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Captain and Mrs. William Riker made their way out of the chapel in order to thank their guests for attending their wedding. The first person to greet them was Dr. Beverly Crusher, Deanna’s maid of honor.

“So how do you feel now that the hard part is over?” She asked Deanna.

Deanna gave her a smile. “Very funny, Beverly.”

Crusher shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a legitimate question. You were so nervous before the ceremony; I thought you were going to wear a hole through the floor.”

Will looked down at Deanna and smiled. “You were nervous?”

“Honestly.” Deanna replied. “It is perfectly normal for a bride to be a little anxious. I’ve seen it quite often with my line of work.”

Riker shook his head. “If I know you, you were probably trying to council yourself through it, too.”

Crusher laughed at that one. “That would be a bit of an understatement Will.” She managed to say through the giggling.

At that moment, an old friend came up to them. “I have your two hundred credits, if you want them, Captain,” Mark Roper said.

Will looked at him bewildered. “What two hundred credits?”

“Come now, surely you remember our little bet?” Roper said and then turned to Deanna. “Congratulations, Mrs. Riker.” He said and kissed her hand. “You made a very beautiful bride.”

“Thank you, Mr. Roper.” Deanna said and turned to Will. “What kind of bet did you make?”

“I don’t remember.” Will said.

Mark Roper let out a guffaw. “Now, now. Don’t let him fool you. He knows exactly what I’m talking about.” Roper turned to Will again. “However, if you want to feign ignorance, maybe this will jog your memory. ‘Pure as driven snow’.”

At that Will took a large gasp of air. “Oh that.”

“Oh that.” Roper replied and doubled over with laughter.

Dr. Crusher was watching the entire exchange and it dawned on her what the wager was about when Roper couldn’t stop laughing and Riker’s face started to turn beet red. “You bet on whether or not you could bed Deanna.” She blurted.

Deanna turned on Will “What!”

Will looked at Deanna. “It really wasn’t like that at all.”

“Oh no?” Deanna asked. “Then why don’t you tell me what the wager was exactly.”

Riker gave Roper a look of annoyance to which Mark simply shrugged his shoulders and returned an innocent puppy-eyed stare. “I wasn’t the one who suggested the wager,” Roper replied.

However, Will was saved from coming up with an explanation by Data joining the group.

“Counselor, you sounded upset. This is your wedding. You are suppose to be happy; are you not?” Data inquired.

Beverly couldn’t help but laugh and then took the liberty of answering. “She’s angry that Will wagered on whether or not he could pluck her cherry.”

“Beverly” Deanna started but stopped as Data looked around in confusion.

“I was unaware Betazed had any cherry trees, and I did not see any cherries garnishing the banquet tables, either.” He said and looked even more bewildered when his profession made the four people included in this conversation go into hysterics.

Beverly calmed herself down enough to explain themselves. “To pluck one’s cherry is an old Terran term that’s used…”

Deanna took in a deep breath to stop her laughing. “Beverly don’t you dare.” She warned.

Beverly gave Data an apologetic stare. “Sorry, Data. I’m sure someone else can explain it to you.”

At that, Data gave his companions a curious stare and went off to find Geordi. Perhaps he would be able to explain how Captain Riker ‘plucked a cherry’ that did not exist; Data thought.

Meanwhile, Counselor Troi turned to her husband and fixed him with a fiery glare. “About those two hundred credits, Will?”

Captain Riker was again faced with coming up with an explanation. He was definitely going to make Roper pay for this. “Mark knew I was infatuated with you and also knew you…”

Roper shook his head and laughed. “Infatuated? Try head over heels, no returning, in love, Captain.”

Will turned a fiery glare on Roper. “Alright, I was in love, but you didn’t think Deanna would ever return it. And I do believe that is where the wager came in. You figured it would be an easy one hundred credits, because a daughter of the fifth house would never lower…”

Troi turned her fiery glare on Roper now, as well. “Lower? Gods, Mark you and my mother were in cahoots together; weren’t you?”

Roper gave Deanna a smile. “We may have had a conversation about Will’s and your relationship. After all we were both raising daughters as single parents.”

Deanna looked at Mark in disbelief. “Both Wendy and I were in our twenties, Mark. I think you and my mother were done with raising us.”

At this Beverly broke into the conversation again. “You were a virgin for that long?”

Troi turned to her maid of honor and chuckled. “Is there something wrong with that.”

Crusher shook her head. “No. What’s wrong is the fact that you never confided to your best friend the details of your first time and who it was.”

“Well neither did you, Beverly.”

“Yes I did. Remember when I told you about the torrid love affair I had before meeting Jack?”

Mrs. Riker let out another chuckle. “You didn’t say it was your first love affair, and if you’re going by that, I gave you plenty of clues Will was my first…”

Captain Riker took a hold of his wife’s arm. “I do believe we have other guests to see before this reception ends.”

Deanna looked up at her husband and smiled. “Talking about our love life makes you uncomfortable, and yet you made a wager on it 18 years ago.”

Will looked down at Deanna and smiled. “A wager I lost,” he said and lost himself in the dark pools of her eyes.

On purpose; Deanna placed in his mind and saw her husband’s eyes twinkle with mirth.

“Can I help it if I don’t like to kiss and tell?” Will asked.

Mark Roper shook his head. “Always the gentleman, hey. Even at the cost of one hundred credits.” Roper gave the couple a smile. “Definitely head over heels.” He leaned over and gave Deanna a kiss on the cheek. “You’re very lucky, Mrs. Riker. Don’t worry my gift more than makes up for the two hundred credits.” Roper whispered in her ear. Then he shook Riker’s hand. “Congratulations, Captain. I do not believe I have seen a more handsome couple.”

“Thank you, Mark.” Will replied. And then their old friend went off to join the other guests at the reception.

Dr. Crusher let out a disappointed sigh. “Well I’d like to hear more on the bride and groom’s first encounter; but I wouldn’t be doing my job as the maid of honor, if I didn’t make sure you greeted all your guests.”

Deanna gave her friend a smile and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I’m sure we’ll find time to talk about it before this night is over.” She glanced over at Will who still had her arm entwined with his. “We just have to figure out how to ditch the groom for about half an hour.”

Beverly returned Deanna’s smile and the three of them started to walk towards the rest of the guests. “I’m going to miss our daily confabs, you know.”

Will released his wife’s arm and broke into the middle of the two women. “Yeah me too.” Then he gave them both a smile. “But if you think I’m going to let my wife out of my view for even one second this evening, you’re sorely mistaken.” And with that the wedding party intermingled with the crowd.