“Untitled” (if you have suggestions – throw them my way, please. Thanks! :))

Author: Pia Pedersen

Timeframe: Post-Nemesis

Disclaimers apply.

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He had said it to her once, when he had been injured. She had been sitting by his bedside in Sickbay, holding his hand as he had regained consciousness and escaped from the darkness. Will still remembered the pain in her eyes when Deanna had asked him the one question he hadn’t expected hearing. She had asked him why. Why he had jumped in front of her, why he had risked everything like that, and he hadn’t understood how she couldn’t know.

“I’m nothing without you, Deanna,” he had managed, still weak, but determined to tell her. They had only been a few weeks into their rekindled romance then, and he was still blinded by his love for her.

Riker smiled, looking out of the view port in his Ready Room. That hadn’t changed. He was still hopelessly in love with her --- and he had been honest. His life was not worth much if she wasn’t with him. But Deanna had not been impressed, when, with unshakeable conviction, he had added the immortal words often spoken without much regard to the weight that they carried.

“I would die for you.”

“I know,” she had said, leaning in to kiss his lips. He could still recall the shadow of a smile on her lips when she had continued, softly. “But I want you to live for me … with me.” It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what she had meant, of course he did. It was the essence of what he had felt, after all. They were empty without each other, and for one of them to lose the other meant unspeakable pain. That much was obvious, even then, and he had said those particular words to convey the depth of his love for her. Will remembered how he had been surprised at her reaction back then, and he realized that he really hadn’t grasped her point, until now.

~ I’m glad you understand, Will. ~

His smile grew wider; he was still getting used to the feeling of her in his mind. It was incredible, of course, but they had only been married for a couple of months, and it was still overwhelming at times, now that the bond between them had finally been completed.

He did understand now, and that was the reason he had let his First Officer lead the away team and supervise the negotiations for the peace treaty that the USS Titan had been sent to secure. Will had initially wanted to go himself --- knowing how explosive the situation was and wanting to defuse it. But he had stayed onboard, listening to the objections of his Commander and to that little voice, which had relentlessly repeated Deanna’s words from to long ago.

He heard the chime and watched her step inside. She was as much a vision now as she had been the first time he had laid eyes on her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, kissing her as she rounded the table and let herself fall in his lap. “I thought you were tired?”

“I know it wasn’t easy,” she said, not answering. “I know you wish you were down there.”

“Yes, I do, but it wasn’t that difficult a decision.” He held her close to him. Will gently let his lips caress her hair and wondered how it had taken so long for him to realize that what she needed, the part of him she loved, was the man who would go through life with her, be there for her. Deanna had never wanted him to be heroic, and, in the end, with her he had found that he didn’t want more than  to be who he was: a man who was blessed in more ways than he could count --- a man who finally understood that what’s important isn’t how much you are willing to give up for love, but rather how much you are willing to share.

He didn’t say more, and neither did Deanna. They kissed deeply; their thoughts and emotions blending as they silently pledged their love and their lives to one another all over again.

[-end-]