Attraction: Too Hard to Ignore

Chaos was the normal state of affairs for DS9 lately. Ever since the arrival of the injured from the Destiny, DS9 had become overrun with Starfleet personnel. It was hard to glance anywhere without seeing a uniform with a Starfleet insignia attached to it. The only person in the place happy with the insurgence of people was Quark. He served drinks, served dinners, made holosuite reservations, played Da’Bo, and instituted shady deals while no one was looking. Granted, he cared about what had happened to bring these people to the station, but even the threat of a war did little to worry him. The Federation had survived the Dominion. They could survive a minor skirmish with the Romulans.

Starfleet, however, did not view this attack as a minor skirmish. They had lost several officers on the Destiny and had many, many more injured. Some were still in danger of losing their lives. Starfleet felt particular pressure to answer the Romulans because of one of the injured officers. Admiral William Riker’s daughter, the second officer of the ship, was among the most gravely injured wounded.

She and the first officer had nearly lost their lives, and they had been one of the last found alive. Between the pressure Starfleet felt from him, combined with the pressure they were receiving from other officers’ families, and the public at large, Starfleet was facing a public relations nightmare. Their best of the best had been put on a special task force to root out the Romulans and the cause of the attack. None of this sat well with any of the families or the fellow officers. They wanted a response, and they wanted it immediately. None wanted punishment to fall to the Romulans more than Will Riker and his wife, and yet none understood the need to wait and figure things out more than those two Starfleet officers. Yet, they wanted vengeance for their daughter.

Their daughter lay in the ICU of DS9’s medically advanced Sickbay. She was pale, unmoving, parts of her skin still a brilliant pink where the tissue was replaced and still unconscious. In the curtain next door lay the man she had been found with and his condition was no different from hers. If anything, his condition was worse. His injuries certainly had been more severe than hers. Although, they had been found laying side by side in the turbolift, his injuries suggested he had not been unconscious as Marissa Riker had been, but instead he had been fully conscious and protected Marissa as much as he could with his body. Many of his bones had been shattered and needed regeneration. Several of his organs had suffered severe trauma, including his brain. For his own initial survival, he had been placed in a medically induced coma, but now, the coma was not medically induced, nor was Marissa Riker’s.

The doctors were particularly concerned with her. This was not her first coma, but her second, and with very similar injuries. It took two doctors, working for hours, on both Jeyelar and Marissa to save their lives. Sadly, they had not been able to save the life of the Destiny’s captain, Douglas Raymer. He had died within hours of their transport to DS9. The doctors knew they had to do their best to save Jeyelar or Marissa, and preferably both of them.

One point Marissa had in her favor was her Betazoid mother and her ex-husband. Neither had left her side for any estimable amount of time since her arrival. Her ex-husband looked haggard. He had spent hours by her side, holding her hand, and using his tenuous link with her to keep her alive. Her mother had intensified their link as best she could to make them stronger. A deep anger fueled Chris’ attempts to keep her alive, and Deanna could not tap the source of that anger, nor would Chris share it with her.

It was late in the day when Deanna showed up in Sickbay to relive her ex son-in-law. She stood in the doorway, unnoticed, watching him talk quietly to her daughter the same way he had many years ago when she had nearly been killed in another attack. She sensed someone walk up behind her and sighed with turning around. "There’s no change, is there, Julian?" She asked the doctor.

"No," he replied in his faintly accented, quiet voice. "She’s still alive, though, and that’s a miracle, Deanna."

"But, she’s not awake, and everyday she stays in that coma the less her chances are of coming out of it," Deanna said, knowing enough about medicine to make that diagnosis.

"We’re doing everything we can," he told her uselessly.

"I know. Where’s Beverly?" Deanna finally turned around to face the handsome doctor.

"Off duty. I sent her to my quarters with strict orders to not return unless paged. It was my turn to be on duty and she knew it."

"You know that won’t make a difference." Deanna’s eyes slightly twinkled.

"That’s why I paged Ezri the second Beverly left and told her to not let Beverly leave once she gets to our quarters."

Deanna shook her head and looked away with a smile. "She should return to Starfleet Medical, you know? There’s nothing she can do here that you can’t do."

"But, she won’t leave, and you know that," Julian added softly, looking over her shoulder at Christopher. "Have you talked to him, yet?" Deanna shook her head and turned back to see her son-in-law.

"No, and I still have no explanation why he’s so angry with her. He wasn’t this angry about her leaving or even the divorce. Something else brought this on, Julian."

"Does he know she was found with Commander Darre?"

Deanna nodded her head and leaned it against the doorframe. "Yes, but why would that make a difference? They were found in a turbolift together."

"Holding hands, no less," Julian reminded her.

Shrugging, Deanna said, "I don’t see the difference. From what I’ve heard of Marissa’s personal logs, they were friends."

Briefly, Julian struggled with a decision. Giving in, he motioned for Deanna to follow him to his office. "Normally, I wouldn’t show this to anyone. I would consider it private, but I think it might tell you why Christopher is so angry with Marissa, and why he’s so intent on keeping her alive." He punched in a few codes to the terminal and pulled up Marissa’s records. "This evaluation was completed a few minutes after she was brought into Sickbay. It’s worth looking at, Deanna."

He moved away from his station and allowed her to sit at his desk to access the terminal. She quickly skimmed it, shuddering as she read through the laundry list of injuries to her only child, until she came to one intriguing notation. Her eyes raised to Julian’s. "This is impossible."

"Only it’s not, Deanna. We double checked the results, and we did everything we could, but a pregnancy only a few hours old could not be salvaged in light of her injuries."

"Only a few hours old," Deanna mused. She shook her head and lowered her forehead to her fingertips. "So, she was having an affair. Do you know who?"

"Commander Darre," Julian said, leaning his hip on the desk.

"And, Chris knows," she said with a sigh. "Of course he would know. He probably felt it."

"Felt it? You mean them?" Julian raised his eyebrows.

"If he didn’t feel it, he most likely had images of them together. That explains the anger."

"Are you going to confront him about it?"

Deanna shook her head. "Not right now. Maybe not ever. It’s not my business," she said. "If my divorced daughter chooses to have sex with someone else, that’s her choice. Her ex-husband will have to learn to live with the fact that he’s not the only man in her life anymore."

"That’s fatalistic."

"Come now, Julian, surely you realize that if you and Ezri were to divorce, she would be free to have sex with anyone she chose." Deanna smiled at the look of horror that briefly crossed his face as he considered his wife sleeping with someone else. Then, he suddenly smiled broadly and said, "My wife has slept with many, many other people. Men and women."

"Technicality, Julian," Deanna said. "Your wife is a Trill. You can’t expect her to be pristine unless her symbiont is brand new."

"Still…I think I’d want to talk about it, if I were in Chris’ shoes, Deanna. And, if I chose a person to talk to, it would be you."

Deanna chuckled as she rose to her feet. "Thank you, Julian. It’s nice to know that when all else fails you’ll always have your charm," she said, patting him on the shoulder and then passing him on her way back to her daughter’s room.

Before she could enter the room, something stopped her and she walked down one door. Looking inside, she saw the man, who had most likely saved her daughter’s life, that her daughter evidently had feelings for, and she felt the briefest pang of sympathy for him. Without asking anyone, she walked into his room and sat down at the chair beside his bed. "So, Commander Darre, you were almost a father. Did you know that?" Deanna propped her head up on her elbows. "You’re fully Betazoid. You must have known it. You must have felt it happen. Did you tell my daughter? What were you going to do? You realize my husband and her ex-husband would hunt you down." A smile graced Deanna’s lips. This was one secret she would *never* share with William T. Riker.

Looking down at the man, she saw what would have made her daughter forget her Imzadi and throw caution to the winds. He was handsome, that was undeniable. His skin showed pink in places where tissue had been replaced to heal his wounds, his face was still severely bruised, but it did nothing to disguise his handsome features. He was strong. She could tell that by looking at him, and she knew he would hold a fascination for her daughter being fully Betazoid. Marissa had limited experience with full telepaths outside of her grandmother, for Marissa had never spent too much time on Betazed. Deanna closed her eyes for a moment and nudged her way into Jeyelar’s mind. Then, she thought to him, Thank you. You saved my daughter, and we both know it. I owe you her life, and for that, her father and I will always be in your debt. Now, I must ask another favor of you. You must not give in and slip away. I don’t know really who you are, and I know nothing of you family, but I know you must be a wonderful man for my daughter to care about you so. Then, Deanna opened her eyes, briefly reached for Jeyelar’s hand and squeezed it before she left his room and went next door.

"Chris," Deanna said softly. "Go to your quarters and eat or sleep. Go do something. You need a break. Let me take over for awhile."

"I can’t," he said, distractedly. "I’m still linked to her."

"Fine. I’ll link with her for awhile. Please take care of yourself." Deanna walked over and placed a hand between the young man’s shoulder blades. "You can’t do this all on your own. I know you want to, and we all admire you for it, but don’t put yourself in danger."

"I’m not leaving," he said tightly. "The second I do she’ll either wake up or die, and I refuse to let her die, but I also refuse to let her wake up without me being here."

"Why?" Deanna asked, moving away from Chris to the other side of her daughter’s bed where she sat down in a comfortably padded chair.

"Because she’s my wife."

"Ex-wife," Deanna reminded him gently. "This has nothing to do with whether or not you love my daughter, Chris. This has everything to do with the anger you feel towards her."

"I’m not angry," he lied, lying for the first time to Deanna.

A fruitless lie which brought a smile to her face as she laughed lightly. "Don’t lie to empaths, Chris. It’ll eventually get you in trouble. Now, tell me what it is, or shall I guess?"

"You can’t guess this."

"Oh, can’t I?" She crooked an eyebrow at Christopher. "Does this have anything to do with who Marissa was found in the turbolift with?"

No answer came from Chris, but the tightening of his mouth and the shift in his emotions were more than enough answer for her. "Chris, she’s not your wife, anymore," Deanna said in a very soft, very gentle voice. "I know that’s hard to understand or separate, but you have to accept that."

"I still love her, Deanna," he said in a choked voice.

"I know, and she still loves you."

"If she did, then how dare she do this!"

"Get hurt? Chris, this was not her fault."

Chris shot Deanna an incredulous glance. "I’m not talking about her getting hurt, I’m talking about what she did with him."

"Ride the turbolift with him?" Deanna knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but she did so on purpose. She knew he had to say the words aloud for his anger to culminate.

"No. She slept with him, Deanna!" Chris finally spit out. "She slept with him and I felt it. I saw it!" His voice cracked as his eyes became watery. "How could she do that?"

"Oh Chris," she said, standing up and moving back to comfort him. "I wish I could answer that, but there are no answers. I can sympathize with you because I know exactly how you feel."

"Like hell you do."

Deanna surprised him by chuckling. "I’m married to the most notorious womanizer in Starfleet, Chris. And, I was with him long before he was with most of the women he slept with, and after I was with him, I saw and felt everything he did with every other woman he was with. Now, you think I don’t know how you feel? This was one man. There are no telling how many times I felt or saw Will making love to another woman. There is no pain in the world like the pain that comes from that, and it’s a side-effect to the bond you two share."

"How do I block it out?" He asked miserably.

"You can’t. You learn to live with it," she said, rubbing his back. "And, if you’re strong enough, you continue to love that person despite the pain they’ve caused you."

"I can’t live without her, Deanna," he said, raising Marissa’s hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. "What am I going to do?"

"You’re going to sit her and help her recover, and when she wakes up, you’re going to hide your jealousy from her that I know you have toward Jeyelar Darre. You’re going to court her and romance her in the same ways that Darre is going to do, and if you’re meant to be together, you will end up with her at the end of the chase."

"And, if I don’t?"

"Then, you really aren’t Imzadi, Chris," Deanna said sadly.

"But, we are. I know it."

"Then, have no doubt who the true victor will be," she said. "Now, I’m going to sit down over there and talk to my daughter for awhile and you’re going to go to Quark’s, or to your quarters, or to my quarters and you’re going to get something to eat and to rest."

"No, I’m not."

"That’s an order, Commander," Deanna said with a tolerant smile as she sat down. "And, don’t think you can overturn my orders. I’m a medical officer. I’ll have you declared emotionally unfit for duty due to stress if you don’t leave right now."

"Yes, Sir," Chris said, rising to his feet and looking down to Marissa with one last sad smile. "I’m going to leave. Your mother is forcing me, but I will be back," he promised her. Then, he left and Deanna took her daughter’s hand.

"Oh my precious Firefly," Deanna whispered, shaking her head. "If you only knew what you were in for when you wake up, you’d stay in your coma."

*****

Scowling, Will Riker stared at the pictures on the viewscreen. "What do you mean, ‘we’re looking into a possible military injunction?’ That’s just a lot of bullshit to cover up what you’re really saying which is, we’re not going to do anything about this!"

"Will, there’s nothing we can do about this right now." The senior admiral smiled tolerantly. He understood Riker’s anger. He even empathized with the man’s ire, but now was not the time to anger the Romulans. Not until they understood more about their new technology.

"That’s bullshit, Jean-Luc, and we both know it. Command has plenty of resources at their hands. Hell, isn’t this what Special Ops is for, and what Section 31 salivates at doing? Get them on this. Find these bastards and show the Romulans we aren’t the pussies we’re going to look like if we do nothing!"

"Will!" There was censure in Picard’s voice at Riker’s crassness. "Command is doing everything they feel they can do. We’re not up for another war, Will, and you know it. You’ve seen the tactical data. We can’t withstand another prolonged military engagement. Not until our fleet has built back up a bit."

"You know, if we don’t do anything about this attack, Jean-Luc, every race with a bone to pick with the Federation is going to take their nip at us. How can you stand by and agree with those panty-waist bureaucrats who have no idea what it’s like to be out on the front lines?

In spite of himself, Picard chuckled. Deep down he agreed with the younger man, and he had fought diligently against this decision from Command, but they had their reasons, and those reasons could not be revealed yet. "Will, you’re right. I know you’re right, you know you’re right, hell, the President knows you’re right, but they have the ball in their court right now. We have to sit back and wait until they pitch it to us. Do what you need to do, which is go be with your wife and your daughter. They need you right now more than we need you with your hot headed anger."

"Is that an order, Sir?"

"It shouldn’t have to be an order, Riker, and you know that. Go. Go be with your family. Picard out."

"Damn," Will swore quietly, running his hands over his tired face. God, he was exhausted, and he knew Picard was right. He did need to be with Deanna and Marissa now more than ever. If anything, Deanna needed him more than she had ever needed him before, and Marissa needed him to be strong for her. After all, she did look up to her father, but more than that, Will knew she was going to demand something be done to honor her fallen crewmembers and the injured, including her. She would want justice. They all wanted justice, only Starfleet in its infinite wisdom would not…could not give them that. Not yet and maybe not ever.

*****

Following Deanna’s command, Chris found himself sitting in Quark’s bar nursing a drink. He knew no one in the two level bar and that suited him just fine. What would suit him even more was if the overzealous, little Ferengii would leave him alone.

"Why don’t you take a visit to the holosuites? We have some new programs that will really open your eyes…Commander," Quark said with a quick glance at Chris’ pips.

"I told you no," he retorted with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"You should give them a chance. You look like you could use a diversion." Quark wiped down the bar.

"Quark, he told you no. I think he means it, so leave him alone." A twinkling, light voice said from behind him. Chris barely afforded the middle-aged officer a glance as she sat down beside him. "I’ll take a Raktajino," she ordered with a meaningful glance at Quark.

"You got it, Lieutenant." Quark moved off rather quickly, and she spied a glance at Commander next to her. She smiled and introduced herself, "I’m Lieutenant Commander Dax."

"Commander Watson," Chris said without a glance to the cute, older woman.

"Well, Commander Watson, what brings you to our fair station?"

"The attack on the Destiny."

Ezri nodded. It seemed half the people on the station were here because of the incident with the Destiny. She accepted her drink wordlessly from the quiet Quark and took a swift sip. "You know, I can’t start or end a day without a Raktajino. It drives my husband nuts. I’m obviously not Klingon, so he doesn’t understand why I must have this all the time. Of course, he also forgets I’m over three hundred years old."

That brought Chris’ head up with a stunned look at the woman who couldn’t have been a day over fifty. He shook his head and said, "If you truly expect me to believe you’re over three hundred years old, you’ve mistaken me for an idiot."

"I’m a Trill," Ezri said simply. "My symbiont is over three hundred years old. I, myself, am nearly fifty

"I knew you couldn’t be a day over fifty," Chris said, taking a long drink. "You look the same age as my ex-mother-in-law."

"Divorce?" Ezri’s voice held a note of surprise. "You seem a little young for that."

"Yeah, well, I’m not, and neither is my wife."

"Is she here?"

Chris nodded. "Yup. She’s in Sickbay."

"I hope she’s all right. She has the best doctor in the Fleet helping her, though." Ezri’s eyes took on a proud gleam.

"Yeah, I hear Dr. Bashir is one of the best. Plus, he brought in several other doctors from Starfleet Medical."

"Yes, well…Julian knew he was over his head with all the causalities."

"Sounds like the two of you are good friends."

"Well, he is the station CMO and I’m the station’s lead counselor. We work together quite a bit, plus living together doesn’t hurt."

Chris gave her another look and Ezri glanced down at her hand where a simple, thin band of gold adorned her ring finger. He chuckled and said, "Your husband."

"Yes, my husband."

"How long?"

"A little over fifteen years. How long were you and your wife married?"

"We’d known each other a little over six years…married nearly five." Chris’ voice became almost wistful. "Best six years of my life," he confided.

"What happened?" Ezri took a sip of her drink.

"Grew apart…we served on the same ship and yet never saw each other. I was promoted to first officer of the Nighthawk and she seemed to think that my job became more important to me than her."

"Did it?"

"Counseling me?" Chris smiled and looked away. "In a way, maybe it did, but it was purely by accident. By the time we realized it, I was too deep in and thought she was just nagging me all the time. She knew it, though, so she did the only thing she felt she could do to get my attention?"

"Nearly die in a Romulan attack?"

To Ezri’s surprise, Chris let loose a sudden chuckle. "No, that’s how we started dating. She divorced me to get my attention, and it worked…too late, but it worked."

"You’re here, now. That means something, Commander." Ezri put a soothing hand on his sleeve.

"Too bad she doesn’t know I’m here. She’s in a coma."

"Oh, she knows, Commander. She knows."

"You sound certain of that."

"Love has strange ways of making you aware of the things around you even when your totally unconscious. Years ago, during the Dominion War, I was injured rather badly during an attack on the station. Julian and I hadn’t been seeing each other very long, and I spent nearly nine weeks in a coma, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt the only times Julian left my side were to sleep, eat, and take care of other necessities. Now, in all that time, there is no medical evidence that I was aware of my surroundings, and I really wasn’t aware of it, but I knew he was there. She knows you’re here, Commander. Don’t doubt that. She knows it, and when she comes to, she’ll let you know it, too." Ezri glanced away from the handsome Commander, took another swift sip of her drink, and said, "Think about what I’ve said. If you need to talk during your stay here, don’t hesitate to come by my office. I have an appointment in a few minutes or I would stay longer."

"Thank you, Counselor," Chris said watching her hop down from the stool and smile brightly at him.

"No thanks needed. I wish your ex a speedy recovery."

And with that, Ezri Dax disappeared into the throng of people floating in and out of the bar. Chris watched her go with a shake of his head and a smile. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach…a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was hope.

Chapter Two

"Will?"

Even the soft sound of his wife’s voice did little to distract him from the thoughts of vengeance running through his mind. In the days since his conversation with Picard, Will Riker had imagined fantastically painful ways to get back at the Romulans who had done this horrible injustice to his only child. The only thing he hadn’t done was share the information with his wife. Marissa had been on Deep Space Nine for several days now with no change in her condition. The last thing Deanna needed was to know what Picard had told Will. Just thinking about Picard’s words sent another dazzlingly display of bloodshed through his mind.

"You know, thoughts like that won’t help Marissa get well any sooner," Deanna chided gently as she collapsed wearily onto the couch in her husband’s temporary office.

"Maybe not, but they make me feel a hell of a lot better," he said, running a tired hand across his tired face as he swung around to face his wife. "How is she?"

"Still holding her own. No better, no worse."
"Who’s with her?"

"Beverly. I sent Chris to his quarters, and Beverly kicked me out of Sickbay."

"And, you came to get me," Will smiled knowingly. He rose to his feet and stretched briefly. "I’ll go sit with her."

"Not with those thoughts on your mind. Projecting your anger to her is not going to help her get well."

"I know, Counselor."

Deanna smiled tolerantly. "Seriously, Will. You have to go in there with a different frame of mind. You’re too angry. Talk to me."

"Don’t you get tired of listening to people whine to you all the time?" Will linked his hands behind his head and smiled at his wife.

"If I did, why would I have married you?" Deanna smiled back just as brilliantly. Will chuckled and shook his head. "Even if I did get tired of hearing people whine all the time, which I don’t, I would always take the time to listen to you. I love you, Will. Love blinds you to the other’s faults."

"Jean-Luc said Starfleet isn’t going to actively pursue the matter with the Romulans. I quote ‘We simple cannot withstand a prolonged military engagement with the Romulan Star Empire.’"

A jolt went through Will as he felt the sudden rush of anger Deanna hadn’t been able to repress from her husband. He smiled tolerantly and said, "Now you know how I feel."

"Unbelievable. You know, this is going to make anyone who has something against the Federation think they can bully us around."

"And, I told Jean-Luc that, as well. He said he fought against the ruling, but he’s only one man, Deanna."

"One man? One man! That one man is responsible for saving this damned Federation more times than I can count. They owe him, Will. Hell, they owe us." Deanna’s eyes flashed with ire. "How many times did the Enterprise pull the Federation’s tail out of the fire? How many times did we risk our lives to protect the greater good? I have never once asked for anything in return until now, and what do they tell us? They can’t withstand a prolonged military engagement? That’s bullshit!" Deanna jumped to her feet and stalked around Will’s office like a cat stalking a mouse. Will watched her with a slightly terrified and very fascinated gaze. Few times had he seen his wife angry, and never had he seen her this angry. Of course, until now, the life of their daughter had never truly been threatened. She spun around and pinned her husband with a look that sent a shiver through his veins. "Computer, send a Priority One message to Betazed. It is to go on a secure channel directly to Lwaxana Troi."

"You’re going to involve your mother?" Will felt faintly ill at the prospect of involving his mother-in-law.

"Deanna, we can handle this on our own. I doubt outside pressure from anyone, even someone as influential as your mother, is going to sway the brass at Headquarters."

"Computer, cancel message," Deanna said, never taking her eyes from her husband.

"Now what?" She had another gleam in her eyes.

"I’m going to Earth. Stay here with Marissa and Chris. They need you."

"What are you going to do?"

Will shivered at the feral smile from his incensed wife as she answered, "Put some inside pressure on the ‘brass at Headquarters.’"

***

A beeping jolted Beverly Crusher from her doze at Marissa’s bedside. Since kicking Deanna out of the Sickbay an hour or so ago, she had sat with the younger woman, occasionally talking to her but mostly just allowing her presence to comfort the younger woman. Hazy from her short sleep, she looked around Marissa’s room, but the monitors on the girl’s biobed showed normal readings. She glanced out in the hallway and saw a nurse hurry to the room next to Marissa’s. Dr. Bashir was hot on her tail. Beverly rose to her feet and walked almost casually to the doorway. After working closely with the younger doctor for the past several weeks, she had learned to stay away from him when he was in the middle of dealing with a patient.

She waited until he briefly appeared outside Commander Darre’s ICU room. He wore an unreadable expression and motioned for Beverly to join him. She walked the short distance and raised her eyebrows when she reached Dr. Bashir.

"He’s awake," Julian said quietly with a tired smile. "And, he’s asking about Lieutenant Riker."

"I’ll talk to him," Beverly said immediately, smoothing her hair and her lab coat. She plastered a fake smile on her face and walked into the room. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Commander," Beverly said pleasantly as the commander regarded her with a peculiar expression. "I’m Dr. Crusher." She walked over and picked up the PADD at his bedside. She skimmed it before putting it down and smiling at the young man again. "How do you feel."

"Disoriented," Jeyelar answered in a very scratchy, deep voice. "Dr. Bashir told me that I’m at Deep Space Nine. What happened to my ship? My captain?"

Beverly sat down at Jeyelar’s bedside and nodded her head. "One thing at a time, Commander. The Destiny is in space dock here at DS9 while Starfleet forensics and specialists examine her. An engineering team is also working on repairs to her. Captain Raymer was injured in the attack, and despite our best efforts, he died shortly after arriving here."

"Oh no," Jeyelar whispered. "What about the rest of the senior staff?"

"Several were injured and treated. They are floating around the space station, somewhere. Until the investigation is completed, all Destiny personnel are being held here."

"What about Lieutenant Riker?" Jeyelar tried to keep the worry out of his voice, but he failed miserably. "I was with her in a turbolift when the attack happened."

"Marissa suffered some severe injuries. I believe her injuries would be much worse had you not encouraged her to go into an unconscious state and then protected her the best you could," Beverly said with knowing eyes. Jeyelar simply regarded her with a blank expression, so she sighed and continued. "She is healing from her injuries here in Sickbay."

"May I see her?"

Beverly shook her head slowly. "I’d rather you didn’t until I talk with her family. Right now, they’ve asked for no visitors who aren’t family or friends of the family."

"She’s still unconscious," Jeyelar said knowingly. He looked up at the ceiling and muttered a curse in Betazed. "Does her ex-husband know?"

"Chris is here, yes."

"Good." Jeyelar nodded his head. "The more he uses their link, the better off she will be when this is over."

Beverly said nothing, instead carefully considered whether or not to ask the question that pushed at her tongue while forgetting the man she was dealing with was a telepath. He shook his head and glanced back up at the ceiling. "Yes, Dr. Crusher, I knew Marissa was pregnant."

"Did she?" Beverly asked quietly.

"I don’t know. If she did, she didn’t say anything to me."

"Do you love her?"

"You’re very direct, Doctor," Jeyelar said, smiling at Beverly. She stared hard at him and he nodded. "Yes, I think so. Love is curious, Doctor, and it is not easily defined or recognized."

"She obviously cares deeply for you, as well. She forgot about Chris for you."

Jeyelar merely smiled. "You know I’m more than a co-worker to her, Doctor. Please let me see her." A pleading look came into his eyes. "I need to see for myself that she’s alive."

Beverly rose to her feet and patted his shoulder. "Get some rest, Commander. I’ll go speak with her family right now."

"Thank you, Dr. Crusher," Jeyelar said with a sigh of relief. Beverly smiled at him as she left his room. When she looked up, she caught sight of Will walking into his daughter’s room. "Will!" Beverly’s voice came out in a loud whisper. He leaned back into the hallway and saw Beverly. He smiled at her and waited for her to get to Marissa’s room.

"How’s she doing?" He asked, looking back into his daughter’s room with a tender smile.

"No change." Beverly leaned against the wall and sighed. "You know the second there’s any change, I’ll let you and Deanna know."

"Let me know."

"What?"

Will chuckled and shook his head. "Deanna has left the station, or is in the process of leaving the station. I’m in charge, for the moment."

"Where is she going? She didn’t say a word to me about leaving the station."

"That was before I told her that Starfleet isn’t going to pursue this matter very actively." Beverly raised her eyebrows and Will shook his head. "She’s hoping to change their minds."

"Will, there are three people in this universe I would never want to cross. Jean-Luc Picard, you, and your wife." Beverly’s blue eyes twinkled. "I wish her the best of luck. Now, I need to ask your permission for something."

"What?"

"The first officer of the Destiny, Commander Darre, just woke up, and he wants to see Marissa. I told him I needed to check with you and Deanna before permitting him."

Will sighed and stroked his beard. "They were found together. I suppose he would be worried about her, but he isn’t willing to take your word for it?"

"That she’s okay? I’m sure he’s willing to take my word for it, but Will, think about it. They were found together. You saw the reports. You know her injures weren’t worse because he used his body to shield her. He needs to see her for himself."

Will looked away for a moment, into his daughter’s room, took a deep breath and finally nodded his head. "Fine. I guess he has every right to be concerned."

"I’m sure he’ll be grateful, Will. I’ll go let him know."

"Fine," Will said, walking into his daughter’s room. He sat down at her bedside and stared intently at her face. To anyone else, it would look as if he were projecting thoughts to his daughter, or maybe he was carrying on a one sided telepathic conversation with his daughter, but instead, he just sat, taking joy at seeing his daughter’s face. Gently, he ran a finger over her ravaged cheek and let it rest on her jaw line. She was nearly thirty years old, had known she was his daughter for almost eight years, and still he took the simplest pleasure in just watching her sleep. "You know, I love watching you sleep, Little One, but it’s far past time for you to wake up. You’re late for a duty shift," he joked.

"She was going to a duty shift when all this happened on the Destiny," a weak voice said from behind Will. He jerked his head up and looked towards the doorway where he saw a young man in an anti-grav chair. "It was her first true bridge shift since Captain Raymer had promoted her to second officer. We had just got onto the turbolift when the first volley of shots hit us." He floated closer to Marissa’s bed and looked down at her with barely restrained fury. "We never knew what hit us."

"You must be Commander Darre," Will said, impressed by the young man’s demeanor.

He nodded. "Thank you for letting me see her, Admiral. I needed to see for myself she was okay."

"Didn’t believe the good doctors?"

"No, I knew they were telling the truth. Even had they lied to me, I would still have known the truth. There’s something about seeing the truth in front of you that makes it more real, though."

"You’re Betazoid, aren’t you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Marissa mentioned you in her personal logs quite a bit."

Jeyelar looked up at the tired older man with a small smile. "We were friends."

"Marissa has had a rough year. I’m glad she made such a quick friend on the Destiny."

Jeyelar nodded and looked back down at the pale young woman. He took her other hand in his and closed his eyes. Will watched him with fascination. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at Will. "She needs to wake up, you know? That’s what I told her."

"That’s what we all tell her. Maybe she’ll listen to you this time."

Jeyelar chuckled and shook his head. "I doubt it. She didn’t listen to me on the Destiny all that much. I made it an order, though. Then, told her I’d court-martial her if she doesn’t listen."

Will laughed in earnest, liking this young man. "Maybe she wants some time alone. Hell, she’s never alone. Someone’s always with her, talking to her, holding her hand. We never leave her alone. If it’s not me, it’s my wife, or her ex-husband."

Despite of his present company, Jeyelar shuddered at the mention of Marissa’s ex-husband. The last thing he wanted to do was run into Christopher Watson. "If you don’t mind, Admiral, I can sit with her." He grinned. "She’ll never know I’m here."

"Thanks for the offer, Commander, but it’s been awhile since I sat with her. It’s my turn. You’re welcome to stay, though. But, you do look tired, and if Beverly sees you like that, she’ll confine you to your biobed."

"Beverly?"
"Dr. Crusher," Will corrected. "She’s slightly overzealous when it comes to her patients."

"I thought Dr. Bashir was the CMO of this station."

"He is, but he brought Beverly in from Starfleet Medical when all the causalities came in. He thought he needed the extra help, and nothing short of a war would have kept Beverly from here when she found out Marissa was one of the injured." Will smiled and looked down at his daughter. "She delivered Marissa, you know."

"Wow," Jeyelar said, appropriately impressed, while recognizing that this man needed to talk to someone, and at the moment, it appeared Jeyelar was all he had to talk to. Being Betazoid, he had been trained from an early age to respect the needs of others, and this was one time he would sit quietly and listen. He gently prodded Will by saying, "Marissa said she was twenty-one or twenty-two when she found out you were her father."

Will nodded, letting his eyes stray from his daughter’s face to some spot on the wall. "Never even occurred to me that I had a kid, not even when I first met her." He chuckled and looked back down at his daughter’s face. "And, you know, all you have to do is look at her and you can probably guess at who her parents are if you knew me or Deanna. I didn’t see the resemblance, though. All I knew was she was an up and coming officer on the fast track for a captaincy and I wanted her on my ship. I never looked into her personal background, all I was concerned with was her service record. The first day she came aboard, our chief engineer looked at her and asked if I was related to her. I thought he was crazy, and so did she. We said no, and for me, that was the end of it. Then, her mother and several other Starfleet officers were taken by the Romulans. She told me that her mother was all she had because her father had died before she was born. Then, I found out her mother was Deanna Troi, and still it never occurred to me that there was a strong possibility that Marissa was my daughter. I remember telling her we would do everything to find her mother, but she was inconsolable. Dr. Crusher was the CMO on my ship at the time, and she stayed with Marissa. Afterwards, she came to see me, and was so tired she didn’t know what she was saying when she told me to make sure I checked on my daughter. Of course, she meant Marissa." Will stopped and smiled at the memory. "I was stunned, confronted Beverly about it, and she said it was true. God, I wanted nothing more than to go tell Marissa, but I knew I couldn’t until I had talked to her mother, which meant we had to find her mother."

"You must have found her," Jeyelar said with a smile.

"Yes, we did. Deanna and I had a long argument about what had happened all those years ago before Marissa was born, why she didn’t tell me, and why she didn’t tell Marissa. Before we could tell her, though, she was sent on an away mission that nearly ended her life. She took a disrupter fire at point blank range. Beverly barely saved her life, and Marissa was in a coma for a long while, then. When she came out of it and was released from Sickbay, her mother and I were determined to tell her, then. After all, she was getting curious on why I was hanging around her so much. The day we told her was a few days after her release from Sickbay. She was on the holodeck with Chris. They had become good friends, and looking back, I’m glad she had someone to turn to when we told her, because after we told her she wanted nothing to do with us. Then, one night someone came to my door, opened it, and Marissa walked into my quarters. We talked, worked things out between us, and I convinced her to talk to her mother. They worked things out, Deanna and I worked things out, we got married, two years later Chris and Marissa got married, and the rest, you can guess at."

Jeyelar nodded and looked down at Marissa. "Captain Raymer told me to rely on Marissa’s expertise with the Romulans, that she was highly trained and highly versed in the Romulan way of thinking. I almost envied that about her, that she had Captain Raymer’s total and complete trust already, and then I really got to know her. She engenders almost a total trust within minutes of meeting her. She’s a very special person, Admiral."

"Thank you," Will said, feeling a familiar burn in his eyes. He forced himself to think about something else, something to make him angry, because the last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of a junior officer. However, in a brief second of time, he forgot that the person across from him was a Betazoid, and when the one thought that made him angriest crossed his mind, it incensed the young man.

"I can’t believe it," Jeyelar said slowly, quietly, almost disbelieving. He slowly met Riker’s gaze and said, "They’re really not going to do anything?"

Silently, deep down in his psyche, Will damned himself for forgetting that Jeyelar was a telepath. "Not at the moment. We’re hoping to sway them, though."

Jeyelar shook his head. "What about Special Ops? Section 31? They won’t get involved?"

"No one has asked, as far as I know. Starfleet doesn’t feel it can risk another military engagement."

"If they send Special Forces in, they won’t have to risk a war," Jeyelar pointed out.

Everything Jeyelar said made perfect sense to Riker, but the people at command would be a different story. Special Forces, covert operations, were not exactly things Starfleet liked to use, but everyone acknowledged that they had to exist to protect the Federation. If Riker had his way, Special Forces would already be involved, but his way was different from the way of the Federation Council.

Jeyelar read every thought that circled quickly through Riker’s mind. "Your wife thinks she can convince them different?"

A spark of anger went through Will, and for a moment he felt as if there were no where inside him safe from this young man. Jeyelar held up his hands in apology. "I apologize, Admiral. I don’t mean to read your thoughts. Sometimes, though, it’s impossible to ignore the thoughts of others. Especially when their thoughts mirror your own."

A slow grin crossed Will’s face and he nodded. "My wife thinks she can convince them otherwise, yes. I don’t know how successful she will be, but Deanna can be a formidable foe when she wants to be."

Chapter Three

It had been months since she had stepped foot on Earth, and for awhile, it seemed as if she had never left this place. She knew exactly where she was and exactly where she was going. After all, she had lived in this city for many, many years while serving with Admiral Picard at Starfleet Headquarters. Then, she had been so sure of herself, and now as she walked into those headquarters again, she was even surer that the course she was on was the right one. She didn’t bother to stop for his assistant, she didn’t bother to knock on the door, she simply burst into Admiral Gellis’ office without the slightest warning. His head jerked up from the PADD he had been reading, and he placed it carefully on his desk as he took in the anger on Deanna Troi-Riker’s face.

"I didn’t know you were on Earth, Deanna," the admiral said, rising slowly to his feet.

"Save it," she said, walking quickly to his desk as the door opened again behind her.

Gellis glanced over Deanna’s shoulder to see a stunning young woman with a dumbfound look on her face. He nodded and said, "It’s all right, Tessa. I’ve been expecting Commander Troi." The door closed as the young woman returned to her office. Admiral Gellis glanced back to Deanna and said, "You know, that’s not a lie. I have been expecting you. I just didn’t know when you’d show up."

"How’d you know I would show up? That it wouldn’t be Will?"

"Because contrary to popular belief, Will Riker does have some amount of restraint."

"And, I don’t?" Deanna crossed her arms over her chest. "I think I’ve displayed an extreme amount of restraint, Admiral."

"Have a seat, Deanna, and allow me to explain."

Admiral Gellis took his seat and waited until Deanna had done the same. Even sitting, her stance was antagonistic, and he had to smile. "I knew when I had you in my ethics class all those many years ago at the academy that you were a force to be reckoned with, and I hoped I would not be the one to reckon with you."

"You made the recommendation that Starfleet not pursue the matter with the Romulans. You had to know then that I would come, Admiral. You’re not a stupid man."

"No, I’m not. As I told my assistant, I had been expecting you."

"Then, why make such a stupid recommendation?"

"Because it’s the truth, Deanna. We can’t withstand a war, not right now, and not with the Romulans."

"So, you let them attack us with no recourse?" Deanna let loose a short, sarcastic laugh. "You realize that anyone with something against the Federation will attack us if we don’t go head to head with our oldest enemy over a blatant attempt to start a war."

"Why give the Romulans what they want?" Gellis folded his hands together. "They want to start a war with us, Deanna. Surely you can see that."

"I see that, Admiral. What I also see is people who are scared of the Romulans and who have decided to not do a damned thing about their attack." Deanna rose to her feet and leaned onto the admiral’s desk. She pressed her hands to the cool surface and maintained a small distance between his face and hers. She saw him flinch and she smiled. "Now, let me tell you what I also see. I also see a Federation that owes its gratitude to several people who have never once asked for anything, until now. I am demanding, Admiral, that you go to the Federation Council and tell them that you’ve thought about your recommendation, and you now realize that you were wrong. If the Federation doesn’t do something to the Romulans, anyone with something against the Federation is going to come after us, and you are going to convince them to answer the Romulans."

"I can’t do that," Gellis said, allowing his nervousness to shine through in his voice.

Deanna chuckled and raised off his desk. "Oh, yes, you can, Admiral."

"I can’t ask that they answer the Romulans in the way that you want, Deanna."

"I don’t want to hear your excuses!" Deanna yelled, swinging around, angrier than she had ever been in her life. "I want something done, and I want it done now, Admiral. My daughter, my only child, is lying in Sickbay on DS9 fighting for her life and so help me, if you don’t do something to the Romulans in retaliation for the lives they have stolen, I will personally make it my mission to make your life a living hell." Deanna leaned back down. "And, don’t think I can’t do it, Admiral. I have connections. Hell, I *am* a connection. You don’t think I can do it, well, let me remind you of who I am. I am a Daughter of the Fifth House of Betazed. I am the daughter of a Federation ambassador. I am a commander in this damned fleet, and I am married to an admiral. If I send out a communiqué to anyone in the Starfleet hierarchy or the Federation Council, they stop what they’re doing to take my message, and you know why?" Deanna leaned down again and her eyes glinted. "Because I *am* a force to be reckoned with, and so is my husband, and together, we can create a hell so fierce, you’ll wish you were dead."

Gellis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Every word she spoke was the truth, and he was more than a little nervous by the sheer anger he felt radiating from her. "I’ll do what I can, Deanna, but I can’t ask the Federation Council to do what you want." He saw the anger flash in her eyes again and his voice grew louder. "I can’t, Deanna. Dammit, think about what you’re asking me to do! You know as well as I do that if I go in there and contradict myself, they’re not going to give a damn about anything else I say. You know that’s true. I will do something, but I don’t know what."

"Then, you better come up with something," she warned.

A crazy idea flew into Gellis’ mind and he said, "Let me speak with Admiral LaForge."

"Geordi? Why?" Deanna crossed her arms and studied the sweating admiral.

"He’s the head of the Alpha Team, but you didn’t hear that from me." Silently, Gellis hoped no one else heard him as he told that piece of confidential information to Deanna.

"Alpha Team?" Deanna’s voice held a note of disbelief.

"They’re a specialized group of officers who are experts in their various fields. If Admiral LaForge is willing, he and I can make a joint recommendation that we answer the Romulans by sending in the Alpha Team to take care of this mess nicely and quietly."

"You do that, Admiral, but I want it done, and I want it done by tomorrow," Deanna said, turning her back and storming out of Gellis’ office, already heading toward LaForge’s.

As she stormed out of the admiral’s office, his assistant looked up and studied the woman. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head at the anger radiating from her. Tessa was not a mind reader by any stretch of the imagination, but she did know anger when she saw it, and right now it was written all over Deanna Troi’s face. "Tessa," the admiral said from behind her. She jumped slightly as she turned to face him. "I need for you to take a message to Admiral LaForge, and I need you to do it now, quickly, before Commander Troi reaches his office. I’ve already contacted him and told him to be outside in the Commons. Go now," he said, pressing a PADD into Tessa’s hand. She nodded as she stood up. As she left the admiral stopped her once more time. "And, Tessa, after that, you can go for the day. Take tomorrow off, too."

"Sir?" Tessa couldn’t help but ask. Gellis very rarely allowed his staff time off.

"Just take it, Tessa, and get that message to LaForge."

"Yes, Sir," she said, hurrying down the corridor, out the back way, and she sped to the Commons.

*****

The Commons area never failed to amaze her in its beauty. It was meticulously cared for by the grounds keepers, and plants of every kind bloomed under their lavish care. She took a moment to study the beauty while she scanned the area for the admiral. When she saw him, a smile grew on her face, and she headed towards him quickly. "Admiral," she said formally, reaching out the PADD.

"Thanks Tessa," he said, taking the PADD and activating it. Tessa let her eyes stray to the handsome young man standing with Admiral LaForge. They exchanged a small, secret smile, imperceptible to anyone but them.

"Assemble your team, Captain Burns," LaForge said, deactivating the PADD. He looked to the young man with a sigh. "Your team is needed for an immediate mission. You have two days," he said, and then he walked away. Captain Burns looked down to the stunning brunette and slipped an arm around her waist.

"What’s all this about?"

Tessa shrugged. "I have no idea, but I have a feeling it has to do with the woman in Admiral Gellis’ office today."

"What woman?"

Again, Tessa shrugged. "I don’t know. Commander something…started with a T. I wasn’t really listening to her name."

Mike nodded slowly. "I’ll find out at the briefing. Let’s get out of here before Gellis recalls you and LaForge bumps up our departure date."

Tessa grinned and moved closer to Mike. "That’s fine with me."

*****

"Deanna!" Geordi exclaimed as she walked into his office. "I didn’t know you were on Earth." He walked over to her and squeezed her hand. "How’s Marissa? I heard about the attack on the Destiny."

"She’s stable but unconscious. Will’s with her."

"And, you’re here." Geordi walked around to the front of his desk and perched on the corner of it. He gestured at a chair and Deanna sat down. "Something tells me this isn’t a social call."

"I need your help, Geordi."

"Anything."

"Don’t be so quick to offer help, Geordi," Deanna said with a smile. Geordi chuckled as Deanna collected her thoughts. "I need to know what Alpha Team is, Geordi."

"I’ve never heard of it," he said quickly.

"Never lie to an empath, Admiral," Deanna said with a tolerant smile. "I know you’re the head of Alpha Team, Geordi. Tell me what they are and if they can help."

"I can’t tell you what or who they are, but I can tell you that the team is assembling and will be leaving in two days."

"Leaving for where?"

"Deep Space Nine, and after that, the mission is confidential."

Deanna shrunk back into the cushions of the chair and raised a hand to her forehead. Quietly, she asked, "Can they take care of this?"

Although Deanna wasn’t looking at him, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt Geordi LaForge was wearing a proud, almost paternal, grin when he said, "Deanna, the Romulans won’t know what hit them."

*****

In an apartment not far away from Starfleet Command, a young woman gasped as a young man kissed his way up her naked body to her mouth. Their lips met in a fiery kiss as he covered her body with his. He groaned as her body tightened around him. "Tessa," he breathed into her hair. She raked her nails down his back and instinctively surged against him. He grinned against her neck and tortured her with slow, deep strokes until she suddenly froze. "Mike!" They heard from the living room. "You can have fun later! Get your ass out here and tell me why we’re going to DS9!"

"Shit!" He exclaimed, rolling off of Tessa and pulling up the blankets. She looked at him with faintly amused eyes and said, "K’Leena’s here."

"Yeah, I figured that out," he drawled, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and heading for the bedroom door.

As he entered the living room, he stopped for a moment and allowed a wry smile to come to his lips. K’Leena Paris stood studying a painting on the wall. She was easily one of the most beautiful women Mike had ever known with her long, wild mane of flaming, curly hair, intense blue eyes, and incredible body. Added to that was her Klingon heritage. At the Academy, she was the girl the boys had made bets about. She was the one they all wanted to sleep with, and she was the one who had snubbed them all. Two things interested K’Leena: flying and danger. She was the best pilot in the fleet, and danger was almost her middle name. She had no trouble finding it, and it had no trouble finding her. Mike cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his broad, bare chest.

"Trying to seduce me?" K’Leena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Right. We’ve been down that road, and I have the scars to prove it."

An evil grin lit her face. "Why are we going to DS9?"

"There will be a staff briefing tomorrow," Mike told her, sitting down on the couch.

"I want to know now."

"You’re impatient, K’Leena. Did you know that?"

"Did you know that if you had answered my question two minutes ago you could already be back in your bedroom with your lovely girlfriend?" She returned, her blue eyes sparkling.

Mike sighed. Bantering with K’Leena often left him frustrated. "Admiral LaForge is sending us in to take care of the Romulan problem."

"The attack on the Destiny," K’Leena said slowly. "I heard about that."

"It was bad. Their captain was killed. The first and second officers were almost killed."

"So, we’re going to collect information from them, and then hit the Romulans?"

Mike nodded. "We need to get as much information as we can. The biggest problem is, the second officer is still in a coma, and from what I little I know about this, I think the second officer has a lot to do with us going on this mission."

"Who is it?"

"Marissa Riker. Know her?"

Slowly, K’Leena nodded. "I think so. I think we were at the Academy together. She’s Admiral Riker’s daughter, right?" Mike nodded his head and K’Leena slowly nodded hers again. "Yeah, we were in an anthropology class together. If I remember right, she had a specialization modern Romulan civilizations."

"That’s why we need to talk to her."

"And, we can’t if she’s still out when we get there." K’Leena sighed. "Well, there’s always the first officer."

"Watch yourself around him, K’Leena. He’s Betazoid."

K’Leena groaned. "Great. A telepath. No place is safe from them. You deal with him. I’ll deal with Marissa."

"If she’s conscious."

"Yeah." K’Leena smiled at him and dug her toe into the thick carpet of Mike’s apartment. "What time is the briefing tomorrow?"

"0900. LaForge’s office."

"I’ll be there. You should get back to Tessa. I’m sure she’s furious with me."

"Tessa is always furious with you, ‘Leena." Mike grinned. "You should call first."

K’Leena smirked. "And, you shouldn’t always be in bed with her. I’ll be at my parents’ house if the mission gets bumped up."

"Got it," Mike said, rising to his feet and walking K’Leena to the door. "Next time, ring the bell."

"Yes Sir," she saluted almost mockingly.

"And, if you have extra time tonight, find out everything you can about Commander Jeyelar Darre. He’s the first officer of the Destiny."

K’Leena nodded her head. That was an easy thing to do. "Got it," she acknowledged, offering Mike one last dazzling smile before she disappeared down the hallway.

He shook his head as he closed the door. Then, he gasped as Tessa’s arms came around his waist and she pressed her naked body to his half covered one. "It’s not nice to keep a girl waiting," she whispered brazenly, pressing a kiss to his neck.

"I’ll remember that," he growled lowly, spinning her around and pressing her against the door. Then, he grinned at her and asked, "Where were we?"

*****

Deanna flopped onto the couch in the house she and Will kept in San Francisco. She covered her eyes with an arm and took a deep breath. The day’s events had left her exhausted. Anger left some people exhilarated, but Deanna was not one of those people. It left her somewhere just short of lethargy. "Computer, create a message link to Deep Space Nine. Priority One to Admiral William Riker. Authorization Troi-Tango-Five-Pi-Zero."

"Authorization acknowledged. Assembling Priority One link."

Deanna nodded and remained lying there with her eyes closed. She was dozing off when the comm link beeped. "Comm link open. Waiting for recognition."

She sat up and walked over to their comm center. She waited briefly for the message to be recognized and for it to be transferred to Will. Sending a Priority One message was risky at best, but she needed a secure channel to tell him about her day.

The medium sized viewscreen crackled to life and her husband’s face filled the screen. He smiled tiredly at her. "Hey," he said. "How’d you day go?"

"Eventful. I terrified an admiral."

Will almost chuckled. "Sounds like a good day’s work to me."

"How’s Marissa?"

"No change. Chris is with her now."

Deanna nodded. "I’ll be heading back to DS9 tomorrow. I’ve done all I can do here."

"Change anyone’s mind?"

"What do you know about Alpha Team?" She asked, giving her husband a pointed stare.

He started and then put on a neutral face. "Nothing," he lied.

"Liar," she said with a smile. "I know they’re special forces, I know Geordi’s in charge of them, and they’re coming to DS9 in two days."

Will whistled. "You convinced them to send in Alpha Team? I’ll never doubt your powers of persuasion again."

"Good choice, Riker. I’ve been told several times today that I’m a force to be reckoned with."

Will laughed. "Deanna, I’ve known that since the day I met you." He smiled at her and shook his head. "I miss you. It’s been a crazy day, here. Commander Darre came to, and spent most of the day in Marissa’s room with me."

"I hope you had him out of there before Chris got there."

"I did. He needed his rest. He cares about her, Deanna. Something’s going on there."

Deanna shook her head. "Yeah, there is, but we’ll let Marissa tell us about that." She sighed and glanced around their apartment. Her eyes lingered on their bedroom door.

"Go to bed," Will told her. "You’re tired, and staring at the bedroom door isn’t going to get you to sleep any faster."

"How well you know me." There was a touch of awe to Deanna’s voice. "Good night."

"Sleep well," he told her, wishing he could touch her through the small viewscreen. "If anything changes in Marissa’s condition…"

"You’ll let me know."

He nodded. "Riker out."

The viewscreen blacked out and Deanna rose slowly. She walked to the bedroom door, opened it, and faced the bed she had never slept alone in for longer than a few hours. Spending an entire night alone in such a bed almost seemed sinful, she thought as she stripped off her clothes and changed into a nightgown. The bed had been the first thing they had bought when they made Earth their permanent residence. It was as wide as it was long. Will had joked that even he could sleep on it with no problem, and Deanna had laughed, telling him that she could easily get lost in it. To say it was king sized was an understatement. It took up a good half of their large bedroom. She crawled underneath the thick covers and rolled onto her side, facing the way Will slept. Her hand reached out and touched his cold pillow. She shivered and drew the hand away to her side. "Good night, Imzadi," she whispered, closing her eyes with the slightest touch of a smile on her lips.

Chapter Four

What would be considered nightfall was heavily upon Deep Space Nine. The station was quiet with the exception of the humming of machines, the occasional footfall, and the whispering of what few officers ran the night shift. In Sickbay, Chris sat at Marissa’s bedside with his head lying on her bed near her hand. After hours of just sitting, staring, and talking telepathically to her, he fell into an exhausted slumber. Now, hours later, he wasn’t sure what had awakened him. It sure as hell wasn’t himself, because he had far from the amount of sleep he needed.

He turned his head and immediately groaned at a shooting pain in his neck. Raising his head, he massaged the back of his neck and stared into Marissa’s soulful blue eyes. He started to look away, and then it hit him. He was staring into Marissa’s blue eyes. "I didn’t mean to wake you," she said in a thin voice. "But, you were lying on my hand."

"I’m sorry," Chris said, reaching for the aforementioned hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it lightly. "Do you know where you are?"

Marissa looked around and shook her head. "Haven’t a clue. Where am I and why are you here?"

"Deep Space Nine and you were in an accident. Do you remember?"

A haze clouded Marissa’s memory, making it fuzzy, foggy, and distant. Briefly, she saw a glimmer of a man and felt the shimmy of a ship under fire. "I’m not sure," she finally said.

"The Destiny was attacked by Romulans. You were injured," Chris said simply. "I came because I thought you’d need me."

"Thank you," she said. "What happened to the rest of the crew?"

"A lot of injures and a few causalities."

"Captain Raymer?"

Chris squeezed her hand. "He didn’t make me, Missy," he said, the old nickname falling out before he could stop it.

"Oh hell," she sighed.

Chris looked at her for a moment before releasing her hand and rising to his feet. She looked up at him. "I’m going to go find Dr. Bashir and your father."

"Where’s my mother?"

He struggled with that answer before realizing that lying would get him no where. "She’s on Earth. I’ll let your father fill you in," he said as he headed towards the door.

"Are you coming back?"

"Do you want me to?" Chris stopped and waiting anxiously for the answer.

"Yeah, I do," she said quietly.

"Then, I’ll be right back," he said simply, leaving her room quickly.

Marissa watched him go, a confused look on her lovely face. A hazy fog clouded her memory. She knew there was something important she needed to remember, but her mind couldn’t penetrate the fog surrounding her memory. When Dr. Bashir entered her room, she smiled wanly and said, "Hi."

"Hello," Julian said, reaching for his tricorder. "You’re looking better, Lieutenant. I must say it’s nice to see you awake, even in the middle of the night."

Despite of herself, Marissa chuckled at the doctor. "I need a drink," she whispered. Julian nodded to Chris, who went directly to the replicator. While he waited for it, Marissa asked Julian, "Am I going to be okay?"

"You’re going to need some more time to recuperate, but you’re definitely on the road to recovery." He smiled at Marissa and looked at Chris as he handed a glass to Marissa. "Have you notified the admiral?"

Chris shook his head. "Not yet." He looked down to Marissa. "You want me to get him, or do you want to call him yourself?"

Marissa’s eyes sparkled and she nodded. "I’d like to contact him myself."

Dr. Bashir’s eyes glinted in amusement and he waved at the ceiling. "Feel free at any time."

"Is that your way of saying you want to be around when I call him?" Marissa asked weakly.

Julian smiled. "Should I really answer that question?"

Marissa shook her head. "Lieutenant Riker to Admiral Riker. Please respond, Sir." Chris caught Marissa’s eyes and had to look away lest he ruin her serious voice by causing her to laugh.

It took a few minutes before she heard her father’s gruff morning voice. "Whoever the hell this is will be in so much trouble when I figure out who this is."

"Nice. Threaten your daughter when she’s been in a coma for the second time in her life."

"Riker out."

A snort of laughter escaped from Marissa’s lips. She turned her amused eyes to Chris and shared a laugh with him before she suddenly grabbed her head. Julian leapt to her side. "What is it?"

"Ahhhh," Marissa moaned, clutching her head even harder as the pain grew.

"Marissa!" Chris clutched her arms and shook her lightly. Look at me, he cast effortlessly into her mind. Her eyes opened slightly and met his. Don’t think about the pain. Just concentrate on me. Chris slid his hands down her arms to take her hands in his as Dr. Bashir scanned Marissa.

"There’s nothing showing," he said frustrated.

"Well, find something!" Chris looked to Julian incredulously as Marissa began to shake.

Quickly, Julian loaded a hypospray, put it to Marissa’s neck, and discharged it. Within seconds, she fell limp into Chris’ arms. He stroked her hair from her forehead and looked at Julian. "I sedated her," he answered simply. "Only until we find the cause for what’s causing her headaches."

"How long will that take?"

"I’ll get right on it along with Beverly." Julian rested a hand on Chris’ shoulder. "We’ll find what’s wrong, Christopher. I promise you that." He squeezed Chris’ shoulder before standing up and leaving the young man alone at Marissa’s bedside.

*****

"Injury to her metacampus," Beverly said, staring intently at the bio readings. She pressed a finger to the display and traced a very faint, almost imperceptible red line with her finger. "See that?"

"It’s so small," Julian said, shaking his head. "How?"

Beverly swiveled around in her chair and smiled sadly. "Deanna had a similar injury before, so I’ve learned to always checked the metacampus carefully in Betazoids."

"How do we treat it?"

"We can’t. It has to heal on its own, which means we have to keep Marissa sedated as much as possible."

Julian sighed and glanced out into Sickbay. The doors opened and he saw Will Riker stalk into the large area. "The admiral is here."

"I’ll deal with him," Beverly said, quickly getting to her feet and intercepting Will at Marissa’s doorway. "Will," she said, reaching out and snagging his arm with her hand.

"I want to see my daughter." His voice left no room for argument.

"You can’t. Not right now."

"She paged me."

"Yes, she did, but she’s unconscious again."

"What!" Will’s eyes grew icy. "What happened?"

"She has an injury to her metacampus."

Will leaned against the wall. "How bad?"

"Mild in comparison to the one Deanna had."

"Is she going to lose her memory the way Deanna did?" Will asked softly. A feeling of dread washed over him as Beverly slowly nodded her head.

"It’s possible she’ll lose some memories."

"Possible?"

"Probable."

"Oh hell," Will muttered, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "How much of her memory? God, Beverly, Deanna’s accident was five years ago and she still has some troubles with her memory."

"Deanna’s accident was much worse that Marissa’s, Will. Marissa has a bruise to her metacampus. Deanna had a serious laceration to hers."

"Does Chris know?"

Beverly shook her head. "No, he’s with her right now. Julian and I have been holed up in his office going over her medical records."

"So, she’s going to have to be sedated until she heals."

"Yes."

"And, that’s going to increase her chance of sustaining memory loss," Will said with a sigh.

"You remember well." Beverly leaned against the wall across from Will.

"There’s something else, Beverly."

"What?"

"Starfleet is sending people to question Marissa and Commander Darre about the attack."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. Actually, in a few hours."

Beverly closed her eyes, shook her head, and grinned sardonically. "Fate does love to throw everything it can at us, doesn’t it?"

"You can say that again." Will looked beyond Beverly and sighed. "Well, I’ll go talk to Chris."

"You want me to tag along?"
"No, I can do it," he said, already walking into Marissa’s room.

The silence was almost eerie in Marissa’s room. Will strained to hear anyone in the room breathing. He walked over to Marissa’s bed and put a hand on Chris’ defeated shoulder. "It’s not as bad as you think," he said quietly.

"Do they know what’s wrong?"

"They do now."

"How bad it is?" Chris refused to take his eyes off Marissa’s peaceful face.

"Could be better, could be worse," Will said truthfully. "No one will know for sure until she can wake up."

"Why can’t she?"

"She has an injury to her metacampus. It’s a lobe in the Betazoid brain that allows telepathic and empathic abilities to develop so fully in the Betazoids. The best way to describe it is the way Beverly described it to me. It’s like having a bruise. It hurts and it’s annoying, and when it heals, sometimes it leaves a very faint scar."

"Injuries to any part of the brain are bad," Chris said knowingly. "How bad is this one, bottom line."
"Bottom line? She has a minor bruise that’s causing some swelling."

"What are the side-effects?"
Will sighed and looked down. "Extreme tiredness, headaches, memory loss, coma, loss of empathic ability."

Chris’ head jerked up. "How bad is she going to be effected?"

"Beverly thinks she’s going to have some minor memory loss and killer headaches for awhile. That’s why she has to stay unconscious."

"Memory loss?"

Will nodded his head even though Chris wasn’t looking at him. He decided to be completely truthful with the younger man. "Chris, Deanna had a similar injury a few years ago when she was on Betazed. The injury was fairly severe, though, nothing like Marissa’s. It caused her to suffer a complete memory loss. With telepathic therapy she recovered most of her memories, but she still struggles from time to time."
"When was that?"
"Right after you guys got married. Deanna and I were on Betazed when it happened."

"Marissa never said anything."
"Marissa never knew. I didn’t tell her. I didn’t think she could handle that her mother didn’t know she had a daughter."

Chris nodded. "She would have been a basket case."

"And, you two had only been married two or three months. You guys were still on your honeymoon." Will ran a hand through his grayish hair. "She didn’t need to know unless things had gotten worse, and they didn’t, so what was the point in telling her?"

"None," Chris said hollowly. "Will she forget me?"

"Maybe."

Chris shook his head. "I still love her, you know. This is awful."

Will swallowed hard and changed the subject. "Starfleet is sending out intelligence officers to question Marissa and Commander Darre tomorrow. She’ll be conscious for awhile. Tell her the way you feel, Chris. Tell her before she forgets."

"She’s unconscious," Chris reminded him with a patient smile.

"I’m pretty sure Julian will wake her for something important." Will touched Chris’ shoulder and squeezed it lightly. He turned to leave and walked quietly into the hallway. Safely out of Chris’ sight, he leaned against the wall and brought his hands to his face. His shoulders sagged and for a moment, Will Riker looked like a man beaten by life.

"Hey." The whispered word and the hand on his shoulder brought his hands from his face. He smiled tiredly at Beverly and she tugged on his arm. "Come into Julian’s office. He’s gone to check on Commander Darre."

Will followed without a word. Beverly shut the door behind them and leaned against it while Will sat. "You look like hell, Will."

"I feel like hell, Beverly. How in the hell did you do this alone?"

"Do what?"

"Raise and worry about Wesley."

Beverly laughed softly and shook her head. "Got me," she said with a sigh. "I learned to put my feelings last, no matter what, and I learned that worry does absolutely no good."

"How do you stop worrying about your own flesh and blood? Especially when it’s the only child you have?"

Beverly shook her head. "I don’t know, Will. I never truly stop worrying about Wesley, especially now. I don’t know if he’s dead or alive. I just know that if I worry about him as much as I want to, I’ll go insane. It’s different for you. Marissa is hurt. Whether we want to admit it or not, Marissa’s life is in danger, and there’s not a lot Julian and I can do to help her, and that’s very frustrating for us. I think you have every right and reason to be worried, especially as worried as you are. I think you’re being a perfectly normal father, Will."

Will ran his hands through his hair. "I would never have survived her childhood, Beverly."

Laughing, Beverly nodded her head. "No, you wouldn’t have. I don’t know how Deanna did. Everytime I turned around, Marissa was in my office with a broken arm or numerous cuts from a fall or a concussion."

He grinned impishly and then sighed again. "Ah hell, Bev. Starfleet is sending in Alpha Team officers tomorrow morning to question Marissa and Commander Darre."

"Alpha Team." Beverly whistled softly through her teeth. "Who pulled that off?"

"My lovely wife." Will chuckled and ran his hands through his hair. "From what I understand, she terrified an admiral and Geordi."

Beverly shook her head and laughed. "Good for her. I don’t know if Marissa will be up to questions, though, nor Commander Darre. Why so soon?"

"Because the longer they wait the more clouded their memories can become. It’s imperative they be questioned as soon as possible."

"Do you know who the Alpha Team members are that Starfleet is sending?"

Will shook his head and leaned forward on his elbows. "No, but if I had to wager a guess, Geordi will send his best."

"For your daughter? Of course he will. I’m surprised Geordi isn’t coming himself."

"Was that a hint of sarcasm, Doctor?"

"Not a bit." Beverly shook her head. "So, who are his best, and don’t tell me you don’t know. You’re an admiral. You know everything."

"God, I hope I don’t know everything." Will laughed softly. "Probably Captain Burns, his first officer, and his pilot."

"His pilot?" Beverly stared at him.

"Well, he’s got to get here. Besides, K’Leena Paris is as good as her captain when it comes to covert operations."

"Paris…Where have I heard that name?"

"Voyager…Tom Paris…Owen Paris. Any of those names ring a bell with you?"

"Of course," Beverly snapped. "How is K’Leena Paris related to them?"

Will shook his head. "You’re dense sometimes, Bev. K’Leena is Tom’s daughter…Owen’s granddaughter. Shall I continue?"
"No," she snapped again. Then, quickly, "I’m sorry, Will. I’m tired. We’re all tired, and we’re all ready for this to be over."

Wearily, he nodded and lowered his face to his hands. "All I want is for my daughter to be safe, healthy, and happy. That’s what every parent wants for their child."

"Yup, that’s all we want for our kids, but we don’t always get what we want, Will."

He looked up sharply at his friend for over twenty years. "Marissa is so desperately unhappy."

Beverly nodded her head. "She’s been happier since she was on the Destiny, though. You have to take some comfort with that. It seems she’s made a good friend in Jeyelar. Having someone to talk to is best when you’re depressed."

"Depressed? You think it’s gone that far?"

"Maybe. Deanna’s the counselor. She’s best to make that call. I’m just a medical doctor. She’s the doctor of the soul."

"Maybe we should get Julian’s wife in here to talk to Marissa."

"Or maybe we should just let Marissa talk to whoever it is that she needs to talk to. Perhaps she needs to have a long heart to heart chat with her ex-husband."

"God knows her ex-husband needs it." Will ran his hands over his exhausted face. "Chris is so damned miserable. How can Marissa not see that? How can she not care about that?"

"She cares about him, Will. That’s very obvious, but whether or not she loves him anymore is anyone’s guess."

"You sound like you don’t think she does."

"I think she’s exploring her options…seeing what life is like when you’re not someone’s wife and people forget whose daughter you are."

"What are you talking about?"

Beverly shook her head. "All I’m saying, Will, is that while she’s been on the Destiny, people don’t see her as Commander Christopher Watson’s ex-wife or as Commander Troi’s daughter or as Admiral Riker’s daughter, or even as an heiress to Betazed. All they see her as is who she is…Lieutenant Commander Marissa Riker. And, I think she’s still trying to figure out exactly who Lieutenant Commander Marissa Riker is. I think she’s been trying to figure that out for eight years. The day she found out she was your daughter sent her world into a tailspin that I don’t think it’s ever recovered from. I think she’s spent the past eight years finding out what it means to be your daughter instead of who she is. She spent her whole childhood trying to be like her ideal, but her ideal was you, Will. The last thing she ever expected was to be twenty two, serving on the Enterprise, under her ideal, and be told that her ideal is actually her father. Think of what that’s going to do to a young girl, and I do mean a young girl. Marissa was twenty-two when she found out she had been lied to since the day she was born. Her life has been turned upside down and inside out more times than I can count. You have to give her some credit for hanging on as long as she has without letting it get to her."

"She was fine until she went to the Destiny," Will argued.

"She was fine until Chris was promoted to first officer on the Nighthawk," Beverly returned with a chuckle. "That’s when she got a taste of what her mother lived with in regards to her life with you on the Enterprise."

"You’re blaming me for her divorce?" Will’s eyebrows shot up and he stared incredulously at Beverly.

"No, no, no, I’m not saying that at all!" Beverly leaned forward. "What I’m saying is grownup life is hard and Marissa got a taste of that on the Nighthawk. I think it came before she was ready and now she’s got to find out who she is, and as much as I hate to say it, I think a lot of people are going to get hurt because this is a selfish phase, finding out who you are."

"Who on earth is left to be hurt?" Will shook his head. "Me? Deanna?"

"Yes, and Chris and…Commander Darre."

"Jeyelar? What the hell does he have to do with this?"

"A lot, Will. How can you not see what’s right before your eyes?" Beverly shook her head with a little laugh. "He’s in love with your daughter."

"No." Will stood up and shook his head. "He’s her friend."

"She’s sleeping with him," Beverly said quietly. "You’re not supposed to find out. Deanna knows…I know…Julian knows…Jeyelar knows. The only people that don’t know are you and Christopher, and now you know. I suggest you let Marissa be the one to tell Chris, should she ever tell him. I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t think that was the only thing that would convince you that your daughter has a life you don’t know about and you never will know everything about her. She’s an adult and she’s free to live her own life."

"And, she’s free to live that life with whoever she pleases," Will said through clenched teeth.

"You’re angry." Beverly smiled at him.

Will stood up and walked to the doorway of Julian’s office. Before he left he looked to Beverly and said quietly, "Just for the record, I don’t want to know anymore about my daughter’s sex life."

Beverly waited until he was out of earshot and nodded her head. "Trust me, Riker, you won’t hear anything else from me."

Chapter Five

"I just don’t think we’re going to get any information out of those two. We should go ahead and infiltrate the Empire."

"See, this is why I’m the captain and you’re just the pilot."

Captain Burns swiveled around in his chair and glared at the indignant red-head. "Speaking of flying, who’s flying the ship?"

"It’s under control," she ground out through clenched teeth. "I can’t take being cooped up with you for this long. Why did they only send four of us?"

"Because otherwise it might look suspicious if a bunch of security officers suddenly hit DS9."

"We’re not hitting anything. We’re going to questions some officers." For once, K’Leena was the annoying voice of reason. Mike glared at her and she shrugged. "You know I’m right and it drives you crazy. What? Is being away from Tessa already getting to you?" She smiled smugly.

"You know what’s getting to me?" Mike leaned forward. "You. Why I ever picked you for this team is beyond me."

K’Leena’s smile was almost feral as she rose to her feet and turned in a graceful circle to face the door of Mike’s Ready Room. "You picked me for this team because I’m the best damned pilot in Starfleet and you know it."

Mike waited until she was almost out of the room before he lobbed his parting shot. "Gee, ‘Leena, and all this time I thought your father was the best and you were second best." He watched with a smile as she froze, regained her composure, and stalked out onto the bridge to regain her position at the helm. Baiting her like that was stupid, and he knew the consequences of playing with K’Leena often left scars. Yet, he couldn’t help playing their verbal games. He had known her for nearly ten years, and in all that time he had never known K’Leena to be anything but a spitfire. Despite the games they played, they worked well together. They made a good team, and they were both well respected in their fields.

He leaned back in his chair and turned a PADD over and over in his hands. They were only minutes from Deep Space Nine, and he had no idea what to expect when they arrived. Surprise was not something Mike Burns handled well, but in his line of work, it was something he had to learn to accept.

"Captain, we’re receiving docking information from DS9," someone said over the speaker.

Mike sighed and pushed himself out of his chair. "Understood."

Before he made it from his Ready Room to the bridge, K’Leena smoothly docked the ship and began the powering down sequence. Then, she turned to face Mike with an arrogant smile. "Docked, Captain."

"Excellent. Paris, you’re with me. The rest of you, garner as much information as you can without drawing attention to yourselves. Remember, as far as anyone knows, we’re a transport ship taking supplies back to Sector 001."

Heads nodded around the bridge as Mike and K’Leena left the bridge to the airlock. "Remember, you talk to Riker. I’ll talk to Darre."

"Are you sure? You’re a somewhat handsome guy. Maybe you’ll have more luck with Riker."

Mike shook his head as they strolled onto the promenade. "Not a chance, Paris. You don’t deal with telepaths well, so you take the empath, I’ll take the telepath. Understood?" He asked in a hiss as they walked into Sickbay.

K’Leena nodded her head and smiled brilliantly at the red headed doctor. "I’m an old friend of Marissa Riker’s. I heard she was injured. Can I see her?" K’Leena’s voice was so syrupy sweet that Mike almost laughed. As it was, he had to look away from the doctor’s piercing blue eyes.

"Sorry, she’s still unconscious, and her visitors are limited to family only." Beverly turned around to straighten up a tray of hyposprays when the young woman’s voice stopped her again.

"Perhaps Admiral Riker told you I would be coming by, Doctor. He’s already approved my visit. I’m Commander K’Leena Paris."

Beverly slowly turned around and looked at the beautiful young woman with the faint Klingon ridges. "Ah, yes…Admiral Riker did mention you would be visiting Marissa." She transferred her gaze to the young man and said, "And, you must be here to see Commander Darre. Please, come with me." Beverly led them through Sickbay to the ICU. She gestured at a door. "Commander Darre is in there. He’s expecting you."

Mike caught K’Leena’s eye just before he disappeared and gave her a purposeful nod. She inclined her head as Dr. Crusher escorted her into Marissa’s room. "Marissa has a severe injury to the center of her brain that controls her empathy. To allow it to heal, she has to remain unconscious most of the time."

"Will waking her harm her?" K’Leena asked, looking down at the sleeping woman.

"No more than keeping her unconscious," Beverly said, pressing a hypospray to Marissa’s neck. "There’s really not much we can do for this kind of injury. Keeping her unconscious helps keep her headaches from affecting her, but can cause memory loss. Waking her helps keep some of her memory in tact, but then she suffers from severe headaches. It’s a Catch-22," Beverly said as Marissa slowly awoke. "Hey Little One," Beverly said, smiling at Marissa. "How’s the headache?"

"Not bad. Ask me again in another three minutes," she said weakly. "Where’s my father?"

"Asleep. I threatened to sedate him," Beverly said with a smile.

"And, my mother?"
"Still off the station."

Marissa sighed and looked at the woman beside Beverly. She squinted at K’Leena before saying, "I know you."

"Wow, I didn’t think you’d remember me," K’Leena said, sitting down in the chair next to Marissa’s bed. "We were in a class together at the Academy."

Marissa nodded her head slowly. "So, what brings you here? Certainly not to rehash times at the Academy. By the way, I’m Marissa Riker."

"K’Leena Paris." She was forced to smile at Marissa and grudgingly admit to herself that she liked the young woman. "I need to ask you some questions about the attack on the Destiny."

"You’re Starfleet Intelligence," Marissa said.

"Not quite." K’Leena looked over her shoulder at Dr. Crusher. "I hate to be rude, but you can’t stay. If there’s a problem, take it up with Admiral Riker."

Beverly was instantly put off by the young woman’s attitude, but she left as the young woman asked. Mentally, she made a note to discuss K’Leena Paris with Will.

"I hope Beverly wasn’t offended," Marissa said, looking worriedly towards the door.

"She’ll get over it," K’Leena said without a second thought to Beverly Crusher and her feelings. Marissa raised her eyebrows but said nothing. "Do you know who attacked the Destiny?"

"You have a rather one track mind," Marissa said, sitting up slightly in her biobed. "Someone told me it was the Romulans. I wasn’t on the bridge, though."

"Where were you?"

"In the turbolift on my way to the bridge." Marissa crossed her arms over her chest. "So, who exactly are you?"

"I can’t tell you that," K’Leena said coolly. "Were you on the bridge when the first attack happened on the Destiny?"

Marissa nodded her head. "It was my opinion that the Romulans were behind it. The way the attack happened just smelled of the Romulans. It was sneaky and unexpected. That’s the way the Romulans play their game." She closed her eyes and winced softly.

"Are you all right?" K’Leena wanted to get the questioning out of the way so they could continue in their mission.

Slowly, Marissa nodded and kept her eyes closed. When she spoke again, her voice was much softer and K’Leena had to struggle to listen. "I’m fine. Just a little bit of a headache. Are you going after the Romulans?"

"I can’t tell you that," K’Leena said again. "And, to be honest, I don’t know that we can with what little information we have to go on from you and Commander Darre."

"Captain Raymer would be the one to talk to. He was on the bridge when it happened, but he was killed."

"I know." K’Leena repressed a sigh and glanced toward the door, hoping that Mike was having more success with Commander Darre.

"You’re disappointed," Marissa said quietly. "I’m sorry I’m not more help. Believe me, I wish I knew more than I do, but I wasn’t on the bridge. I just know the way the two attacks happened smell of the Romulans. It’s the mode of operation." Marissa opened her eyes and pinned K’Leena with an intent stare. "It was the Romulans. I don’t know how I know it, but I know it."

K’Leena raised her eyebrows. The conviction in Marissa Riker’s voice was rather persuasive. "Should Starfleet be sending in anyone to deal with the Romulans, they can’t send them in on your hunch, Lieutenant, no matter how reliable your hunch is."

"Ever go with your gut feeling, Commander?" Marissa brought her hands to her temples and massaged them.

"Sometimes," K’Leena admitted cautiously.

"Well, my gut feeling is the Romulans attacked the USS Destiny, and the Destiny won’t be the last ship they attack. They’re trying to start a war with us because they think we can’t withstand a military engagement right now with all the minor incursions we keep having with the Cardassians."

"They’re right," K’Leena sighed.

"No, they’re not. They just want us to think that. You’re an intelligence officer. I know you are, and you know as well as I do, Starfleet can withstand a military engagement with whomever they choose to fight. They don’t want to fight the Romulans because we can’t withstand a prolonged military engagement."

"I don’t understand."

"A long war is not in the Federation’s best interest. A long war leads to bad feelings throughout the Federation. Bad feelings lead to dissent among the Federation Council. Dissent among the Federation Council makes Starfleet very unhappy, and when Starfleet is unhappy, everyone is unhappy. A short fight with a good outcome is best for the Federation, but the risk is too great." Marissa smiled. "I’ve grown up in Starfleet, Commander. I know how it works."

"So did I, and I know how it works, too, and I disagree with you."

Marissa shrugged her shoulders. "If everyone agreed, the universe would be a crummy place to live."

"Crummy?" K’Leena raised an eyebrow so high on her forehead it made Marissa wince. "Not a word you hear everyday."

"Yes, well, it does explain a lot of situations. The attack on the Destiny was a crummy thing to do. The death of Captain Raymer was a crummy thing to happen. My memory loss is a crummy thing to happen. Crummy may not be a word you hear everyday, but it describes everything to a tee."

K’Leena shook her head and fought the grin on her face. "How can you be so sure it’s not another race with cloaking technology."

"The Romulans have been quiet too long. The Klingons wouldn’t attack us. The Cardassians aren’t that stupid. Any of the other races wouldn’t dare attack us…not now. It’s the Romulans and you know I’m right."

"Reading my mind?"

"Emotions. I can’t read minds. I’m an empath," Marissa reminded K’Leena. "You’re somewhat an empath, aren’t you?"

K’Leena started and her eyes narrowed. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant."

Marissa laughed lightly. "Yes, you do, Commander."

Quickly, K’Leena jumped to her feet and said dryly, "Thank you for your help, Lieutenant. We’ll let you know if we need any more information." Then, K’Leena left Marissa’s room before Marissa had a chance to say another word.

As K’Leena walked into the main area of Sickbay she hoped to hell that Mike was having better luck with Jeyelar Darre than she had with Marissa Riker. Something about Marissa made her wary. It was as if there was no place in her safe. Even though she knew Marissa could not read her mind, she still felt as if Marissa could tell everything going through K’Leena’s mind simply from her feelings. And, Marissa’s comment about K’Leena being somewhat empathic made her extremely uneasy. It wasn’t something K’Leena acknowledged. Her parents shared a unique empathic link and some of that empathy had been passed onto K’Leena. No one knew, no one suspected, and it was extremely unreliable.

"Maybe it’s unreliable because you don’t trust it," a voice said from behind her.

K’Leena spun around, a wisp of her fiery red hair slipping from its holding. She stared icily at the man with his hands casually stuck in his robe pockets. "Who are you? A patient, obviously."

"Obviously," he said echoing the dryness in K’Leena’s voice. "I am Jeyelar Darre."

"My partner was supposed to be speaking with you." K’Leena looked around Sickbay for any sign of Mike. "Have you seen him?"

"He left my room about five minutes ago. He said something about contacting Headquarters."

"You must have been able to supply him with more information than Lieutenant Riker supplied me."

Jeyelar rose his eyebrows. "I’m surprised Marissa remembers anything from that night. She’s retaining her memory much better than she should be with her injury." He smiled at K’Leena and sighed. "I, for one, am ready to be released from this place. You don’t like sickbays," he observed.

"Reading my mind, Commander?"

"I don’t have too. Your body language broadcasts your feelings far better than your thoughts."

K’Leena stole a quick glance down her body. She stood with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and her legs slightly apart. There was a slight frown on her face that changed to a sheepish smile. "Usually when I’m in Sickbay, I’m the patient."

"Aren’t we all?" Jeyelar chuckled. "I don’t suppose you’ve seen Dr. Crusher? I’m hoping I can convince her to release me today."

"Not until you’ve been in bed for a six hour stretch of time, Commander. You’re lucky to be alive. What are you doing out here?" Beverly came around a corner and glared at Jeyelar. "Go to bed, Commander. You’re not leaving today."

"You’re stubborn. No wonder Marissa likes you."
"And, I know what’s best for you right now. As your doctor and superior officer, I’m ordering you back to bed, Commander. Immediately."

Jeyelar held up his hands. "No need to make it an order. It’s obvious you’re serious." He turned to K’Leena and offered her a smile. "Nice to meet you, Commander…?"

"Paris. K’Leena Paris," she said as the smile on his face broadened.

"K’Leena Paris. Good luck," he said, turning around and leaving to the patient areas.

"I’ve never met a telepath like that before," K’Leena said to Beverly Crusher.

"Most Betazoids are like that. They’re very unassuming and very casual about their telepathy." She stuck her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and asked, "I know I’m not supposed to know anything, so I’ll ask only this. Did you find out anything that will help you?"

K’Leena shook her head. "I didn’t, but Mike must have found something out from Commander Darre. Speaking of Mike, I need to find him. Tell Commander Darre and Lieutenant Riker we thank them for their help."

"Good luck, Commander," Beverly called as K’Leena left Sickbay. She walked back to the patient area, into Jeyelar’s room, and swore swiftly under her breath when he wasn’t in his bed. She heard his voice coming softly from Marissa’s room and decided to let them be for once.

*****

"How’d it go?" Jeyelar asked Marissa as he sat by her bed.

"I was no help to her. All I could tell her was my gut feeling and my gut feeling is not enough for her to go on. How’d it go for you?" Marissa reached up and rubbed her temples.

"I gave him all the information I could give him and then he went to report it to Starfleet Command, I assume." Jeyelar reached over and pulled Marissa’s hands from her head. "Stop," he told her quietly. "Close your eyes and empty your mind." He held her hands tightly and linked his mind easily with hers, taking some of the pain from her. She sighed softly as her headache dulled slightly, and then she winced when she realized Jeyelar had taken the pain for her.

"You can’t do that," she whispered, opening their eyes and forcefully breaking their link. She gasped as the pain rushed back to her.

"Why not?"

"Because you can’t," Marissa snapped. "You’re not my father and you’re not my husband."

"I know that," he said calmly. "But, I am your lover."

Marissa’s face burned scarlet. "Once, Jeyelar, once."

"Once is all you want?" He asked quietly.

"I may not remember you tomorrow," she said with a smile, reaching over and touching his hand. "But, I hope I remember that one night."

"There will be more than one night, Marissa," Jeyelar said, raising her hands to his lips and gently kissing her fingertips. "That I promise you…whether you remember me or not."

Marissa laughed softly. "That’ll be good. The girl who can’t remember her name and the guy who can’t keep his hands off of her."

"You won’t forget everything, Marissa," Jeyelar said. "At least I hope not. What I fear is what you will remember."

"Meaning I might only remember my time with Chris. Would that be so bad?"

"Considering the way you were when we first met, yes, that would be that bad. I don’t know that I can take your acid wit again, Lieutenant."

Marissa laughed lightly and closed her eyes. "I think you’re afraid I’ll remember my time with Chris and want to be with him again instead of you."

"Go to sleep, Marissa. Your head must be hurting more than I thought for you to think that," he said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it. Then, he squeezed it and placed it carefully back on her bed.

"Are you leaving?" She asked softly.

"Dr. Crusher threatened to court-martial me if she caught me out of bed again today. I should go back before she realizes I’m missing. I’m only a thought away if you need me," he reminded her.

A soft smile came to Marissa’s lips as she faded off into sleep. It was a nice thought, knowing someone would come running with only her thought to call them.

Chapter Six

"What did you find out, and why did you leave me there?" K’Leena burst into Mike’s quarters with her temper flaring.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "I thought you could hold your own, being that you’re a strong, Klingon woman."

K’Leena growled as she moved closer to him. "You’re really getting on my nerves, Mike."

"My purpose in life is fulfilled, then," he said with a grin.

"Mike!"

"Sit, K’Leena," he ordered, pointing to the chair across from him. "I just talked to Command and told them what Commander Darre told me."

"Which was?"
"He’s convinced it was the Romulans, based on something Captain Raymer told him after the first attack. He also said that they had considered all the ‘usual suspects,’ and no one, save the Romulans, reached all the qualifications."

"Cloaking technology. Stealth technology. Tetryon based explosives." K’Leena listed off the criteria. "That matches several races, Mike…Cardassians, Klingons, Breen, the Dominion, and the Romulans."

"The Cardassians haven’t been completely ruled out. The Breen and the Dominion are too busy fighting with each other to pester the Federation again. The Klingons were definitely ruled out by Lieutenant Riker, and the Romulans were the race suspected by nearly all the senior officers of the Destiny."

"How did Marissa Riker rule out the Klingons single handedly?" K’Leena cocked an eyebrow at Mike.

"Evidently, she has ties outside Starfleet."

"Like what?"

"Like on the Klingon High Council. Her mother is good friends with Ambassador Worf, and her father is acquainted with Chancellor Martok."

K’Leena groaned. "Marissa Riker is ‘the Golden Child,’ isn’t she?"

"Jealous, Leena?"

"Hell no." She grinned at Mike. "Like I’m not? I have a rather impressive family as well."

"Let’s not get into that, Leena. I’ll lose. I’m the first person in my family to join Starfleet, and we are way off topic from our mission."

"All right, so what did Command say?"

"They’re monitoring some increased Romulan movement near the Neutral Zone. With what Commander Darre told me and what I told Command, they’re convinced the Romulans were behind the attack, and we are to proceed immediately to the Neutral Zone and take care of the matter as quickly and quietly as possible."

K’Leena rolled her eyes. "Quick and quiet my ass, Mike. What do they want us to do? Strike at the entire Romulan Empire? That will be starting a war with them. We need to get the cell that struck the Destiny."

"Which is why there will be a change in the mission plans that Command isn’t aware of."

"I’m listening, Captain." K’Leena leaned forward eagerly.

"We’re going to get face lifts and become friendly with some Romulans. Romulans like to brag. We’ll find out who did this and take care of the job the way Starfleet wants us to without starting a war."

"Mike."

"What?"

K’Leena grinned. "I like the way you think."

*****

It wasn’t normal for Chris to sleep as restless as he was sleeping. His dreams were full of odd objects and frantic, fleeting images. He tossed, turned, and finally sat up in his bed. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and tried to sort out his dreams. He felt unsure, almost frightened by the randomness of his dreams. It wasn’t like him. "Jesus," he whispered, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He threw the covers off and walked over to the replicator. "Hot chocolate," he requested and snatched the mug of steaming liquid as soon as it appeared. He took a sip as he wandered into the small living room of the visitor’s quarters.

He sat down on the uncomfortable couch and lay his head on the back of it with his eyes closed. The images from his nightmare danced before his eyes, coming together with a sort of clarity. A red alert sound echoed in his head and flashed before his closed eyes. He felt a shimmy and fell to the floor. Gasping, he opened his eyes. The dream made sense. It wasn’t a dream, and it wasn’t his dream. It was a memory he was intercepting from Marissa. "Watson to Sickbay."

"What’s up, Chris?"

Chris smiled at Dr. Crusher’s voice. "Have you check on Marissa lately?"

"About an hour ago. Why?" Beverly stood up and began walking toward Marissa’s room. If Chris thought something was wrong with Marissa, that was enough for Beverly to go check on her patient.

"Nothing…Just a feeling. I think I’ll come sit with her for awhile. Watson out."

Beverly walked into Marissa’s room and squinted in the darkness. She saw the sheet lift and fall with her even breathing and noted nothing unusual on the bio-monitor. She shrugged, stuck her hands in her pockets, and walked back to her office. She was halfway there when Chris sauntered into Sickbay in his off duty clothes. "You should be asleep."

"I can’t sleep. I tried."

"And?"

"And when I did I started picking up on Marissa’s dreams. She’s been having nightmares on and off all night." Chris shrugged and glanced to the back of Sickbay. "If I can’t sleep, I may as well sit with her. Maybe I can keep her from having nightmares."

Beverly patted his shoulder and wordlessly went to her office. He continued back to Marissa’s room and silently entered the small, dark room. He sat in the chair next to her bed and leaned back in it with his eyes closed. With their link, no matter how weak it was, he could tune in on her dreams, especially in such close proximity to her. He tried to infuse her dreams with a bit of happiness, but no matter how hard he tried, the nightmares returned. After awhile, he gave up, held her hand, and hoped his presence soothed her a bit.

Hours passed by, and he fell into an uncomfortable, uneasy slumber, only to be awakened by Marissa’s startled cry. His eyes flew open and sat straight. "What’s wrong?" He asked.

"Where am I?"

"Where you were last night," he answered with slight irritation. "What do you mean where are you?"

Marissa looked at him with frightened eyes. "Chris?"

"What?" His exasperation was growing.

"Where am I?"

Chris stared at her, his forehead wrinkling, and a bit of alarm settling in his stomach. "You’re in Sickbay," he answered evasively.

"Why?"

"You were hurt when your ship was attacked."

"My ship? I thought the Nighthawk was our ship." Confusion infused her voice and it teetered on fear.

"The Nighthawk?" Chris jumped to his feet and made Marissa more uneasy. "Marissa, we…" He stopped and shook his head. "I’ll be right back, honey," he said, stepping out into the hall. He raced to Beverly’s office and skidded to a stop. Alarmed, Beverly looked up and Chris fought for breath. "Marissa…She…She doesn’t remember."

"Doesn’t remember what?" Beverly jumped to her feet, grabbed a tricorder, and followed Chris back to Marissa’s room.

"The accident, where she is, or what ship she’s on. She thinks we still serve together on the Nighthawk."

"Well, at least her memory isn’t completely lost," Beverly said pragmatically as they entered Marissa’s room. "Hi kiddo," she said, smiling at Marissa as Chris walked around Beverly to sit next to Marissa. "Know where you are?"

"Sickbay, or so I’m told," Marissa answered, sitting up against her pillows.

"What Sickbay?" Beverly ran the tricorder down Marissa’s length and back up to her head. She hovered it over Marissa’s head and took several in-depth scans.

"I don’t know," Marissa admitted.

Beverly snapped it shut and sat down on the young woman’s bedside. "You’re on Deep Space Nine because you were injured when the USS Destiny was attacked."

"Injured? How?"

"You’ve suffered an injury to your metacampus."

Marissa paled. She immediately knew why her memory was gone. "Why was I on the Destiny?" Marissa looked over to Chris. "Where were you?"

"On the Nighthawk," he answered quickly. "You transferred to the Destiny, Marissa. Actually, you were promoted to the second officer over there."

"Why did I transfer over there?"

Chris and Beverly exchanged a look and Beverly inclined her head. "Because you filed for divorce from me."

"What! Why?" Marissa looked back and forth between Beverly and Chris. Beverly stood up and wisely left them alone. Marissa stared at Chris and tears welled in her eyes. "Why did I file for divorce?"

Chris sighed and moved to take Beverly’s place on Marissa’s bed. "You felt that I cared more for my job than I cared for you."

"Did you?" Marissa asked.

"Maybe," he answered neutrally. "I know it took you leaving to make me realize how much I love you."

"Did I stop loving you?" Marissa’s wide, trusting eyes made Chris want to lie so desperately, but in the end, he knew he couldn’t lie to her.

"I think so. I know you were seeing someone on the Destiny."

"Who?"

"The first officer. Commander Darre. He was hurt, too."

"Is he here?"

"He’s across the hall," Chris answered, trying to ignore the flame of jealousy growing in his heart. "Want me to get him?"

Marissa shook her head. "No." She leaned back against her pillows. "This doesn’t make sense."

Chris laughed. "Well, it’s all the god-honest truth."

"I don’t doubt that, Chris. I’d know if you were lying," she reminded him. She reached up and patted her tangled curls, sighed, and looked at Chris. She waited until he was looking at her and she asked quietly, "I think I would remember if I stopped loving you, Chris, because I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love you."

Chris swallowed hard and broke their gaze. Tears stung his eyes and he swallowed convulsively. Don’t look away from me, Imzadi, Chris heard in his head. I can feel you, Chris. I know your thoughts.

"Stop it, Marissa," he said, standing up and walking near the door. "You’re only doing this because you can’t remember the past few months and I’m the most familiar thing to you."

"You’re my husband."

"No, I’m not," he said harshly. "You divorced me."

"Then, why are you here?" She asked.

Chris closed his eyes. "Because you may have stopped loving me, but I never stopped loving you, and when I found out you were hurt, I knew I had to be here. That’s why I’m here, Marissa." Then, he left.

*****

Marissa stared at the door for untold hours after Chris left, trying to digest all he had told her. It seemed so absurd to her…divorcing him, going to another ship, having an affair. She shook her head. Nothing he had said reminded her of herself. It was as if she had become another person in the past several months, and Marissa was grateful she couldn’t remember the person she had become.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to remember. When she wasn’t thinking about the absurdity of it all, she tried to penetrate the hazy surrounding her mind. She was slightly grateful that she had only forgotten a few months worth of memories. It could be much worse. She knew she could have forgotten her entire life. Marissa shuddered. That was a terrifying thought. Waking up and not knowing where she was had been horrifying enough. She could only imagine what it would be like to wake up and have no idea who you were.

"Marissa?"

Startled, Marissa jerked herself back to reality and stared at a face she didn’t recognize. "Yes?" Marissa asked uneasily. She had a feeling the person knew her well…almost too well.

"What are you doing awake?" He walked into her room with a merry grin. "Dr. Crusher will kill you if she finds you awake. You should be sedated."

"Why?"

"The headaches," he reminded her, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She skirted away from him, and he raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

Marissa’s enormous blue eyes grew even larger as she asked, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" His voice was shocked. "Marissa, it’s Jeyelar."

"Jeyelar who?" Marissa’s brow furrowed. "Have we met?"

"When did you lose your memory?" Jeyelar fought to control himself.

"I don’t know."

"Does Dr. Crusher know?"

"She was in here a few moments ago with my husband," Marissa replied.

Anger shot through Jeyelar. "Your husband?" He asked tightly. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but you and Chris divorced, Marissa."

"So I’ve been told," she said. "You still haven’t told me who you are or what you’re doing in my room in the middle of the night."

"Jeyelar Darre, first officer on the Destiny, and I was worried about you. Your thoughts were so troubled and anxious, I had to check on you."

"My thoughts? How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I’m Betazoid." It was easier than telling her that since they had slept together he was able to tune into her thoughts more easily.

"Oh." Marissa smiled sadly at him. "I wish I remembered you."

"Me too," he echoed, more angry than sad. "We’re friends, Marissa. We have been since you came aboard the Destiny."

"Nice to know I had a friend there."

"Have a friend," he corrected her. Then, he slapped his thighs. "Well, I should leave you alone and you should get some sleep. I’ll stop in and talk to you later. Maybe you’ll remember me by then," he said with a smile as he walked to her door.

"That would be nice. It’s a little weird not knowing the people who walk through the door and talk to me like they’ve known my all my life," she said as he paused at her doorway.

"Get some sleep, Marissa," he said. Then, very quietly and sadly he said, "Remember, I’m a thought away if you need me."

Jeyelar knew Marissa hadn’t heard him, and anger coursed through him as he stalked to Beverly’s office. He saw the back of the red-headed doctor’s head as he entered the office. "Release me," he demanded without a word of greeting.

Beverly jumped in her seat and spun it around. She took one look at Jeyelar and shook her head. "Not a chance, Commander. Go back to bed."

"I’m not asking," he said, walking closer to her desk. "I’m telling you that I’m leaving. You can’t make me stay here."

"The hell I can’t." Beverly rose to her feet and stared menacingly at him. "I am ordering you back to bed, Commander, and as your superior officer, I expect you to obey."

"Put me on report, then. The last thing I am going to do is go back to bed, Doctor. I need to be out there doing something." He waved his hand at the area beyond Sickbay. "I can’t do anything when I’m locked up in here. I feel fine, Doctor."

"I’m sure you do, but Jeyelar, you need time to heal," Beverly said, changing her tone to a more soothing one. "I know you want to be out there trying to help with the situation, but you’re no good to anyone if you don’t have the strength to stay awake. If you don’t rest, you’re going to get worse."

"I’m fine," he argued. "I’m restless. I need to do something. Please, Beverly, let me go. I’ll come back for check ups every damned hour if you want, but I can’t stay here. I need to be out there helping them find the bastards that killed my captain and took my best friend’s memory."

"When did you see Marissa?"

"I just came from her room," he answered, a pleading look growing in his eyes. "Please, Beverly. I need to do something to help her. I can’t do that here. She doesn’t even remember me. Please."

Beverly stared at him intently for a moment, sighed, and let her shoulders sink. Even she knew when she was beat. "All right, Jeyelar, but I want you back here every six hours. Understood?"

"Yes, ma’am," he said with a smile. "Thank you, Beverly."

"Don’t thank me," she grumbled. "Get out of here before I change my mind."

Jeyelar nodded and hurried wordlessly from Sickbay. "Computer, locate Captain Michael Burns," he said as he walked down a corridor.

"Captain Burns is aboard the shuttlecraft, Rio Grande," the computer intoned as Jeyelar changed directions. He headed directly to the shuttle bay, entered it, and walked to the Rio Grande. Mike sat at the helm reading a PADD, or so it looked to Jeyelar. He studied the man for a moment, and then used his own access code to enter the Rio Grande.

When he walked onto the shuttlecraft, he looked up straight into the business end of a standard issue Starfleet phaser. Cocking an eyebrow, he looked at Mike and asked dryly, "Would it do any good to plead for my life?"

"You scared the hell out of me, Darre," Mike said, irritated. He put the phaser down and moved back to the helm where he sat down and rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing out of Sickbay? Dr. Crusher will have you court-martialed."

"She released me. I was driving her crazy. I need to be doing something to help."

"So do something to help," Mike said, leaning back in his chair and motioning to one near him at the weapons control.

"That’s why I’m here."

Mike shook his head. "Sorry, we’re not taking new recruits right now, Commander. I’ve got a full team."

"How many of them are Betazoid?" Jeyelar knew full well how valuable a Betazoid could be on an intelligence team.

"None," he admitted.

"You’re going to Romulus. You need a telepath."

"What makes you think that? I’m a good intelligence officer, if I do say so myself, and my team is the best there is." Mike linked his hands behind his head.

"But none of them can tell you exactly what the enemy is thinking. You need me on this mission."

Jeyelar’s argument made sense to Mike, but this wasn’t a decision he could make on his own. "Look, Jeyelar, I’d love to welcome you to the team, but the decision isn’t mine. I may be the captain, but I don’t control our mission or pick the members. I only command the missions and pick the members I take with me."

"Special Ops? Are you Section 31?"

Mike laughed a full, hearty belly laugh. "Section 31? Hell no. Those cloak and dagger jerks couldn’t do what I do."

"What do you do?"

"Probe my mind and find out because I can’t tell you," Mike said with a smile.

Jeyelar shook his head. "I don’t probe people’s minds unless I have to, and I don’t have to probe yours. Yet."

Mike laughed and nodded his head. "I’ll contact my superiors in the morning. I call them this time of night and I may as well kiss my job good bye. You would be a good asset, Jeyelar."

"Asset to what?" An amused voice asked from behind them.

Mike looked over, saw K’Leena, and rolled his eyes. "How do you always manage to show up when you’re least wanted?"

"Oh come on, Mike. You know you love me." She smiled gleefully at him, and then look curiously at Jeyelar. "Why aren’t you in Sickbay?"

"I was released," he answered simply.

"Driving the doctors nuts?" K’Leena took another unoccupied seat.

"I needed to be out of there."

"Commander Darre has asked to join our mission," Mike told K’Leena with a raised eyebrow.

She looked over at Darre, raised her eyebrows, and shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Why?" The men asked at the same time.

"He’s a Betazoid," K’Leena said as if that explain it all.

Mike shook his head. "I know I’ll regret asking this, but what difference does that make?"

"Betazoids make people uncomfortable. No one will feel safe with him around." K’Leena’s voice held a note of accusation.

"I’m not uncomfortable." Mike grinned at Jeyelar. "Are you uncomfortable?"

"Not in the least," he answered with a long, smoldering glance at an irate K’Leena.

"Of course you’re not. You’re the Betazoid!"

"K’Leena, we could use a telepath on this mission. If we can’t get the Romulans to talk, the other best option would be to have someone around who can read their minds while we shoot the breeze with them."

"No." K’Leena stood up and crossed her arms. "I won't allow it."

"You don’t pick the team, Commander," Mike warned ominously as he stood up.

"No, but I can block someone," she countered. "One call to…"

"To who? Your father? Your grandfather? Don’t pull that kind of shit with me, K’Leena. I’ll have you taken off this team so fast you won’t know what happened. You may be the best pilot in the fleet, but I don’t have to have you on my team. Don’t forget that, Paris. This is my team, not yours, and if you have a problem with someone on it, you’d damn well better get over it or find a way to work around it. Like it or not we need Commander Darre’s talents on this mission."

K’Leena clenched her hands at her sides and bit her lip. She glared at Mike for a moment then shot Jeyelar a withering look before stalking out of the shuttlecraft. The door closed resoundingly behind her and Mike shook his head. Jeyelar whistled. "She has quite a temper."

"It’s the Klingon in her. I swear, sometimes she acts like she’s a full blooded Klingon instead of one fourth." He sat back down across from Jeyelar.

"I scare the hell out of her," Jeyelar confided. "That’s why she wants to keep me off this team. Now, why would I scare her?"

"K’Leena’s a private person. She doesn’t like people knowing things about her that she hasn’t told you herself."

Jeyelar nodded his head. "I can see why she’d have a problem with a telepath, then. Too bad she doesn’t realize that not all telepaths automatically read a person."

"You don’t?"

Jeyelar shook his head. "Too intrusive. I only read someone when I need to or when they’re letting me."

Mike leaned back. "I like you, Jeyelar. We need you on this team."

"So you’ve said," he said with a wry smile. "Ask your boss."

"I will," Mike decided. "And, I’ll let you know as soon as I know something."

Both men stood up and Mike held out his hand. Jeyelar took it and they shook hands briefly. "Get some rest, we ship out of here as soon as we get the word," Mike warned. Jeyelar nodded and left the shuttlecraft with a silent thanks. At least now he felt like he was doing something to help.

*****

Anyone in the path of the irritated Klingon stalking the hallways of DS9 immediately jumped out of her way. Without realizing it, K'Leena growled and muttered Klingon obscenities under her breath. When she walked into her temporary quarters in the space station, she grabbed at the nearest object and threw it at the wall. The object had the misfortune of being a Bajoran glass vase. It shattered cleanly against the wall and landed in a deadly pile near the viewport. She stared at it angrily for a moment or two before another Klingon curse ripped from her lips and she flung herself into a chair. "Unbelievable. A Betazoid. Of all the stupid races to have on this team. A Betazoid. They don't like violence. They like peace. They like openness and honesty. That's the last thing this team needs."

"Great, and now you're talking to yourself, Paris. Way to go. Next thing you know, someone's going to over hear you and look you up in a mental station." K'Leena shook her head and rested it on the back of the chair. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that having a telepath on the mission could be helpful, but something about this telepath drove her crazy. He was the last person she wanted within a light-year of her.

Why this particular Betazoid drove her so crazy, she didn't know. It didn't make a lot of sense to her anyway since he was rather handsome. The only thing she didn't like about him was the fact that he could read her mind at any time he chose.

"Get it out of your head, Paris. He's a telepath. No matter how good looking you think he is, it doesn't matter. The last thing you need is someone who can read your thoughts all the time, and besides that, he's Betazoid."

Long ago, K'Leena had made vows to herself. One, she would marry either a Klingon or a human. Two, she would not sleep with anyone until she was mated. Her view was limited and old fashioned by today's standards, but it was something she held dear to her heart. She wanted a marriage like her parents'. She wanted to share a closeness like theirs and a love like theirs, and she had yet to find anyone who met her standards. Besides, he also had to be able to handle her temper and her career. She certainly wasn't willing to give up her career as a Starfleet officer to stay at home and raise babies. Granted, she wanted children, but she wasn't willing to give up her life. There were men she was attracted to, and she had dated quite a bit, but there was no one special enough for her to give them everything she had.

"You're already twenty-eight, Paris. Maybe it's time to lower your standards."

As soon as the words left her mouth, K'Leena shuddered. She wasn't willing to lower those standards. She needed those things…she needed them to be happy, and she knew without those things she would never truly be happy. "Not everyone's meant to be happy," she murmured to herself as the heavy hand of sleep came to her mind.

*****

What could be considered the twenty-fourth century version of a conference call ensued on the Rio Grande between Mike Burns, Geordi LaForge, and Will Riker, and all of it revolved around Jeyelar Darre. Mike tapped his fingers on the console in front of his viewscreen. Briefly, he wished to hell he had gone to Will Riker’s quarters and told him what his intentions were, but fear had gotten the best of him. Little scared Mike Burns, but there was something about being in the same room with a legend that made his hands shake. "I’m telling you, Admiral, this guy is as smart as they come," Mike argued with Geordi.

"I don’t doubt that, Captain. What I doubt is how your team will take to having someone new added for one mission."

"If he’s as good as Mike thinks, let this mission be his shakedown. If he stands up to the pressure, keep him on Alpha Team," Will suggested reasonably. He glanced longingly at his bedroom and wished for the peaceful sleep this communiqué had ended.

"How will the rest of your team handle this?" Geordi asked point blank. He controlled Alpha Team, but Mike had to live with them.

Mike grimaced silently. "There won’t be a problem with anyone besides K’Leen…Commander Paris, and she’ll get over her aversion to telepaths."

Geordi massaged his forehead. K’Leena Paris was constantly causing him headaches. The woman was an all-out war waiting to happen. She barely constrained herself, but she was good. No, she was the best, and being the best was what Alpha Team was all about. "See that she does."

"Does that mean I can give Commander Darre the good news?" Mike asked with bright eyes.

"What the hell," Geordi said, giving in easily. "Will? Any objections?"

Will Riker vaguely heard Geordi’s question. His attention was trained on a certain raven haired Betazoid sneaking silently into his quarters. His silent laughter startled her. The second he felt her coming, he blocked her only to give her the surprise of her life. "Will? Dammit, Will, pay attention to me for five more seconds and you can go back to sleep," Geordi cursed.

Sleep was the last thing on Will Riker’s mind as his wife stalked over to him and glared. He laughed aloud. Geordi shook his head, and said, "Riker, so help me God if you ignore me one more time, I’m going to have you busted back down to captain of some god forsaken garbage scow."

"Make it fast, Geordi," he said, but his attention was on his wife.

"Darre. Got a problem with him?"

Will tore his eyes from his wife and looked at the screen. "He saved my daughter’s life, Geordi. As far as I’m concerned the man is one of the best, and that’s what Alpha Team was designed for so put him on the damned team and let me get back to what I was doing."

Geordi shook his head again and smiled this time. "Good night, Will," he said and Will’s screen went blank. He stood up and turned to his wife. "Hello," he said, leaning over and catching her lips in a sweet, tortuous kiss. Deanna sighed and leaned into her husband’s still strong body. She wrapped her arms around him and molded herself to him like a second skin. He groaned, shoved one hand into her hair, and held her mouth prisoner as he pushed them backwards. She tumbled against the unyielding wall and her husband’s body kept her upright. "Will," she sighed into his mouth as his hands sought the clasps to her uniform. He was grateful he had on as little as he did. Deanna made short order of his robe and pajama bottoms while he fumbled with her uniform.

"You’re not as adept at this as you used to be, you know," she teased as her hand clasped around him.

His eyes widened. He freed the top of her uniform and yanked over her head with her bra. She lost contact with him for a moment, but as soon as her arms were free, her hand sought him again. He surged against her and kissed a line of pure fire from her jaw line to the valley between her breasts. She mewled approvingly as he treated both her breasts to overt attention while pushing her pants and panties from her body. They tangled at her feet and she stepped onto them to step out of them. The moment her body was free he reached for her hands and pinned them up over her head. She gasped in surprise as he hiked her up against the wall. "Wrap your legs around me," he whispered in her ear as he kissed down her neck. She obliged, locking her ankles around his waist and he entered her in one strong thrust. His sudden entry made her gasp and bite down slightly on his shoulder, encouraging him more. "I feel like you’ve been gone for months," he said raggedly as their lips met for a clumsy kiss.

"I know," she sighed as his movements became harder and quicker. She gasped with each one. He released her hands and moved one of his under her to give him more leverage. "I’m too old for this," he teased, wetting his finger with the moisture from their junction. Then, he moved the hand around her body to tease her. She shuddered against his body and surged against him. He grinned into her hair and kissed her neck to her ear.

"Oh God," she breathed, coming with a force that nearly drove them to their knees. The peak of pleasure tore his name from her lips as her mind sought his. He willing linked his mind with her and the images she sent him along with the shared feelings of ecstasy was enough to send him over the edge. His body jerked and shuddered against hers, and then he slowly sank to his knees, taking her with him.

"Wow," she murmured, grateful their clothes were on the floor with them. She grabbed at his robe and used it as a blanket for her chilled body. He groaned his response and stretched out on the floor.

"Who would have thought it’d still be this good after this many years?" He asked, not expecting an answer.

"Me," she said with a smile. "I knew from the first time we made love in the Jalara Jungle."

Will smiled and turned his head to look at her. "I wish I had of known it then. I would never have left Betazed." He raised a hand and brushed some of her disheveled hair away from her face.

"It’s in the past," she said, trying to not think about the more painful details of her life. "And, it’s good to be home."

Will looked around the smallish quarters. "Home?" He said wryly. "This isn’t home."

Deanna curled up next to him and lay her head on his chest. She began playing with his chest hair and said, "Home is anywhere you are, Imzadi."

Will kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to him. "I love you, too."

They lay quietly for a few moments, Will idly playing with Deanna’s hair as Deanna idly picked at his chest hair before speaking again. "How’s Marissa?" Deanna asked softly.

Will groaned. "Not well," he answered honestly and felt her body go tense. "She’s lost some of her memory."

"How much?"

"She doesn’t remember being on the Destiny or her divorce from Chris."

"That makes for an uncomfortable situation, doesn’t it?" Deanna asked dryly.

"Guess so. Commander Darre has been released from Sickbay and is shipping out to help with the investigation."

"At least he’s doing well. How’s Chris taking all this?"

"I have no idea. What I know about Marissa’s condition came from Mike Burns after he talked to Jeyelar Darre."

Deanna’s forehead wrinkled. "Who’s Mike Burns?"

Will chuckled and kissed her hair again. "I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you."

"Ah, then I don’t want to know. I have much more interesting things on my mind that couldn’t happen if I were dead," Deanna said suggestively

"What kind of things?" Will echoed the seductive tone of her voice.

Deanna opened her mind and projected her thoughts to Will. Immediately, he groaned and turned her onto her back. "If that’s what you have in mind, we need to get started immediately."

"No argument here," she murmured back against his lips.

Chapter Seven

Although it was rather late on the station, a gnawing feeling told Mike that he would find Jeyelar Darre in his quarters. He knew he should tell Jeyelar in person, but he had something else to take care of, so he contacted him through the comm system.

"Burns to Darre."

"Darre here." Jeyelar’s quick response and alert voice told Mike that Jeyelar hadn’t been sleeping.

"Remember what we spoke about earlier?" Mike said evasively.

"Of course."

"I’ve spoken with who I needed to and they’ve approved my request," Mike said, knowing that if anyone was listening in they wouldn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

"Wonderful. Thank you, Captain."

"We need to meet as soon as possible. Say 1200 hours?" Mike paused in front of a door.

"Where?"

"My quarters. Burns out." He ended the conversation abruptly and pressed a button.

The door opened when the come command was given. Mike walked in and immediately saw the glass in the corner. "Bad night?" He asked, going to where K’Leena was sitting.

"What was your clue?" She asked with her eyes still closed.

"The shattered glass." He sat down across from her. "K’Leena, I need to talk to you."

K’Leena opened one eye and studied Mike. He looked too serious for this to be a joke. She sighed, opened both eyes, and sat up. "All right. What’s up?"

"I talked to Admirals LaForge and Riker tonight." He laced his fingers together. "They approved Jeyelar Darre joining our team. Are you going to have a major problem with that?" His eyes met hers and held her gaze.

She knew her answer would decide whether or not she continued to serve Starfleet on the Alpha Team. Biting back her true response she said, "Honestly, it’ll bother me a little bit, but a major problem is the Romulans. That’s what I have a problem with. If LaForge thinks having a telepath on the team will help us complete our mission more efficiently, then I’m all for that."

Mike let out a whoosh of air. He sat back in the chair and smiled. "Thank God. I didn’t want to lose the best pilot I’ve ever had."

K’Leena smiled and tossed her mane of red hair over her shoulder. "You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried, Burns."

"I know. You’re like a bad after taste that keeps coming back."

"Keep up that kind of flattery and you might get lucky," she shot back.

Mike groaned. "You have no idea how much I miss Tessa right now," he confided.

"Oh come on, Mike. It hasn’t been that long." She shot him a knowing glance.

"Our relationship is not all sex, K’Leena. I love her."

"Does she know that?"

"Yes."

"Does she love you?"

"You tell me. You’re her best friend. She refuses to marry me."

"She’s been hurt too many times, Mike. Give her awhile. She’s not used to nice guys."

Mike raised his eyebrow. "Nice guy? Wow, I’ve elevated in your esteem. I may have to go throw myself out an airlock now."

K’Leena gestured toward the door of her temporary quarters. "Don’t let me stop you," she said.

Mike nodded. "I’ve done what I need to do tonight. It’s time for me to sleep. You too."

"I will," K’Leena promised absent-mindedly as Mike rose to his feet and walked to her door.

"Good night, K’Leena."

"Night," she said as the door closed. Her thoughts were on what he had said about her best friend. He was in love with Tessa. K’Leena felt a jolt of jealousy like none other. She envied her best friend. A guy like Mike didn’t come along everyday, and granted, he wasn’t K’Leena’s type, but he was a great guy and Tessa deserved him. She just wished she could find one like him.

*****

The chiming of his door awoke Jeyelar at an early hour. He cursed in Betazed and grabbed for his robe. "Computer identify visitor," he demanded in a deep and surly voice.

"Commander Deanna Troi."

Jeyelar swore again in Betazed and walked quickly to the door as he tied the belt of his robe. He pressed the release button and offered a fake smile to Deanna. "Good morning, Commander."

"I didn’t realize you would still be asleep, Commander Darre. I apologize," Deanna said, still standing outside his quarters.

"Late night," he answered her unspoken question. "Come in." He stepped out of the doorway. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks. This is a quick visit. I’m meeting my husband in Sickbay."

"How is Marissa today?"

"No change as far as I know," Deanna replied, standing behind a chair as Darre went to the replicator and ordered something loaded with caffeine. "I was surprised to find out Beverly had released you from Sickbay."

"I was driving her crazy," Jeyelar said, raising a cup to his lips and taking a long sip.

Deanna chuckled. "You know, driving her crazy used to be my husband’s only goal in life after marrying me."

Jeyelar smiled tolerantly and wondered deep in his psyche why the hell Deanna was standing in his quarters. Deanna raised her eyebrows and then he heard her voice in his head. I’m here because we need to talk about my daughter, he heard. Jeyelar shook his head. "I forget what it’s like to be around other Betazoids. Needless to say, it’s been awhile."

"Yes, and your so curious about why I’m here I was able to guess that’s what you were thinking. I was right."

"You’re empathic, yes?"

"Yes." Deanna nodded her head and refocused the conversation. "Jeyelar, I know you’re joining Alpha Team."

"What’s Alpha Team?" His mask of neutrality fell quickly into place.

"Try it on someone with less connections," she smirked. "I’m the reason Alpha Team is here."

"Pulled some strings?" Jeyelar raised an eyebrow.

"Terrified an admiral," she corrected. "I think it’s a good thing that you’re joining them. It never hurts to have a telepath or an empath along on a secure mission."

"I’m glad you think it’s a good thing." He raised the cup to his lips again, this time to hide his smirk. As if he needed her permission to go on a mission. She wasn’t his commanding officer.

"It’ll also give you some time to think."

"About what?"

"About how you truly feel for my daughter because she doesn’t remember you at all. All she remembers is being married to her husband, and that’s not going to be an easy thing to compete with."

"What makes you think there will be an competition?"

Deanna raised her eyebrows. "Then, you don’t care about my daughter."

"If I didn’t care about her, I wouldn’t be going on this mission. She’s the only reason I’m going."

"Then before you go off and put yourself in a deadly situation, perhaps you should think about how you truly feel. I think that you think that you’re in love with her, but love is like life. It’s multi-layered and very complicated. My daughter turned to you in a time of need in her life. That doesn’t mean she’s in love with you. Has she ever said those words to you?"

Jeyelar clenched his jaw to keep from telling Deanna Troi to go to hell. He shook his head and replied tightly, "You should know better than anyone that the emotions are more important than the spoken…or unspoken words."

"And, you should realize that my daughter is more human than Betazoid. For her, the feeling and the words have always been important." Deanna sighed. "Jeyelar, if you love my daughter, fine, fight for her, but if you don’t, let her be with someone who does love her."

"Who? Chris?"

"Yes, Chris. They are Imzadi, Jeyelar," she said gently, watching his reaction to her words play across his face. "That’s all she remembers now. Do you really want to compete with that?" Jeyelar stared impassively at her and offered no answer to her question. She smiled sadly and said, "I have my answer and perhaps you have yours. Good luck on your mission, Commander." She turned and left his quarters quickly. Jeyelar stared at the closed door, thinking of her words. Maybe Deanna Troi was right. Maybe his feelings weren’t as strong as he thought they were, and even if they were, who was he to come between Imzadi? He shuddered, knowing nothing could come between a bond that powerful.

*****

Deanna walked swiftly down the corridor, into a turbolift, and exited a few seconds later just outside Sickbay. Her husband stood patiently waiting for her. He smiled when he saw her walking toward him. When she reached him, he leaned down and they kissed briefly. "How’d your talk with Commander Darre go?"

"He’s leaving with Alpha Team," she answered quickly, walking into Sickbay.

"Ah." Will followed after her and they were met by a disturbed looking Beverly Crusher. Will took one look at Beverly’s face and knew fear.

"What’s wrong?" The anger emanating from Beverly nearly overpowered her empathy.

"Marissa woke up."

"And?" Will took a step closer to his wife.

"And, she think she’s in Sickbay on the Enterprise," Beverly answered tightly. "She thinks she just woke up from her coma after saving Commander Shelby!"

"Oh my god," Will breathed. Deanna clutched at his hand. "You said she wouldn’t lose that much of her memory!"

"How was I to know she’d forget nearly ten years of her life. Injuries to the metacampus are incredibly hard to predict. You know that first hand," Beverly said with a look to Deanna.

"She doesn’t know Will is her father," Deanna whispered. "Gods…" Tears bubbled in her eyes remembering Marissa’s fury the first time she found out she had been lied to for half her life. Facing that kind of wrath again was not something Deanna looked forward to, but her daughter had to know who her father was. "We have to tell her." Deanna looked at Will who grew pale at his memory of her reaction.

"She’s waiting for you, Deanna," Beverly said quietly. "Go talk to her. I’ll take care of this problem."

"What problem?" The Rikers asked in unison. Beverly nodded toward the door. They looked around and saw Chris entering Sickbay.

"Could this day get any worse?" Will groaned.

"Don’t tempt Fate," Deanna warned, pulling him back toward Marissa’s room.

"Should I go in with you?" He asked, suddenly worried.

"I have no idea," Deanna admitted. "I never thought I’d have to do this again."

"I’m coming in with you," he decided, taking her hand and squeezing it firmly. No matter what, they would see each other through this.

They walked into the brightly lit room. Marissa sat up against her pillows. She was looking at a PADD. Deanna smiled and cast to her daughter, Hello Firefly.

Marissa looked up, a smile grew across her face. She looked to Will and puzzlement lined her forehead. "Hello Captain," she said formally to Will, and then she smiled brightly at her mother.

"How do you feel?" Deanna asked cautiously, walking to her daughter’s bedside and sitting down. Will stood nearby with his arms crossed, aching to sit near his daughter.

"Fine. Beverly said my injury is healing nicely."

"No headaches?" Will asked more harshly than he had intended.

Marissa looked over at him and shook her head. "No Sir. Not anymore, at least." Will winced at being called "sir." She looked back to her mother and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Why do you think something’s wrong?" Deanna forced a bit of lightness into her voice.

"Because you’re terrified," Marissa said assuredly.

Deanna looked helplessly over to Will. He took a step forward and placed a hand on Deanna’s shoulder. "Marissa, how much did Dr. Crusher tell you?"

"She said that I was in an accident and suffering from memory loss. I assumed she was talking about the away mission."

"What away mission?"

"The one I went on with Commander Shelby," Marissa replied, noting the hand on her mother’s shoulder.

Will sighed. This was going to be much harder the second time around. Me or you? He thought to his wife. He felt her tense underneath his palm and decided it was his turn. "Marissa, there are a few things you need to know."

"Yes, Sir?" She looked up at him with wide, curious eyes.

"First of all, you were injured when your ship was attacked. Your current assignment is second officer of the USS Destiny. The assignment you had on the Enterprise ended nearly eight years ago."

"Eight years!" Marissa sat up straight in her bed and turned to her mother with disbelief. "Mother?"

"It’s the truth, Marissa," Deanna said heavily, waiting for Will to drop the next few bombs on their child.

"Second officer…how many other ships have I served on since the Enterprise?"

"Two. The Nighthawk and the Destiny," Will answered quickly. "You left the Enterprise right after I was promoted to admiral."

"Congratulations, Sir," Marissa said, wondering what the hell his promotion had to do with her.

"Thank you. You were there at the promotion ceremony. You also helped me decorate my office on Earth and helped your mother find us an apartment while you were on layover between the assignment on the Enterprise and the assignment to the Nighthawk."

"Helped you decorate your office…attended a promotion ceremony…found an apartment for you and my mother…Why the hell would I do all that, and what do you mean ‘find us an apartment?’"

Let me try, Deanna thought to Will. She smiled reassuringly at Marissa and reached for one of her daughter’s small hands. "Sweetheart, please keep in mind that you’ve lost eight years worth of memories, and there are a lot of things you have to be told by people who were there, and you have to accept on faith that we’re telling the truth."

"That and my empathy."

"Your empathy isn’t nearly as reliable as you want people to think it is," Will reminded her. Her eyes cut daggers at him and he wisely shut his mouth.

Ignoring her husband, Deanna continue in a voice meant to soothe. "Let me start at the very beginning."

"All right," Marissa said, trying to focus all her empathic abilities on her mother.

"Getting the assignment to the Enterprise was your dream assignment because you were serving with Captain Riker." Deanna had to pause for a small smile. "What you didn’t know is how scared I was of your assignment. I knew that if you served with him the truth would come out."

"What truth?" Marissa’s eyes narrowed.

"The truth about your father."

"Dad died before I was born, Mother. Are you sure I’m the one with the memory loss?" Marissa snapped.

"Very sure, Firefly, and your father didn’t die before you were born."

"You lied to me?" Blue fire leapt into Marissa’s eyes. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Because your father never knew I was pregnant with you and it was easier to say that he was dead than tell him and you the truth."

"Well, evidently you had to," Marissa observed tightly.

"Yes, I did." Deanna glanced quickly over at Will. He took a step closer to his wife. "Marissa, Will is your father."

Marissa cut her eyes to her father. "Is that true?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known?"

"As long as you did…Nearly eight years. We told you after you recovered from your injuries on the away mission with Commander Shelby."

Marissa nodded as anger seethed through her veins. Will smiled, recognizing that look and said, "I know you’re angry, and I suppose you have the right to be because even though you already knew all this, your memory loss makes it appear that you never knew."

"Really?" Marissa said sarcastically. "What other surprises are there?"

"You were married."

"Married!" Marissa’s eyes bulged. "To whom?"

"Christopher Watson."

"The chief engineer?" Marissa closed her eyes. As far as she remembered, they weren’t even dating.

"Yes." Deanna felt Marissa becoming overwhelmed by all this information. "Your father married you two right before he left the Enterprise. Not too long after that, Chris transferred to the Nighthawk. You transferred with him. While you were there he was promoted to first officer."

"Wow," Marissa said with quiet appreciation, wondering about a marriage she couldn’t remember. "Were we happy?"

"For awhile," Will answered honestly. He sat down in the chair next to Marissa’s bed while Deanna reminded perched on Marissa’s bedside. "After Chris was promoted, you two had many problems."

"And?"

"And, you filed for divorced and a transfer to the USS Destiny," Deanna answered. "You transferred to the Destiny the day your divorce was final."

Marissa massaged her temples. "I can’t handle this."

"Information overload," Deanna said sympathetically. "Want me to stop?"

"There’s more?" She asked with dismay.

"A bit."

"May as well finish it," Marissa said with a shrug. "What did I do on the Destiny?"

"You were second officer. This was the second time the Romulans attacked your ship. You were hurt during the second attack. You and the first officer were in the turbolift on the way to the bridge when the attack happened."

"And?"
"And, you and the first officer along with the rest of the injured were brought here to DS9. Captain Raymer was killed."

Marissa winced. "Is the first officer all right?"

"Yes. Commander Darre was released from Sickbay yesterday."

"That’s good. I guess."

Deanna exchanged a look with Will. He nodded and rose to his feet. "I think I’ll go check on Chris and see how he’s holding up."

"He’s here?" Marissa’s eyes widened.

"He’s been here since you were brought in. Dr. Crusher was going to tell him about your memory loss. If you need me, I’ll be with him," Will said to Deanna. He looked at his daughter, and then he left the room.

Deanna waited until Will was out of earshot before she continued in her tale. "There’s something else I suppose I should tell you about Commander Darre."

"What?"

"You were seeing him."

Marissa’s eyes narrowed until they were blue slits. "Seeing him as in what?"

"I need to spell it out for you?" Deanna raised her eyebrows.

"I was sleeping with him?" Marissa’s voice was slightly horrified. "Oh my god."

Deanna laughed softly and shook her head. "I guess you inherited more of your father than I thought," Deanna said irreverently.

"Mother!" Marissa exclaimed indignantly. Then, she thought about the truth in Deanna’s statement and allowed herself a small laugh. "Can I ask a question or five?"

"Of course," Deanna said as she squeezed her daughter’s hand.

"Will I get any of my memory back?"

"You might. Some of it might come back gradually. I had an injury similar to yours a few years back and I lost nearly twenty years of my memory."

"You did? Did I know about that?"

Deanna shook her head. "No. You were on your honeymoon at the time and your father didn’t want to worry you. At first, we didn’t think the injury was that bad until I woke up one morning and found your father in our bed and I freaked out. As far as I knew, I was twenty something again and had just met him." Marissa repressed a giggle. "Fortunately, by the time you and Chris returned from your honeymoon, I remembered enough to know that I had a daughter. Your father was still a mystery to me."

"When did you get your memory back of him?"

"It took a few months, but I did, and what I didn’t remember, I relearned." Deanna smiled at Marissa. "And, what you don’t remember, you’ll relearned, too. What helped me the most was to go to places where something important had happened. It usually triggered a memory. Perhaps your father should arrange for you to visit the Enterprise."

"No!" Marissa said with such forcefulness it startled Deanna.

"Why not?"

"I’ll arrange it. I don’t want Captain…Admiral Riker doing me any favors."

"Marissa, he’s your father," Deanna said softly.

"Fine, but give me time to accept that or remember that. Don’t force it on me just because you think that’ll help me remember, Mother."

Deanna nodded. "Fine. Would you like to see Commander Darre or Christopher?"

Marissa shook her head. "Let me think about it, okay?"

"Fine."

"Mother?"

"What Firefly?" Deanna asked, already knowing what her daughter was going to ask.

"Would you leave me alone for awhile. I want to sort this all out."

Deanna stood up. "If you need me, use the comm system. I expect Beverly will want to check you soon."

Marissa nodded. "That’s fine. Thank you."

I love you, Deanna thought to her daughter as she left the room. She found Will leaning against the wall across from Marissa room. The look of naked pain on his face tore at her heart. She went to him and placed her hands over his large ones. "She’ll remember you, Will, and if she doesn’t, you can build a relationship with her."

"I’ve done that once, Deanna, and it wasn’t easy."

"It’s never easy to raise children," she reminded him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his strong chest. "It’ll be all right, Imzadi."

Will’s kiss on the top of her head told her that he believed her. "You should talk to Chris," he murmured into her hair. "I think he needs the services of a good counselor."

"He didn’t take the news well?" Will shook his head, his chin bumping the top of her head. "I’ll talk to him later. Right now, I’d like for you to take me to our quarters."

"Why?"

Deanna pulled back from him. "Don’t ask questions, Riker. Just do it."

"Yes, ma’am." Will smiled, put his arm around her waist and led her out of Sickbay.

*****

"Burns to Darre."

Jeyelar zipped up his duffel bag and hit his communicator. "Darre here."

"We’re leaving in twenty minutes from Airlock 17."

"Understood. Darre out." Jeyelar picked up his duffel bag and swung it over his shoulder. He had one more thing to take care of before he left DS9.

*****

Two hours had passed and Marissa had yet to make sense of everything her mother had told her. If anything, she was more frustrated. In her mind’s eyes she pictured her brain surrounded by an impenetrable fog. Briefly, she wished there were an object nearby. If there were, she would have chunked it at the nearest wall. Instead, she had to content herself with the gory images of what she would to if she found the person responsible for her memory loss.

"Wow. That was disgusting," an amused voice said from her doorway.

Marissa looked over with narrowed eyes. "What was gross?"

"That thought of yours."

"You’re Betazoid?"

"Yup."

"Do I know you?" Marissa directed her empathy at him, but she received vague images.

"Yes, you do." Jeyelar walked inside her room a bit. "I take it you’ve lost more of your memory?" Marissa nodded her head. He sighed and introduced himself to her for the third time. "I’m Commander Jeyelar Darre."

"The first officer on the Destiny," she breathed. A scarlet blush flamed her cheek and she looked away from him.

"You remember the Destiny?"

She shook her head. "No, my parents were here a little while ago explaining the past eight years to me."

Jeyelar whistled. "Eight years. That’s awful."

"Tell me about it. I guess I should be grateful to remember my own name." She smiled ruefully. "My mother tells me that we were friends. Close friends."

"You could put it that way." Jeyelar smiled at her. "We are very close friends."

"Were," Marissa corrected him. "Until I get my memory back, I don’t know you."

"Point taken." An unexpected ache went through Jeyelar. He pushed the feeling aside and focused on why he was there. "I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving the station."

"Why?"

"To find the Romulans that attacked the ship."

"No, why are you telling me." Marissa smiled sadly and knew her next words would hurt him. They would hurt anyone. "I know I should care, but I barely know you."

Jeyelar winced. "When you get your memory back, you’ll care," he said lamely.

Marissa nodded her head. "I’m sure I will. Be careful and good luck," she wished him.

"Thank you." Jeyelar turned to leave. "Marissa, take care of yourself," he said quietly from the doorway.

"I’ll try," she said, watching him leave the room.

His leaving caused a pang to go through her. She had been unduly rude to him, but in this situation, she wasn’t sure how else to react. The best thing for everyone was for her to act like she didn’t care until she got her memory back, or so she thought.

Jeyelar stalked through the main area of Sickbay with a look of absolute fury on his face. As he turned the corner to leave, Chris turned the corner to enter Sickbay. Both men froze, inches away from colliding into the other. "What are you still doing here?" Chris asked ungraciously.

"I’m leaving," Jeyelar said tightly.

"Thank God for small miracles," Chris said, moving around Jeyelar. "Are you coming back?"

"If I survive."

Jeyelar’s answer froze Chris in mid-stride.

"If you survive?" Chris echoed. "You make it sound like you’re going on a life or death mission."

"It could be." Jeyelar raked a hand through his hair. "I can’t say where I’m going. It’s classified."

"So it has something to do with the Romulans." Jeyelar’s lack of an answer was enough proof for Chris. He turned around and faced Jeyelar. "Good luck. I hope you find the bastards that did this, and I mean that."

"I know," Jeyelar admitted. "I have to go. Good luck with Marissa."

Chris shook his head. "You’ve seen her today?"

"I just came from there. She doesn’t have a clue who I am."

"Or who her father is, or who I am…As far as her memory goes, I’m the Chief Engineer and her father is just a captain."

"She knows who you are and who her father is."

"Only because Deanna told her. She doesn’t remember it at all. Starting over is a bitch."

For a moment, Jeyelar felt sorry for Chris. He swallowed hard and said, "Take her somewhere you two shared a happy memory. Maybe it’ll trigger her memory."

"I’ll think about that. Good luck, Jeyelar."

"Good bye," he said, and without another word, he left for the airlock and Chris headed into Sickbay.

*****

She heard footsteps behind her and she swung around. When she saw who the new arrival was, she scowled and turned back around.

"Glad to see you, too," Jeyelar said dryly.

K’Leena ignored him.

"Where is Captain Burns?"

"Getting Dr. Crusher," she answered bitingly.

"Why didn’t we just meet in Sickbay."

A sigh of disgust escaped K’Leena’s lips as she turned around and gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious? This is a classified mission to Romulus and you want us to go to Sickbay so Dr. Crusher can turn us into Romulans. Think about that for a moment. If you really want to walk around this station looking like a pasty faced, green, pansy then go to Sickbay. I’d like to be on the Promenade to see how long you last."

"That’s enough, Commander," Mike said, walking up behind the duo. K’Leena shot Mike a withering look that he returned. "Onto the Valiant. Dr. Crusher has other things to do besides make us look like pasty faced, green pansies."

Chapter Eight

Beverly walked back into Sickbay on DS9 with a yawn. Covert operations just weren’t her thing, and she was more than ready to return to her home on Earth, but as long as her best friend’s child needed her here, she would remain. She heard a low conversation coming from the back and curiously walked towards the sounds. Peering into Marissa’s room she saw Chris sitting on the side of her bed, talking easily with her. Beverly smiled and slipped away unnoticed.

"It disconcerting, you know?" Marissa asked, picking at her covers. "Intellectually, I understand that I’ve known for years that Will Riker is my father, and I understand that I knew we were married and divorced, but I have a hard time accepting it. I feel like someone is playing a colossal joke on me."

Chris chuckled. "I know how you feel." Marissa gave him an incredulous look. "I’m serious, Marissa. This is hardest on you, but it’s rough on the rest of us. Your father has to deal with building a new relationship with you, and I was there the first time. It wasn’t easy. I have to deal with the fact that you…"

"That I what?" Marissa’s eyes twinkled. "Might have feelings for you like I did back then?"

Chris nodded his head. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Would that be so bad?" She asked cautiously.

The dreaded question. Several answered tumbled through Chris’ mind, and the most inane one escaped his mouth. "I don’t know."

Marissa sighed. "When you find out let me know."

*****

"How much longer?" K’Leena asked, stretching her long legs in front of her.

"You’re the pilot and you’re asking me that?" Mike rolled his eyes at her.

"Just thought I’d see if you were paying attention." K’Leena winked at him and looked at the navigational controls. They were hours from the Neutral Zone. "The Valiant will be waiting for us at the border, right?"

"Unless you know something I don’t," Mike told her. "if it’s not there, we’re not going into Romulan space."

K’Leena nodded, made an adjustment to their course, and set the shuttle on auto pilot. "Where’s our newest addition?"

"In my quarters…familiarizing himself with the mission."

"I hope this works, Mike."

"If it doesn’t, I’ll be in your debt forever, ‘Leena."

"I’m sure you will," she said with her blue eyes twinkling.

******

Beverly allowed Marissa some time to herself after Chris left before she went into see her. She walked into the room with a smile and her hands stuck in her pockets. Marissa looked up and smiled when she saw her red-headed doctor. "Hi Doc."

"Hi yourself," Beverly said, settling herself into the chair next to Marissa’s bed. "I saw Chris leave here awhile ago."

"He was checking on me."

"I know. He’s been very concerned about you since this whole fiasco started," Beverly said with a smile. "So have your parents. Where are they?"

"Mother said she was going to give me some time alone, and I’m assuming she asked Cap…Admiral Riker to do the same."

Beverly raised an eyebrow. "Admiral Riker? He is your father, you know?"

"A father I don’t remember," Marissa said with a note of frustration. "What am I going to do if I don’t get my memory back? I’m so confused, Beverly."

"I know you are, sweetheart," Beverly said, her voice full of sympathy. "If you don’t get your memory back, you’ll just have to rebuild your relationship with your father."

Marissa raised her huge blue eyes to meet Beverly’s. "What about with Chris?"

Beverly shrugged. "Maybe this is a chance at a new beginning for you two. You know Commander Darre has left, right?"

Marissa nodded. "He came and told me. I was really rude to him, but as far as I remember, I just met him."

"I’m sure he understands."

"Mother told me I was having an affair with him," Marissa said quietly. "That had to kill Chris."

"You were divorced," Beverly reminded her gently.

"Still…I know it hurt him." Marissa sighed. "This isn’t doing me any good. All I’m doing is whining. I need to be doing something."

"Something like what?" Beverly asked.

"Something to try and trigger my memory. Is it even possible I can do that or is my memory gone forever?"

"Your injury is not that bad, Marissa. I believe your memory will return." Beverly rose and smiled down at the young woman. "Get dressed. You don’t need to be here. Just take it easy and don’t do anything too strenuous over the next few days. I’ll go page your parents and let them know you’re on your way to their quarters."

A smile lit Marissa’s face. "Are you serious?" Beverly laughed and nodded her head. Marissa jumped out of bed and hugged the doctor tightly. "Thank you, Beverly," she said, stepping away from Beverly and going toward the closet.

Beverly shook her head and headed toward her office. "Crusher to Riker."

"Go ahead, Beverly," Will said.

"I’m releasing Marissa in a little bit. She should be at your quarters within the hour."

"Thanks Beverly. Riker out."

Beverly nodded her head at nothing in particular and walked into her office. She began arranging her PADDs and such more orderly, and then she began to make travelling plans back to Earth.

*****

"Someone should have told me it was cold here," K’Leena murmured, stepping onto a road outside the main city on Romulus.

Mike, Jeyelar, and three other officers followed her. Mike smiled and said, "Remember, you’re a Romulan. The cold doesn’t bother you."

"Like hell it doesn’t," she retorted, stopping for them to catch up.

"It’s the Klingon in you," Jeyelar said.

"No way." The sarcasm in K’Leena’s voice made Jeyelar’s blood boil. After several hours in a runabout with the razor tongued beauty, and then another few hours in the Valiant was enough to make him want to ring K’Leena’s pretty little neck.

"Stop it," Mike reprimanded them as they reached the main city. The group paused and looked to him. "You two, gather as much information as you can without making yourself obvious," Mike told the other two officers. They nodded and hurried off. Then, he turned to Jeyelar and K’Leena. "You are going to go into that bar over there and see what you can find out. Jeyelar and I will follow you. If you need help, we’ll be there."

"I can defend myself, Mike," K’Leena said, making a motion to toss her long red hair, but instead, no hair moved. For the moment, her hair was ear length and jet black. On the Valiant, she had looked in a mirror and nearly shot herself with a phaser.

"K’Leena, I know you’re a big, bad Klingon, but for the moment, you’re going to act like a Romulan woman out to get into the underworld. You’re going to need us if you get into trouble. Cut the crap and just obey my orders for once," Mike whispered fiercely.

K’Leena glared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine, but don’t expect me to like it."

Mike laughed. "There’s the K’Leena I know and love." Mike looked to Jeyelar. "We’re going to give her a five minute lead, and then we’ll go into the bar. Can you read Romulans?"

Jeyelar nodded. "Usually. If they’re trained in psi-warfare or mental discipline, they can create a problem, but I’m a strong enough telepath to block psi-attacks and break mental barriers."

Mike nodded approvingly and looked at K’Leena. "Go K’Tal."

"K’Tal?" K’Leena swung around. "Who the hell is that?"

"You," Mike said. "Now, go."

The men watched her walk off, both admiring the swing of her hips. "She is beautiful, isn’t she?" Mike said with a sigh.

"She is. I thought you had a girlfriend." Jeyelar shot a look at Mike.

"I do. K’Leena and Tessa are a lot alike. They’re best friends and they have similar mannerisms. Being around K’Leena makes me miss Tessa even more."

Jeyelar nodded and cleared his throat. "Do we have Romulan names?"

"Sure. Come up with one," Mike invited with a smile as he watched K’Leena disappear into a bar. "She’s in. Four minutes."

"Jadar," Jeyelar said after a moment.

"Sounds Klingon, but it’ll work." Mike bit his lip in though. After a moment, he shook his head. "I can’t think of anything. If they ask for my name, I won’t give it. They don’t need to know."

Jeyelar chuckled. "Two minutes."

"Let’s start walking," Mike said, and the men slowly sauntered toward a run down looking establishment.

The sounds of drunk Romulans drifted onto the street, and the scents of a bar invaded their nostrils. Jeyelar opened his mind fully as they entered the bar. Mike looked around for a table, saw one, and pointed toward it. Jeyelar nodded and followed him to it. They sat, grateful for the dark, and watched K’Leena. She sidled up beside a seedy looking, drunk Romulan, and laughed at something he said. They watched her in fascination as she worked the man as if he were a piano and she a maestro.

Thirty minutes went by. Someone came and took a drink order for Jeyelar and Mike who remained watching K’Leena. If anyone was watching them, they would assume Mike and Jeyelar were fascinated by such a beautiful woman. Even as a Romulan, K’Leena was beautiful.

She leaned down and whispered something in the Romulan’s ear that made a smile come across his face. He nodded and rose to his feet. He motioned for K’Leena to follow him outside. She smiled sexily and slowly followed him.

"Dammit," Mike swore.

"Wait." Jeyelar held up a hand and concentrated on K’Leena. K’Leena, can you hear me? He asked her telepathically.

Outside, K’Leena followed the Romulan into the dark alley behind the bar. He leaned against a wall and waited for her to catch up. As she reached him, suddenly, she froze. Jeyelar’s voice floated through her mind like a breeze. She shook her head and paused in front of the Romulan. "So, you know the man I want to find."

"Know him?" The Romulan reached out and touched K’Leena’s black hair. She tried not to shudder as he fingered the short locks. "Yeah, I know him."

"Can you introduce me to him?" K’Leena lowered her voice to a deep, sexy tone. She lay a hand on his arm and made her newly green eyes plead with him.

"Depends on how badly you want to meet him," he said suggestively.

K’Leena shuddered involuntarily, swallowed hard, and said, "Very badly."

The Romulan gave her a feral smile. "Good."

"Did you get her?" Mike demanded.

Jeyelar shook his head. "No, but I don’t sense that she’s in danger. If she gets into trouble, I’ll be able to feel it."

Mike laughed softly. "Jeyelar, if there’s trouble, K’Leena will find it."

"Should we go find her?"

"Not yet," Mike said. "We’ll wait."

Jeyelar nodded and focused his mind on her as they waited.

*****

Will jumped when the chimes sounded through their quarters. Deanna shot him a look and he walked to the door. He pressed the release button and smiled at his daughter. "Hi," Marissa said almost shyly. "Is my mother here?"

"Come on in, Firefly," Deanna called from the couch.

Wordlessly, Marissa side stepped her father and walked to her mother. "Beverly thought I might get my memory back if I started to try and trigger it."

"That’s a good idea," Will agreed, walking over and sitting down next to Deanna. He smiled again at Marissa and said, "I can arrange for you to go back to the Enterprise."
"No," Marissa said forcefully. She looked at Will with haughty eyes. "I can make my own arrangements."

Marissa, Deanna thought disapprovingly to her daughter. He’s trying to help you.

I don’t want his help, Marissa thought back, glaring at her mother.

Will looked back and forth between his wife and daughter, and then said dryly, "I get the feeling I am the subject of some silent communication."

Deanna smiled and shook her head. "Sorry."

Will shrugged and looked back at his daughter. "Marissa, if you want to go to the Enterprise, fine. Let me help you."

"I can do it," she snapped.

"Fine." Will leaned back on the couch and let Deanna handle Marissa.

"Sweetheart, I think it would be better if you let your father help you. Like it or not, he does have more pull than you do."

"I can do it, Mother," Marissa said tightly, growing frustrated. "I just need to stay here tonight."

Deanna pointed across the room to a closed door on the right. "That’s the spare bedroom. Your stuff is in there."

"Thanks Mother," Marissa said, walking stiffly across the room.

Will watched her go without moving his head. When the door closed behind her, he sighed and shut his eyes. "This is going to be just like the first time."

"Give her time, Will. She’s got to adjust. Going to the Enterprise will be good for her, and let her do it on her own. She needs to learn to rely on herself."

"I know," he sighed.

Deanna reached over and rubbed his arm. "I know it’s hard, but you have to give her time."

"I’ll try," Will said, making no promises.

*****

In the alley, the Romulan raised a finger and ran it down K’Leena’s long neck. She shivered in disgust. "Now, you were telling me how willing you are to meet the man you want to meet."

"Very willing," K’Leena repeated lowly. She took a step closer to him and whispered, "More willing than you can know."

"Good."

Without warning, the Romulan reached out and grabbed K’Leena. Startled, she shrieked as he crushed her against his chest. His lips bruised hers. She struggled for a moment, remembered their mission, silently cursed, and returned the kiss. That was all the encouragement he needed. He moved quickly and K’Leena found herself pressed against the wall. The Romulan’s hand covered her breast and squeezed it as if it were a ripe fruit. It hurt like hell and she winced. He took that as urging from her and did the same to her other breast. Her hands wedged themselves between her chest and his, and she tried to push him away. He laughed throatily and ripped her shirt. K’Leena opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out, or so she thought.

*****

In the bar, Jeyelar went rigid and jumped to his feet. Wordlessly, he hurried out of the bar with Mike hot on his heels. He ran around the bar, to the alley, and toward K’Leena’s silent scream. When he saw her, he skidded to a halt for a moment. From his perspective it looked like the Romulan was mauling her. Mike skidded to a stop beside him, and his blood boiled when he saw them against the wall. Jeyelar looked at Mike, and then he walked as calmly as he could to the two.

When he reached them, Jeyelar put his hand on the Romulan’s shoulder and yanked him away from K’Leena. "You dare touch my wife?" He said with a deadly calm. "You should die for dishonoring her in that way." Jeyelar reached out for K’Leena, but she evaded his hand. He shot her a look, which she furiously returned.

"You should die for bothering me," K’Leena said, pulling her shirt closed. She was going to meet his leader, even if she had to sleep with the damned Romulan. "I’ve told you. I don’t want to be with you anymore." K’Leena stepped closer to the Romulan and smiled. "He’s much better than you."

Jeyelar snapped. "Really?" He grabbed K’Leena and pulled her against him. Without giving her a chance to react, he kissed her violently, passionately, insanely. She struggled for a moment, and then she gave into the kiss. Jeyelar pulled himself from her and glared. "Is he still better than me?"

K’Leena’s chest heaved and her voice was strained as she said, "Yes. Let me go."

"Bitch," Jeyelar said, dropping her arm and walking away from her. K’Leena watched him, her eyes flamed, and she cursed. "I’ll meet you back here in an hour, okay? I need to deal with him so he won’t interrupt us next time," she purred.

Normally, the Romulan would have told her to go to hell, but she was so beautiful, so alluring, so different from his normal women that he nodded his head and watched her run after the tall man. When she caught up to him and began yelling at him, he smiled and disappeared into the bar.

"How dare you do that to me?" K’Leena demanded as she followed Mike and Jeyelar back to their transporter coordinates.

"You were in trouble. I did what Mike told us to do," Jeyelar answered calmly.

"I’m going back. I was minutes from finding out who was involved."

Jeyelar stopped and stared at K’Leena. "Get serious, Paris. You were minutes from being raped and we both know it."

K’Leena fumed and watched him walk along with Mike. She let them get several steps ahead of her, and then she ducked off the street into the dark. When she was sure they were gone, she walked back to the city.

*****

"Will, wake up."

Deanna’s insistent voice roused Will from a deep sleep. He sat up, bleary eyed, and ran a hand through his hair. "What is it?" He asked, his voice, deep and gravelly.

"Marissa’s gone." Deanna handed him a PADD. "She arranged passage for herself to the Enterprise and left."

"Without saying a word?" Will swung his legs over the side of their bed. "Dammit, Deanna!"

"It’s not my fault," she said, putting the PADD on their bedside. "She’ll be back, Will."

"I don’t care. She should have said something to us."

"Yes, she should have," Deanna agreed to soothe Will. "But, she didn’t and we have to trust her, Will. Don’t you trust her?"

"Yes," he said, lowering his face to his hands. Deanna moved behind him and began massaging the tight muscles of his shoulder. "You need to relax."

"You relax. I have a daughter that doesn’t know me," he said, but even as he said it, he began to relax. "That feels wonderful."

"Then sit here and enjoy it. If she needs us, she’ll contact us."

"You," Will corrected. "She’ll contact you."

Deanna sighed and squeezed his shoulders especially hard. He winced and she smiled. Then, she continued her ministrations.

Chapter Nine

"Of all the arrogant, reckless, idiotic things to do!" Jeyelar raked a hand through his hair. "What in hell was she thinking?" He seethed, looking at a rather unconcerned Mike Burns. "And, what are you so damned amused at?"

"You." Mike crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "K’Leena does things like this."

"She’s going to get herself killed."

Mike inclined his head. "Probably, and the rest of us with her, but K’Leena is good and she know what she’s doing, Jeyelar. Let her be."

"And, if she gets raped?"

"She won’t," Mike said with assurance. "K’Leena has been trained in self-defense by the best people there are, and she can handle herself."

"If a man wants to rape a woman, he’ll do it anyway he can, Mike. Even if that means knocking her unconscious. It’s hard to fight if you’re not awake."

Mike sighed. His gut was gnawing at him. It had started the moment he turned around when he and Jeyelar reached the rendezvous point and found that K’Leena was not following them. Initially, silently, he had reacted like Jeyelar, but he knew K’Leena. He knew she could protect herself, or so he hoped.

*****

"What do you mean she’s gone?" Barely controlled rage emanated from Chris.

Deanna shrugged and repeated herself. "She left sometime while Will and I were sleeping, Chris. She’s gone to the Enterprise. That’s all I know."

"Damned, stupid woman!" He yelled, pacing around Deanna and Will’s quarters.

"That’s my daughter you’re talking about," Deanna reminded him mildly.

"I wouldn’t care if she was the Blessed Virgin Mary!" Chris exploded.

Confusion lined Deanna’s face. "Who?"

Chris shook his head. "Ancient religion…Catholicism. They believed Mary was the mother of their Christ, Jesus. She was a virgin, conceived Him by the Holy Spirit of God, and gave birth to him."

"As a virgin?" Deanna shook her head. "We’re more enlightened today."

"Maybe," Chris said, forgetting religion. "Aren’t you going to go after her?"

"Marissa?" Deanna laughed lightly. "Chris, my daughter is nearly thirty years old. She knows what she’s doing."

"But she doesn’t!" He sputtered. "She has no memory."

"Of the past eight years. If she had no memory at all, of course I would go after her, but Marissa knows enough to survive."

"You sound like you’re casting her to the wolves."

"Oh Chris, please. There are no wolves after her. She’s just trying to find out who she is, and if she needs to do that on her own, in secret, then so be it. You, my husband, and I will just have to live with that."

"I can’t."

"Find a way," Deanna said harshly.

Chris looked at her incredulously. "I find that very funny coming from your mouth, Counselor."

Deanna raised her eyebrows. She found herself the focus of Chris’ anger, and it was unnerving. Whatever she may have thought about her son-in-law, she had never imagined him capable of this kind of rage. "Why?" Deanna softened her voice to soothe.

"You have never let Marissa find out who she was and neither has your husband. You two have controlled her at every turn. She grew up wanting to be in Starfleet just like the father she never knew. Then, she stayed in Starfleet to make her father proud. I’m the one choice she made on her own, and neither one of you really approved of me. You thought I was too rash for you, and Will thought I was too much like him. I’m not like him, and she’s not like him, or you, or anyone else for that matter. When are you going to open your eyes and realize how special she is? It took her leaving me for me to realize it. When are you going to realize it? When are you going to let her realize it? You have never let her do anything on her own, and now you’re suddenly willing to let her find herself again? Why is that, Deanna? Is it because she’s going to the Enterprise to hopefully recover her memory and become the perfect little daughter she’s always been for you?"

"That’s enough, Commander."

The icy order came from behind him. Chris was too angry to care that it came from an admiral. He turned on Will Riker and subjected him to the same anger. "Don’t pull rank on me, Admiral. That’s what you do to your daughter to keep her in line. You want to court-marital me, fine, but don’t you dare think that because you’re an admiral I won’t say what’s on my mind."

"And, what is that?"

"You can’t wait to run off and rescue your daughter. You feel guilty because you walked out on her mother when you knew she was pregnant."

Deanna gasped. "Chris, that’s not true. I never told Will I was pregnant."

Chris laughed in disbelief. "Really? Then, you’re not truly Imzadi, are you?"

Will came dangerously close to punching his son-in-law. He took a step forward with his fist clenched, and then good sense took control of him again. "Explain."

"Imzadi know what the other is thinking, feeling, saying, no matter where they are. You would have known Deanna was pregnant the night it happened. You would have felt it happen." He glared at Will. "I knew."

"Knew what?" Deanna’s voice was a choked whisper.

"The night Marissa slept with Commander Darre. I was asleep in my quarters and I felt it happen. I thought it was a nightmare, but the feeling didn’t go away, and I realized I was feeling what she felt, seeing what she saw because of our link. And, then, I felt something else. I felt her shock when she sensed someone other than herself in her body. She knew damned well she was pregnant within moments."

"What?"

Will’s one explosive word echoed through their temporary quarters. Deanna shook her head and Chris looked almost satisfied. "Didn’t you know your daughter was sleeping with him?"

"I never knew she was pregnant."

"It happened the night their ship was attacked. Julian did everything he could as soon as he discovered it, but the damage was too extensive," Deanna whispered. "Marissa never said anything, and then she didn’t remember."

"And, you weren’t going to tell her?" Will rounded on his wife.

"What was the point? There was no pregnancy anymore. Marissa didn’t need to know and neither did you."

"So you three were going to keep it a secret from all of us?"

"Five. Julian and Beverly knew as her doctors," Chris said.

"I never thought Chris would know," Deanna said with a sad look to him. "Marissa always said your link with her was tenuous at best."

"It was a hell of a lot stronger than she thought."

Deanna nodded. "Obviously."

"For the record," Will began in an glacial voice, "I was fairly drunk the night before I left the Enterprise. I barely remembered sleeping with Deanna. Even if I had felt what had happened, I wouldn’t have remember, because the next morning she had to remind me why I was in her quarters. Don’t you dare think I would have left her had I known she was pregnant."

"Which leads back to the original problem. I lied to everyone. I paid for it." Deanna shrugged. "And, I keep paying for it everytime I think of all the time Will lost with his daughter."

"So you keep trying to control her." Chris shook his head. "Sooner or later she would have walked away from all of us. We never gave her a chance to breathe."

There was a pregnant pause in the room before Chris shook his head again and turned to the door. "Where are you going?" Deanna asked.

"After her." Chris shrugged. "I can’t let her go. I love her too much."

"I’m going with you."

"Like hell you are," Chris said, never turning around. "This is something we need to do together. We don’t need you two."

Deanna jumped to her feet as Chris left their quarters, but Will’s hand on her shoulder kept her from following. "Let him go," he said gravely. "He’s right. They do need to do this on their own. We have to let her go, Deanna. She’s not a little girl anymore."

The tears she had bottled up since the accident happened finally poured forth from her. She buried her face in her husband’s chest and sobbed. "I keep losing her, Will. I can’t do it again."

"Then let her come back to us," he whispered to the top of her hair. "He’ll bring her back to us, whole, healthy, and happy. Like it or not we have to trust him because he’s the only one that can bring her home."

Deanna shuddered against his long, comforting length. "And, then what?"

"And then we learn to let them be," he answered simply.

*****

"It’s been over three hours," Jeyelar said, pacing like a trapped tiger. Mike had long ago given up trying to stop him. Instead, he found it easier to close his eyes and ignore him.

"She’ll be back, Jeyelar. This is her mission. Let her handle it."

Jeyelar’s response pushed at his tongue, but his teeth wisely withheld it. "I’m going back to the bar to see what I can find out about this group." He grabbed his phaser and stuck it in his boot.

"Fine, but stay out of K’Leena’s way," Mike advised as Jeyelar left.

Jeyelar walked along at a clipped pace and kept his eyes open for anything suspicious. He blended in perfectly with the other Romulans around. They were always looking for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, Beverly Crusher had made them all look like totally ordinary, unremarkable Romulans. The exception was K’Leena. She was a remarkable looking woman even as a Romulan.

He entered the bar after walking around it first. K’Leena was nowhere to be seen. The crowd inside the bar had grown considerably. He shoulder his way through to the counter. The bartender looked at him with interest, and he ordered an ale. As he sipped it, he scanned the room. His eyes rested on several suspicious looking Romulans. While he watched them, another man settled in beside him.

"You look like a man on a mission," the stranger said in an undertone. Jeyelar ignored him by sipping his ale. "I have information you might want."

"What makes you think I want information?" Jeyelar raised the mug to his lips and took a drink. It was all he could do not to wrinkle his nose in distaste. The ale tasted like dirty water.

"You have that look." It was a look this informant knew well. He made his living through men with that look.

"I’m looking for some people."

"Aren’t we all?"

"Who want to get even with the Federation," Jeyelar said quietly, glancing over at the man. "Know where I can find other men who think like me?"

"Maybe." The informant was noncommittal.

"Ten bars. Gold pressed latinum," Jeyelar said casually, watching the man out of the corner of his eye. A quick scan through his mind told Jeyelar ten bars of gold pressed latinum was much more than what the man usually asked. A quick look at his face confirmed it. He was nearly drooling.

"They meet here in the back room every night around this time. I can get you in, but it’ll cost you."

"Fine. Fifteen bars." Jeyelar drank the last of his ale and slammed the tankard down on the bar top. "Deal?"

"Where do you get this latinum?" The man asked, getting off the barstool and waiting for Jeyelar.

"From a Ferengii that owes me," Jeyelar responded, following the little man out of the bar.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled up the moment they stepped around the building into darkness. He sensed more people around than just them, and he began looking in all directions, but he wasn’t quick enough. Pain exploded through his head and he sank to his knees. Another blow sent him to the edge of darkness. A kick to the ribs left him gasping. Another kick nearly made him scream as the ribs gave way. A blow to his leg broke the bone. A kick to the same leg sent him closer to darkness. A woman’s voice brought him back to consciousness.

"Pet’Q!" He heard from behind him. Then, he saw the dazzling light of a Federation phaser scream past him. He pulled himself to his knees and hovered briefly on hands and knees. He reached for his phaser, and then he stood up. The pain in his head and in his side nearly sent him reeling, but he managed to stay upright and get off a few shots.

Soon, six Romulans lay unconscious around them. Jeyelar groaned and dropped to his knees. K’Leena kneeled beside him, reached quickly for her communicator, and said, "Paris to Valiant. Two to beam directly to Sickbay."

*****

"Welcome back to the Enterprise, Commander," an ensign said as Chris stepped off the transporter. His trip to the Enterprise had taken a few hours, and he was exhausted. He nodded at the ensign and stretched his neck.

"I’m looking for Lieutenant Commander Riker."

"She boarded several hours ago, Sir."

"Thank you," Chris said. He turned and walked out of the transporter room, wondering if he should stop on the bridge and see Captain Kim. Then, he changed his mind. He had one purpose on this ship, and it didn’t involve Starfleet. Captain Kim knew he was aboard. He had approved Chris’ transport as well as Marissa’s, and he knew the reasons for both of them being there.

"Computer, located Marissa Riker," Chris said as he entered a turbolift.

"Marissa Riker is on Holodeck Three."

"Holodeck Three," Chris ordered the turbolift.

It complied with the order and hurtled Chris to his destination. He stepped off into the hallway outside holodeck, and memories flooded over him. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by them. Then, he shook his head. "You’re not even in there yet," he chided himself as he walked over to the door and pressed the release.

The door opened, Chris stepped in, and he found himself on the Darja Beach of Betazed where he and Marissa had spent their honeymoon. He shivered and reminded himself that this was only a simulation. Slowly, Chris walked over the sand that seemed to shine with a life of its own. A part of him was waiting for Marissa to jump out from behind a rock with a bucket of water as she had the first time he had found her on this holodeck, running this same simulation.

"What are you doing here?" He heard from off to the side.

"Looking for you," Chris said without looking over at her. Instead, he walked closer to the edge of the beach. The iridescent purple water sparkled with a blinding brilliance. "It’s so beautiful here. It’s been so long since I was on Betazed."

"When was the last time?" She asked quietly.

"Years," he replied, sensing her walk up behind him. "The last time I was there might have been our honeymoon."

"We went here?" She sat down on sand and ran her hands through it.

"Yes. You thought it was perfect since we had our first official date here." Chris smiled down at her. "On the holodeck, of course."

Marissa nodded. "I wish I remembered it."

"It was the day your mother told us about your father."

"Are they mad it me?"

Chris nodded even though she wasn’t looking at him. "A little, but they’re more angry with me."
Startled, Marissa looked up at him. The simulated sunlight glinted off his hair. "Why are they angry with you?"

"Because I told them what I thought." Chris smiled and looked down at her. "I’ll probably regret it later, but it was worth it."

Marissa shook her head. "So, why did you come for me?"

"To help you, if I can." Chris sank down onto the sand beside her. He raised his knees up, wrapped his arms around them, and rested his chin on his knees. "If you want me to leave, I’ll understand, but I think I can help if you’ll let me. I’m a big portion of those eight years that you’re missing."

"They were crowding me," she said softly. "I was never alone just to think."

"Where?"

"On the station." She stared out at the water. "They expected me to remember, and I can’t, Chris. I just can’t." She looked over at him. "You don’t pressure me to remember. Why not?"

"The memories you have of me aren’t happy?" Chris smiled and shrugged. "If you remember, you remember, If you don’t, we all start over with you from where your memory leaves off."

"Why are you willing to do that and my parents aren’t?"

Chris shrugged again. "Maybe they’re afraid you won’t love them the way you did. Maybe they’re afraid you’ll be a different person."

"And you?"

"I don’t care. I love you no matter what."

Chris’ words and the look on his face sent a shiver through Marissa. She drew a shaky breath and asked, "And, my parents don’t?"

"Of course they love you no matter what," he told her.

Marissa nodded and looked away from Chris back out at the ocean. She lost herself in thought and Chris let her stay lost for awhile.

*****

"Where is he?" Mike stalked into Sickbay and looked at their security officer/medic.

"I sent him to his quarters. He’ll be fine in a day. I healed the broken bones, but he’s going to be sore and have a headache."

"Where’s Commander Paris?"

"In her quarters, I suppose." