Chapter Text
Will Riker has missed Deanna, and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. He had asked her if she wanted him to go with her to the class reunion, but she’d thought it over and said no. Followed by a handful of reasons why it wasn’t really great timing, and besides they were going away in a few more weeks for holiday. And he’d asked once more, the morning she was leaving, and she tilted her head and given him an indulgent smile and a soft kiss before turning him down. It had been a noble gesture, because he knew that she knew it would have been almost impossible to change plans at the last moment.
Almost a full week, and he missed the smell of her hair when she snuggled against him at night. He missed the care she took to tend to the orchids scattered around their lounge– and he’d remembered to water them twice and almost asked Data to do it for fear of over watering and killing the things. And he missed unwinding in Ten Forward with her, and it was evident enough that Guinan had sent his synthehol over with an extra snack. When he’d turned to glance her way, the bartender shrugged and gave him a half smile.
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been able to talk, but the reunion schedule was different from his, so most of it had been messages– brief, longing, a few flirtatious. And there had been a few subspace calls, one of which came through as he was about to go to bed. It was after the celebration dinner, and she had appeared on his screen just tipped into drunk, soft and drowsy but missing him and full of promise of their own reunion when she returned. He’d laughed, teased her, and reluctantly signed off a while later after making sure she drank a cup of water before they said goodnight.
He knew it was going to be late when she got back. But then her shuttle had been delayed, and for a long moment he’d panicked, remembering a handful of years ago when she was coming back from a conference, crashed onto a planet, and he’d finally got her back again but injured and they’d lost Yar. So he’d planned to stay up, but somehow had fallen asleep while reviewing reports in their lounge.
It was worth it to wake to a gentle hand stroking his cheek and that sunny smile beaming down at him. “Good morning,” Deanna murmured, fingers trailing through his hair as she leaned down for a long kiss.
“Mmmm,” he murmured, arms sliding around her and starting to pull her toward him.
But she pulled back with a soft shake of her head. “I’m not sleeping on the couch. I’ve missed you and our bed. Remember, our bed? The reason why we finally moved in together?” Somewhere along the way, they’d grown tired of cramming themselves into either of their single beds. And while they could’ve requested larger beds, it was silly to have two when they were so often sharing one anyway.
Will let her pull him to his feet, and he wrapped her up in a hug as they tumbled into their bed, and he soaked up the joy of having her back and made sure she knew exactly how much she had been missed.
In retrospect, Will thought that maybe he should have seen this request coming. The Bridge Officer’s Test. It had taken her only one working day after her return to drop that surprise on him. And Will considered that some of his pause was simply taking some time to consider why she’d taken so long to bring it up. Two years. Part of him wondered if he’d inadvertently kept her from this? She’d never expressed any specific interest in command, but as First Officer he was supposed to be helping his staff develop their skills and offering opportunities.
He meant it when he said that she had his full support. He knew, better than anyone, that Deanna Troi was determined, and she was a good student. She’d accelerated her way through Starfleet and completed her counseling education at the top of her class. Some might dismiss her role as ship’s counselor or think that her mother’s connections had helped her, but they would be wrong. She was counselor on the Starfleet flagship, senior staff, and the forefront diplomatic officer for a reason. Positions she had earned.
But as they rose the morning of her promised test, Will had wondered fleetingly if there was someone else that should have administered this test. He’d thought this over a few times. Data was currently off the ship, and the Second Officer would’ve been the only other logical choice. Everything would be recorded anyway, a standard precaution to ensure fairness.
When they had entered the holodeck at zero eight hundred, she’d flashed a determined smile at him and walked confidently into the room. The test would be randomized, both in terms of any number of situations that would appear and also the order of the sections that would be presented.
First Contact had queued itself up first, and watching Deanna handle both it and Diplomatic Law was almost like watching a master class. With a bit more time on Enterprise under her belt to solidify her experiences, she could teach at the academy. Not that it surprised him. He knew those would be her stronger points. Bridge Operations was a bit trickier, and he tried very hard to keep his emotions blocked when he saw what the qualifications had in store for her.
It had taken her longer than the others, but the timing and pacing didn't matter. Yes, decisions had a timeliness, but she was doing well. Deanna had worked her way steadily through it– piece by piece, thinking through the situation and relying on what she’d seen and experienced hundreds of times. What’s more, Will realized that she not only knew what to do during standard and less-than-standard situations, but her empathic abilities had helped her to understand a good deal of the why behind those decisions.
