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Most of the time Will Riker loved his job. He grew up fascinated with the idea of a career in Starfleet, with strong ambitions of captaining his own ship. And that was still a future goal. Over the years, the past few in particular, he had the opportunity to see so many things, meet so many new people and beings, and explore more places than the kid shivering in a puffer jacket on Alaska nights could’ve ever imagined.
Despite all the best intentions, they had blundered their way into a mess, now at full stop while they considered the new radiation signatures and the implication of what amounted to a space baby. And the captain was still feeling guilt over his decision that had saved them all from death by radiation at the expense of the adult lifeform. Privately, Will felt the whole thing could’ve been avoided with raising the shields, even though Deanna had pointed out that everything had been consistent with procedures.
It wasn’t lost on Will how often life and death is in their hands. His and the captain’s. The senior staffs’.
Of course, Deanna wants to help. While she has become a master of the mind and her field of psychology, she has a big heart. And a soft spot for orphaned things. He should know that better than anyone.
And he wasn’t surprised that Worf was against further action altogether. Protective to a fault. Will had to admit that the Klingon officer made a valid point– there was no telling what the baby might be capable of. But he knew they had a duty to salvage what could be saved. The Prime Directive demanded some attempt at restitution.
In moments, it was decided, and they were breaking their council, but Will caught Deanna’s arm gently. “Hang back a minute.” Worf’s comment about posing risks was at the forefront of his thoughts. While he knew Deanna would speak up if she could sense ill intentions, he didn’t like the echo of a similar council regarding another developing baby a few years ago.
He nearly wished that he hadn’t asked her for a moment because as soon as her eyes met his, her smile faltered. Brows furrowed, picking up on his concern.
Mercifully, Captain Picard and Worf hadn’t really taken any notice and were already passing through the portal to the bridge. Beverly turned back at the opposite door and paused. Sharp eyes took in the scene, and she started to open her mouth to say something.
Will gave a half shake, though he had no idea what he was going to say. That it was personal. That he needed to talk to Deanna. Whatever he had been trying to convey in that gesture, Beverly glanced to the counselor. “Everything alright?”
“We’ll check in with you later if it’s not,” Will assured, finding words at last. His gaze followed her until the door was closed, giving them privacy.
“Are you alright?” Deanna peered up at him, head tilted as she watched him closely. Her hand reached for his arms. “Will?”
He shook his head slightly as if to clear it. “I… I’m okay. I just… I wanted to check in with you.”
“Me?”
Will let her take his right hand, his other hand waving vaguely toward the ports. “Space entity. Mysterious baby about to be born with Worf concerned about the safety of the ship and believing it to be a threat…”
Understanding reached her eyes, and she took a short breath. “Ian,” she murmured.
“I didn’t know if it… I dunno… bothered you. If you were okay.” He wasn’t surprised when she released his hand and wandered toward the port and looked out for several long moments, staring into the middle distance. The … thing wasn’t visible from here. “Or… if I just made it worse?”
She turned now, dark eyes clouded with emotion. “You didn’t… I mean, I hadn’t… But…”
“Shit, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he flushed and ran his hand through his hair. She hadn’t made the connection. It hadn’t even been a connection for her. And now he had unearthed this whole–
“ Imzadi ?” In the midst of his spiral, she had returned to him. Deanna reached up slowly, cupping his face and urging him down. Her lips pressed softly to his; a kiss of assurance that was far briefer than he would have liked. “You haven’t upset me,” she promised quietly. “I do think this has been upsetting for you, though.”
It shouldn’t have surprised him to realize she was right. And there was no point in denying it because she knew the truth. She always did when it came to him. “Yeah,” he breathed.
“Come here,” she murmured, offering up a soft smile when he stepped forward. Her arms wrapped around him, and she let her head rest against his chest as he hugged her close.
Will dropped a kiss into her hair and ran a palm over her back before giving another deep hug that lasted through several deep breaths. “Captain’ll probably be looking for me,” he sighed.
“Treat me to chocolate ice cream when this is all over?”
“With extra chocolate chips,” he vowed.
“Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips,” Will announced, setting the dish in front of Deanna while settling his drink on the table between them.
“Thank you,” she murmured, immediately reaching for the spoon and beginning to mix the ingredients more thoroughly. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“I see where I rank,” he murmured dryly, though Will knew better than to take her deep affinity for chocolate personally. In fact, it was sometimes fun to indulge her, to watch her enjoy something so completely. After all, she returned the favor when it came to his trombone and jazz music.
She smiled as she dragged the spoon around the dish, artfully scraping up a small bite. Deanna examined it and gave it a coy nod before parting her lips and taking a bite. Her eyes slid shut, and she gave a soft murmur of approval.
“Tease,” he huffed, though he wasn’t put out. He gently swirled his own drink in its glass and took a slow sip of synthehol.
Dark eyes opened slowly, and she gave him a wink before frowning slightly. Deanna turned, following his gaze to where Geordi sat near the large ports. “What is it?”
Will glanced surreptitiously around Ten Forward before dropping his voice. “There was an… incident.”
“With Geordi?” she questioned, clearly not understanding.
“One of the ensigns mentioned it. There was, ah, a holodeck incident.”
“Is he alright?”
Will shook his head slightly. “Not that kind of incident.” Shifting in his seat, he rubbed a hand over his beard and debated if this was the time and place for this conversation. He should’ve waited until they were somewhere more private. Not that they didn’t regularly work on all sorts of crew issues in Ten Forward, in an effort to keep work out of their quarters. At the very least, they had agreed a while back to keep work out of the bedroom.
“Will?”
“More of the Barclay variety of incident,” he sighed, wincing a little at the quick series of emotions in her expression before she straightened and cleared her throat.
“Not… he didn’t… it wasn’t me, was it?”
“No,” Will quickly clarified. “Ah, Dr. Brahms. I have it marked to review tomorrow. The doctor was, understandably, upset.”
She set down her spoon at that and leaned back slightly in her seat. “I’m all for healthy outlets, and I don’t like the idea of putting restrictions on the holodeck… but…”
“It’s inappropriate at a certain point,” he muttered, leaning back in his chair and wishing he hadn’t said anything. It had been a long day. They were all tired, and bringing it up here, in a semi-public place. He was botching things right and left, it seemed.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Guinan knows something, too,” she sighed.
“Guinan always knows things.”
“True.” She toyed with her napkin, twisting one corner idly. “It’s… sort of an invasion. To have your likeness used like that, without consent. In the grand scheme, I can see the appeal for Barclay. But it isn’t something I would’ve expected from Geordi. It… changes how I see him.”
“I’m going to meet with him tomorrow,” Will decided. “And then I’ll be reviewing some of our holodeck policies with the captain. Would you take a look at what I put together?”
“Yes. It’s not good for the work environment. There’s no avoiding people in a starship, at least not easily.”
He nodded and gestured toward the dish she had abandoned. “Done with your ice cream?” Will hated that the topic seemed to have put an end to her appetite. More than that, to a rare moment of pure enjoyment in a day that had been stressful.
Deanna offered a rueful smile. “Too much of a good thing.”