"The Perfect Storm"
QDestinyy@aol.com
"Deanna?" A voice cast forth and was quickly absorbed by the dense
vegetation in its path. "Deanna, are you in here?" Will Riker pawed at
a nearby fern leaf, brushing it from his field of view as he moved forward into
the Enterprise's galaxy renowned arboretum.
When his query was met with no answer, he frowned thoughtfully. "Computer,
location of Counselor Troi?" He had asked the same question only minutes
earlier on his way down the corridor and had received the dutiful response:
={Counselor Troi is in the arboretum}=
"Thank you." He whispered absently. "That's what I thought you
said." He rounded a corner of the narrow pathway he'd been walking on and
stared down the length of it. "Deanna...?" Still no answer. With a
perplexed shake of the head, he was about to turn and examine the internal
sensor readings when something stopped him. It was only a whisper, not even
that, the barest trickle of sensation in the back of his consciousness. But it
was enough.
"Deanna, I know you're in here." He spoke with finality. "What
are you doing? Why won't you-" Rounding another corner, Will stopped short
in his tracks, no longer at a loss for explanation. Deanna sat, or more aptly
kneeled, between two enormous trees. Ironically, one was a weeping willow; a
gentle Terran giant with cascading tendrils which spilled forth from a mass of
hair-like branches and kissed the ground at her feet. That it was native to
Earth brought him to his next observation. The other tree, if memory served, was
a Betazed semil. Also enormous, with a tendency towards cascading appendages not
unlike its Terran sibling, it was an exotic and far more floral compliment to
its neighbor's dusty green foliage.
Troi remained motionless between the two giants, her loose civilian pant-suit
fanned out slightly beneath her. Her eyes were closed and the motion of her
breast seemed to indicate that she was concentrating deeply. Riker stopped short
several meters away from her position and watched her. He should have known
better. If she wasn't answering her page, there had to have been a reason.
Still, an admittedly nagging voice inside his head had forced him into thoughts
which had lead to concern for her; concern that perhaps there might be something
wrong. He had ignored the voice at first, and then finally given in when it
seemed almost silly to him that he should even be having such an argument with
himself.
That was what had driven him to follow her in here this evening. Well, that and
the - other thing. Truthfully, he had hoped that he might be able to talk to her
about that - thing, tonight as well. But he wasn't willing to interrupt her
meditation over it. He knew a lot better than that.
With a rueful smile, he couldn't help but regard her just a few moments longer.
It reminded him of another lifetime. Warm ambient light from above spilled down
into her hair, saturating several errant curls with an almost golden color
despite their otherwise midnight tint. The artificial 'sun' of the arboretum was
waxing someplace towards evening at the moment. In time, it would set entirely
and be replaced by the suggestion of moonlight. It was precisely such a system
which allowed the flora of the enclosure to grow and thrive just as they might
in their 'natural' habitat. And it was also the single most profound draw for
the ship's crew and for the occasional visitor who found themselves hoping for a
stroll in the beautiful jungle-garden.
Momentarily startled from his thoughts by a gentle tapping on his arm, Riker
glanced up in mild surprise and met the smiling gaze of a young lieutenant.
"Sir, I just came by to inform you that the arboretum will be closing up
early this evening. We've set the system for rain and we're just making sure no
one's left behind when it goes off in an hour."
"Thank you, Robin." He returned the young woman's smile with one of
his own and couldn't help noticing the slight tint which crept into her face
when she blushed. "Does she know?" He asked, tipping his head towards
the still unmoving form of the Counselor.
"About the storm?" Robin followed Riker's gaze towards Deanna. "I
don't think so. I was just going to interrupt her. We waited as long as we could
but I'm the last one out tonight and I'm afraid I'm going to have to be the one
to do it." The lieutenant shrugged apologetically and tipped her gaze
affectionately towards Troi. "You know, it's really not fair." She
quipped in amusement.
"What's not?" Riker traded a glance between Robin and Deanna.
"Well - just look at her." The young woman smiled. "Most of us
have to spend two hours making ourselves look great in the morning, and even
then, by evening, it's back to the drawing board if we plan on going out after
shift. But there the Counselor sits; right after her duty shift. She pops into
her quarters, changes into some casual civvies, comes in here, kneels between
two trees and you'd think she was the goddess of the forest." Robin crossed
her arms over her chest and shook her head, still smiling. "I mean, look at
that hair! For one thing. I would kill for hair like that." She turned
towards Riker and rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't understand
anyway. You are a *man* after all, Commander." Her smile transformed into a
grin.
