazoid language as
he read from the scroll he held in front of him.  Then he looked at Will
and Deanna. Since Will did not know the Betazoid language fluently, the
minister switched to Federation Standard to address the couple.

Deanna and Will had prepared their wedding vows to each other.  Will
and Deanna had chosen to face each other and recite their own wedding
vows because they felt it was more intimate that way.

Deanna faced Will and spoke first.  "Imzadi, my beloved soul mate. I take
you to be my husband from here to eternity.  My soul is your's forever, for
Imzadi is forever."

Will thought, "How can I top that?"  Then looking at Deanna in her deep
brown eyes, he began his vow.  "Deanna, my goddess, the one I deeply
love and cherish. I shall love and cherish you forever until death do us
part."

After he said the words he kicked himself. "God! I sound so human! Not
at all in keeping with this ceremony!"

Deanna smiled at him and sent,  "Imzadi, you are human.  It's okay and
it's beautiful."

Then they turned back towards the minister to listen to his finishing
statements and they were declared husband and wife.  At Will's request
and Lwaxana's final approval, he kissed the bride in the traditional Earth
custom.

Will took Deanna and kissed her passionately in front of everyone. He
was also thankful he could have his clothes back for the reception.
Lwaxana, somehow, arranged to have every stitch of clothing he had,
taken from his quarters this morning to insure he dressed properly for the
ceremony. She promised she would have them return in time for the
reception.

End