And then it had been time for engineering. He’d nearly held his breath for the first moments. Because while The Decision presented itself in every officer’s test, it varied when and where the potential bridge officer would have to make the decision. The one he and every other good officer adamantly hated. The one that, were the situation real, meant saying goodbye to a colleague and sometimes a friend. His gaze fell on her. Or more a love.
She was concentrating so hard on the situation at hand that she was missing the point. Which was understandable, since engineering had never been her area. She was fluent in quite a few languages and could carry functional conversation in several more… but the complexities of engineering took so much focus and energy that …
Everything flashed, and in a moment they were both in an empty deck, returned to black walls with gold grid overlay. “Congratulations, you just destroyed the Enterprise .” He’d hated that he said it before the words finished leaving his mouth, but if ever there was a moment for tough love, this was it. He found himself alternately trying to encourage her, while also trying to convey the seriousness of this.
He should’ve asked Picard to run the test. Maybe he was too close to this situation. Will was trying so hard to be impartial, and it was crumbling around him. He could feel her frustration rising, and it took all of his focus not to let any hints slip. Bridge Officers were responsible for the thousands of souls on board. And, in a sense, the whole fleet since they represented the flagship.
By the end of it, she looked like she wanted to punch him. And Will almost wished she would do it– just to get out her anger and let this blow over. She would never hit him, but the tension was building, and he’d lived with so much tension with his father…
Part of him wanted to tell her. Wished he could make this easier… And he knew how persistent Deanna could be. How frustrated she was feeling. So he figured he was doing them both a favor when he turned and left the holodeck.
She wanted to start the test again by the afternoon, but Deanna Troi had two counseling appointments scheduled, and she knew that she needed more time to study up on the engineering procedures and emergency containment. Upon later reflection, she knew that neither session was her best. Which hadn’t helped her mood or focus.
Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon it occurred to her that she’d missed lunch, so she had punched a salad order into the replicator and used the remainder of the afternoon to hole up in her office and pour through manuals on her padd until her head was practically swimming. With a sigh, she finally pushed aside everything and folded her arms on her desk before her burying her face into the hollow she’d created.
Why was she doing this? She hadn’t been lying when she told Will that she had thought about this for two years– but Deanna did wish she’d talked to him about it more, or more than she had, before deciding to do this.
The Welcome Party was ramping up into full swing by the time Deanna had entered the venue. She’d taken longer to get ready than she had planned, but then again, her shuttle had been one of the last to arrive. And not long after arriving she’d seen the update from the class committee letting her know that her roommate wouldn’t be making it. Somewhere in the last few years, Mallory Wilder had left Starfleet and made herself increasingly incommunicative. She’d always been quiet but had been efficient at her work with a strength in navigation. But she hadn’t kept in touch.
Everyone who had shown up was at least a drink in and busy with cocktails when Deanna snagged a Sumerian sunrise and began strolling through the groups. She sensed the curiosity, some tendrils of jealousy, excitement, and those who were guarded and hoping no one would know… And she sensed she was the attention of a few more people than she’d expected.
It hadn’t been a secret that she was Lwaxana Troi’s daughter, but she didn’t talk much about that or the Houses of Betazed and their politics. She had been focused on her chosen field, pouring herself faithfully into psychology and its microcosms. But whispers followed, and she sensed jealousy directed her way from one particular table. And caught fragments of the conversation.
“Heard she bunked up with the First Officer…”
Deanna’s jaw had set, and she’d continued on, only the slight straightening of her back might have given away that she’d overheard it. Rumors about her and Will had floated around Enterprise long before they had actually reconnected. And all through their time caring for Jake and Willie Potts. She made a mental note to send the boys a long overdue communique when she was back.
No, she wasn’t going to let this ruin her trip. She’d worked hard. Earned her positions, which had nothing to do with Will and his role as First Officer. Besides, they had disclosed their relationship to Captain Picard and to Starfleet several years ago when they decided to rekindle things. She wasn’t doing anything wrong or unethical. And so she strode past the table and joined a group that she remembered from her pre-med track– a handful of science officers– and exchanged warm greetings.
She needed a little space and to meditate and to sleep, that was all. Deanna took a slow breath and finally pushed herself up. Alright, maybe she could use a good stretch, too. A glance to her padd as she shut it down told her that she’d been sitting there for several hours now. It had been a full day, and travel was always a bit tiring. The test had been challenging– it was designed to be difficult. But it wasn’t anything she couldn’t conquer.