"Hey!" Will opened his mouth and tapped his chest in faux indignation.
"I - I have no defence for that." At this, both officers laughed
quietly. "But I do think you have beautiful hair all your own." He
winked at her.
Blushing deeply, Robin cleared her throat. "Well, um, I uh, guess I'd
better get this over with." Taking a step forward, she was met with Riker's
hand on her arm.
"Nah." He belayed her progress. "Don't worry about it. I'll do
it."
"Are you sure?" The lieutenant cocked her head.
"Yeah. No problem. I came in here to talk to her anyway. You can head out
if you'd like, close things up and we'll be out in a few minutes."
"Okay. But don't forget, we'll be locking down in five. You'll need to use
your authorization to get out whenever you're ready. Just make sure you don't
take an hour or we're going to be wringing you both out and hanging you up to
dry!" Robin smirked affectionately.
"Lieutenant?" Riker smiled.
"Yes sir?"
"Get out of here." He grinned and shook his head as the young woman's
laughter followed her down the pathway towards the arboretum doorway. When she
had disappeared, he turned his attention back into the garden and to Deanna. She
was still immobile, and so it was with no small measure of surprise that Will
noticed her eyes were no longer closed, and that she was staring right at him,
wordlessly.
"Hey.." He smiled at her, tipping his head at the odd contradiction of
her 'wakeful meditation'. "We didn't want to interrupt.." He added,
knowing she would have been aware of his companion as well as himself.
Deanna sighed deeply and then smiled back at him, exhaling a long, slow breath
of air before extending her arms their full length at her sides and slowly
bringing them down towards her lap. "You didn't." She finally spoke.
"I didn't think so." Riker grinned. "I don't know how you do it,
but if you can go down in a crashing ship and still keep your concentration, I
can't think of much else that might be an annoyance."
At this, she frowned. And so did Riker. "I'm sorry." He shook his
head. "That was in fairly poor taste. I just meant that--"
"I know." She shrugged. "It's all right. And I can."
"I beg your pardon?" Will threw her a confused look.
"You said you couldn't think of much else that might interrupt me when I'm
meditating. And I can."
"What's that?"
"You." She answered simply. "I may be able to block out a
crashing shuttle craft, or even a small war," She grinned at the latter.
"But for some reason, whenever you walk into a room, it feels like Ravel's
Bolero is playing inside my head." She grimaced without a hint of
sincerity.
"I'm not sure how to take that." He grinned back at her, walking
forward.
"Well, go ahead and give it considerable thought. I certainly have."
With a teasing twist of the lips, she patted the ground next to her.
"Really?" Will's amused smile was difficult to ignore. "And what
have you decided?" Reaching her position, he sank down into the grass,
falling into the spot she had indicated.
Troi cast him a sidelong glance and then shrugged. "I've decided that it's
just one of those oddities of life I've had to get used to."
"Oddities of life? I am an oddity of life?" His eyes sparkled as he
spoke.
"Very odd." She returned, and was rewarded with a laugh. He knew she
was teasing him, and yet she also felt an underlying conflict in his presence
here this evening.
A comfortable silence settled over them both for a time; it hovered until Riker
placed both hands behind him, leaning backward and giving voice to his thoughts.
"Counselor, I'm under orders to inform you that we have less than an hour
before the arboretum is set to deliver a thunder storm."
"Real thunder?" Deanna asked with interest, sitting forward and
dusting the pollen from her pant leg.
"You know," Riker tipped his head. "I'm not sure? I suppose it
would make sense, since everything in here is supposedly geared for an organic
biosphere, but I've never actually thought to ask about it before."
"Neither have I." Closing her arms about her knees, she drew them
towards herself. "Is that what you came all the way over here to tell me?
That it's going to rain?" Casting Will another sidelong glance, she hoped
her somewhat transparent attempt at coaxing whatever was bothering him to the
surface wouldn't register as such with him. He didn't disappoint.
"Not exactly." This time it was he who sat up, pulling absently at a
nearby willow branch.
Troi regarded him mutely for several seconds. "You remembered." She
finally acknowledged, bending her legs half way behind her and freeing her arms.
He didn't reply. But then again, he didn't have to. His wordless nod was
confirmation enough.
"I wasn't sure you would." He admitted with emphasis, turning towards
her. "Did you want to talk about it?"
She shrugged. "Not really."
"Oh."
Her eyes turned towards him. "Did you?"
For a time, Riker seemed to contemplate. He shook his head as though exasperated
and somewhat confused at the same time. But then he smiled; a rueful, sardonic
sort of smirk which only further enhanced the sense of turmoil Deanna felt from
him.
"Yeah. Actually. I do, a little. I mean, I realize I'm not the best at
things like this. Sitting down and talking. But I want to. There's something I
want to say. It's been a few years now ... and maybe because of that, I don't
think it would hurt to talk a little bit. Would it?" His eyes followed hers
while she afforded him a thoughtful expression.
"Not that I'm looking for anything." He added quickly when he saw the
flash of surprise in her eyes. "Because I'm not. It's just this -- thing --
between us, it's a piece of the past that we've never really
discussed--never--" He frowned at his own inability to articulate.
"Resolved?" She offered, sitting up a little taller. Will felt her
presence brush against his thoughts. In that moment, he knew she was trying to
figure out where he was going with this line of logic. He had to smile at that.
Hell, if she could figure that part out for him, maybe she would be able to let
him in on her findings as well?
"Resolved." He affirmed. "I'd like to," he reiterated,
making it apparent that he was asking the question of her, as well as stating
his opinion on the subject, "after so many years."
"I suppose." Deanna smiled cautiously; curious at the tumbling foray
of emotion she felt from him. Her sense of him was suddenly so different, and
yet not. It was, she realized with interest, probably the first time in her
experience that she had managed to completely separate the young Will Riker she
once knew on Betazed, with the one who'd come to be her confidant and friend
throughout their careers together on board the Enterprise.
For him to let go this way; to compromise his absolute control over life; over
himself, was remarkable in and of itself. And yet it was honest, and a part of
her knew that she was witnessing a kind of truth which he had only begun to
offer her during the last several years of their friendship. Certainly, the
prideful young lieutenant he once had been would never have been willing to do
the same.
Had he matured? Relinquished his unwillingness to let down his guard with her,
finally and truly? Or was it her? Had she matured and come to be adept at
sifting through the moments, one at a time, so that she might sense a deeper
sort of truth in him; one which she was unable to reconcile all those years ago?
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she glanced down at the grass between
her fingertips, "we've both moved forward with our lives. And now we're
friends."
"The best of friends." Will added too quickly, but she nodded without
hesitation. A conspicuous moment of silence settled promptly between them and he
heard her clear her throat, softly.
"Well, it's not like I have it marked in my calendar or anything."
Deanna's voice became a whispered muse. She glanced at him and shrugged.
"I've gone a few years without recalling, quite frankly"
"Me too." He admitted.
"But then this morning," her eyes took on a far off expression.
"One of my patients informed me that she would be missing her next
appointment. She plans to take shore-leave on Risa. I think she only mentioned
it in passing, but when she left my office, I suddenly found myself thinking
about it."
"Today's the day." He nodded, and then asked, "how many years has
it been?" suddenly finding the grass she'd been looking at equally
fascinating.
"Fourteen." The promptness and accuracy of her response startled both
of them and for several moments Will merely stared at her; his face a careful
mask over what he felt.
"Fourteen." He finally repeated. His eyes moved upward; they scanned
the branches high above them before returning to her face. "You know, it's
beautiful here. I never realized,"
"What just happened?" Troi sat forward and folded her hands in her
lap, regarding him seriously. "You were going to say something and now
you're not, Will, I felt it. What are you afraid of?"
Riker met her serious expression with one of his own. He exhaled slowly.
"Deanna," he began, "I never did tell you the reason that
I--"
"Oh gods..." She froze where she sat. Her eyes grew large, her mouth,
slightly parted. "I can't believe this." Troi turned away from him,
shaking her head as though to illustrate her point.
"What happened on Risa, it wasn't what you thought. Not exactly." He
finished despite her comment, watching her press forward for balance as she rose
to her feet.
"You -- unimaginable--" Turning where she stood, she rounded on him.
"Why are you doing this *now*?"
"Why the hell not now, Deanna?" Riker hopped to his feet and faced
her. "Oh geez," he breathed, "you knew, didn't you?" His
accusation shattered her incredulous expression. "You knew!" This
time, it was he who turned away from her, shaking his head in disbelief.
"How could you have known and still made me think that-that--"
"Oh, don't you dare. Don't you *dare*!" She yelled back, both of their
voices rising well beyond the cadence of 'polite' discussion.
"Look at us!" He threw back at her. "We're fighting again. Why
can't we ever discuss this without fighting? It's *been* fourteen *years*!"
His voice berated both of them and he drew his hands upward, raking them back
through his hair.
Deanna stared mutely at him for several moments, her dark eyes filled with
anger, and then her gaze began to drop. Suddenly deflated, she sighed in
exasperation and began nodding. It was as though she were affirming some
unspoken truth.
"Maybe we should just leave this alone." She looked up and met his
eyes; her expression one of entreat. "It's in the past, Will. We're friends
now. We have a beautiful friendship and we've left this where it belongs. Back
there, in that other lifetime, not this one. It doesn't *have* to be here."
Her voice grew quiet.
"But you knew." He sounded hurt. Right now. He actually sounded -
hurt. She shut her eyes.
"I knew." With deliberate slowness, she moved toward the tree trunk of
the semil, leaning against the rough surface of the bark behind her. "I
wanted *you* to tell me, Will. I wanted you so desperately back then, and you
never came for me."
"I couldn't." Will moved to the opposite tree and pressed his back
against it, facing her directly.
She nodded. "I knew that too. And that was why. That was always the
reason."
"But if you knew," he began, "then you must also have known that
I would have been there that day. I wanted to be there, more than anything. I
would have married you, Deanna. A hundred times; a thousand. I've never loved
anyone in my life the way I loved you back then. When they classified that
mission," he trailed off, swallowing in order to regain his equilibrium.
"I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how I was supposed to respond to
them; to you, later on--"
"You don't have to explain." She interrupted softly, tucking some hair
behind her ear with a short and rueful sigh. "You know, I had to call in a
lot of favors to find out the truth." This time, she smiled at him, hoping
to ease his discomfort. "Or rather, my mother did. But the answers came,
all the same. And I understood them, Will. It took some time, but I *did*
understand. I want you to know that." Her eyes followed his from across the
short expanse between them. "And then I realized that it was for the best.
For both of us. I needed that time to find out who I was; what I was good at.
What I wanted to do. Until I knew that, I couldn't--"
"You should have told me." He rebuked, almost petulantly.
"You should have told *me*." She countered, pinning him with a direct
gaze.
A low rumble interrupted them both and they glanced simultaneously at the
'invisible' ceiling - high above their heads. It was covered by a canopy of
lush, green vegetation. At some point during their conversation, the arboretum
'sun' had set, transforming their surroundings from the orange tint of evening
into a silvery night time hue. But there was no mistaking the sound.
When their eyes fell back and met once more, both officers found themselves
almost smiling at the impromptu interruption. "Perhaps we were both waiting
for some form of divine intervention?" Deanna offered; trading a glance
between Will and the forest over their heads.
Riker afforded her a wry twist of the lips, unable to hold onto his anger. He
shrugged, and the tension between them broke neatly in two. "Well, I guess
that answers our question about the thunder, at any rate."
"I guess it does." She nodded, just as the first of the raindrops
began to fall. Another crackle exploded as a rolling boil over their heads, only
this time it seemed as though a sheet of brightness followed suit. No sooner had
the sound been born, than a floodgate of water found release, tumbling
torrentially upon their heads.
With an audible squeal, Deanna darted forward, seeking refuge under the larger,
more enveloping branches of the great willow opposite her. It was too late to
save her from a thorough soaking, however, and as Will hopped forward to pull
her nearer the centre of the tree's large root system, he too emerged dripping
from the encounter.
"We should get out of here!" Troi grinned at him, while droplets of
water continued to pelt lazily down upon them, finding an occasional entrance
through the foliage which covered their heads.
"You don't look like you mind all that much." Riker returned her
smile, picking gently at the damp fabric on her arms, then lifting a lock of her
wet hair between his fingers.
"I don't." She whispered animatedly. "Actually, it's been such a
long time since I've been in a rainstorm. Real rain, that is." The sky
exploded once more. "Real thunder!" She added, biting down
mischievously on her lip and glancing around them at the dripping jungle-garden.
"It's warm. Just like this, at home."
Riker watched her as she took in their surroundings, her expression one of awe,
almost as though she were a child. She backed away from him, and began turning
in a slow circle, her head tipped backward, gazing above them at the canopy of
leaves and branches which seemed to spiral ever upward into darkness.
"I remember." He tossed back; a little louder this time, since the
intensity of the rainstorm appeared to be increasing. She turned towards him,
standing in the full force of the storm, having ventured out beyond the shelter
of the willow. Water cascaded over her features, dousing the fabric of her
garment and causing her to draw her fingertips across her lips, wiping the
collected moisture away, for the moment.
"Me too." He saw her mouth the words, but couldn't hear her voice over
the constant hum of the storm. They stayed that way, staring mutely at one
another for an undetermined time until Deanna beckoned him forward, nodding
encouragingly at his raised eyebrow when he traded a glance between the
torrential rain above them and the Counselor herself.
"Scared of a little rain, are we, *Commander*?" She teased, shaking
her head at his dubious look. But then he grinned, and shrugged, and took three
giant steps forward into the downpour; standing before her in obvious defiance
of her jab.
Though Riker hadn't remained entirely sheltered, even beneath the willow, the
water which fell from the 'sky' above them now drenched him with diligent
thoroughness. His hair, his uniform, even his eyelashes dripped in the
onslaught.
Deanna laughed at him. "You are so predictable." She shook her head.
"Well you've apparently had over fourteen years to practice." He threw
back.
"I'm glad we didn't get married." She suddenly remarked, watching his
expression.
His gaze grew thoughtful and he pulled his hands back through his hair, swiping
soaking tendrils of it away from his face and eyes. "It would have been - a
mistake." He agreed. "Besides.. it made me realize that I could love
someone as desperately as I loved you, and yet, given time, even that kind of
love would fade, if necessary."
Deanna watched him speak, pulling her own hair back and tucking long, raven
tendrils of it behind each ear; she opened her mouth as though she too were
going to comment, but then she simply smiled. "Really? That's quite a
revelation."
"Well," he nodded, "time has a way of fixing things for us, even
when we can't."
"I suppose it does." Troi affirmed, still watching him in a manner
that made him feel as though she knew something he did not.
"What?" He finally asked. "Why are you looking at me like
that?"
"Like what?" She laughed.
"Like - like *that*!" He pointed at her, his finger dripping with
collected moisture as he did. "Like you did that night on Betazed when you
promised me we were performing a 'legitimate' psychological experiment." He
regarded her appraisingly. "You're beginning to worry me, Counselor."
"Sorry." She shrugged. "I honestly don't have any 'experiments'
in mind. I promise."
"Then there's something you're not telling me." He pressed, unwilling
to let the matter drop.
Finally, she sighed in mock exasperation. "Will!" Her voice was light.
"You're *lying* to an empath! Worse than that, you're lying - to me!"
She smiled. "I just think it's funny, that's all."
For several moments, he started at her, dumbly. And then he nodded slowly,
realizing his plight, and the fact that he had never been able to keep much of
anything important from her once he spoke of it. And perhaps that was what had
forced him to speak of it, today. "Funny?" He returned. "You
think it's funny? We're both standing out here like lunatics in a torrential
rainstorm," a bolt of thunder proclaimed itself, emphasising Riker's point,
"and you think my sincerity is what's funny?"
Rivers of warm rain continued to pour down over their bodies and Troi closed her
eyes, tipping her head back and allowing the water to wash over her face and
into her hair. "Yes." She answered, absently. "I love the rain
like this."
Will watched her for a time, still captivated by the innocence of her pleasure,
despite his earlier annoyance. "Well," he sighed. "I know it's
been -- a lot of years, but as I recall," her gaze turned back towards him
and his eyes dove into hers. "you actually preferred it, like this."
Bridging the distance between them, he pulled her into his arms and fastened his
mouth on hers. Accompanied by a gasp of surprise, he felt her lips fall open
beneath his; her body tumble forward, melting against him as a gentle moan
escaped her throat. But just as quickly she was pulling away from him; pressing
back against his chest with both hands. Their mouths separated with an audible
'pop' and she stared at him defiantly, her dark eyes filled with a storm even
greater than the one which raged above them.
"Don't you ever do that again, Will Riker." She growled, though it
seemed an odd contrast to the flush of her face, wet with rain, and the erratic
rhythm of her breathing as she struggled to recover her breath.
Riker swallowed, stepping away from her. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dea.
I-- god, I, can't believe I just--"
"Things have changed since then." She returned, placing her hands at
her sides. "Time has changed them, you said so yourself."
"You're right." He answered frankly.
"And neither of us feels the same way we used to." She took a step
towards him this time, but Will remained where he stood.
"It's been so long - I hardly even remember." He spoke, and she
continued in his direction until she stood face to face with him, their gazes
locked.
"Me neither." Deanna murmured, watching him for only a moment longer
before reaching up and curling her hand behind his neck. She pulled him forward
and drew his lips toward hers until they brushed together, gently at first,
tracing the outline of her mouth and then his; following the rivers of moisture
which dripped downward from their hair, and into their faces.
With an audible moan, she closed her mouth over his, devouring his lips with
sudden urgency. Her other hand drew up along the side of his body and tangled in
the back of his wet hair; her fingers sliding easily through the thick, dark,
resistance she encountered.
She tasted of rain. Warm and sweet, her mouth opened beneath his own as their
kiss grew deeper by the moment. With his senses still reeling from the
familiarity of her embrace, Riker drew his arms around her body, placing one
hand behind her head, the other pressed against the thin, gauzy material in the
small of her back. The dripping fabric clung to her features like a glove,
allowing him access to every part of her at once, concealing nothing from the
warmth of his touch.
Without coherent thought, the urgency of each moment became an unbearable need,
and Riker felt her gentle, telepathic entreat. Swallowing the heated lump in his
throat, he allowed their kiss to break off and he met her gaze in the instant
before he opened his mind to her.
The darkness of her eyes seemed to grow, the way it always did, enveloping him
within the unbearably fulfilling reality of her; everywhere at once. He gasped
at the familiarity of the sensation; nearly wept for the joy of feeling it again
once more, after so many years. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it;
hadn't considered that she might remember its power far more keenly than he. And
so he met her half way, combining the mental presence she had taught him with a
physical reminder of his need, his desire.
It was then that he realized she was crying. Through the torrent of rain, though
the teardrops in her eyes were washed away by new moisture every moment, he
could feel the emotion, deep within her. He could sense it, and he reached out
automatically, placing his hands on either side of her face, brushing
inadequately at the rivers of wetness which were far more a cause of the rain
than of her own making. Unable to complete his task, Riker tucked a lock of hair
behind her ear and traced the edge of her face with his hands before leaning
forward. He kissed her once more, drew her forth into his arms and plundered her
mouth with needful passion.
When neither of them could hold their breath for even a moment longer, the kiss
broke off, somewhat more gently than the first time. Breathing quickly, Will
drew his fingers through her hair from behind, enjoying the sensation of it,
warm and wet. Deanna lay her forehead head against his chest, her arms relaxed
around his neck.
"I love the rain like this." She repeated, turning her head so that
her ear might press against his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat,
strong and fast.
"I prefer it like this." He drew his arms around her as far as they'd
go, pulling her flush with his body. Riker glanced down at her, watching as she
shifted so that she might meet see his eyes.
"It seems you were right, after all." She smiled up at him. "Time
does have way of fixing things for us, even when we can't."
"Too much time..." He returned with an audible breath, threading his
fingers through her hair.
"Do you really think so? Are you still disappointed that we didn't get
married all those years ago?" She asked, tipping her head to place the
whisper of a kiss across his lips. When he sighed and shut his eyes; obviously
distracted, she had to smile.
"In a way," he finally answered, "I think I would have missed my
best friend." He reopened his eyes and nearly drowned in hers.
"Falling in love with my *best* friend. Do you have any idea how incredible
that feels?" He whispered teasingly, holding her close.
"I think I can imagine." She countered, inviting his kiss another
time. It was a task he proved to be very adept at. But Deanna suddenly shivered,
even with the warmth of his arms around her.
Breaking contact for the moment, Riker drew his hands slowly along her body.
"I think it really is about time for us to get out of here, don't you? It
would be disappointing if you were sick. After all, it *is* our
anniversary." He grinned. She laughed.
"Your cabin or mine?" Her voice was soft and she brushed her lips
invitingly along the edge of his collarbone.
"Does it matter?" He murmured on a sharp exhale.
"Not to me." She bit him just below the neck and he groaned softly.
The rain suddenly took a turn for the harsher, falling with an intensity that
mirrored the closeness of their lover's embrace. Riker found himself grinning.
"Divine intervention?" He repeated from earlier, watching Troi's
answering smile grow wide.
"Computer," she called out. "Two for internal transport, site to
site. Authorization Troi, delta five. Deck nine, cabin nine-ten.
={Acknowledged}= The computer intoned.
Just as the prickle of transport began to surround them, Will felt the warm
caress of her voice inside his mind. It followed her hands where they wound
around his neck. He 'listened' for a moment, and then his eyes grew wide.
"Our cabin?" He mouthed the words, but the transporter beam had
already taken hold of their proximal bodies. Bathed in a warm, glowing light,
they shimmered and vanished without a trace; leaving behind their perfect storm;
a downpour which raged on, in prefect solitude.
[THE END]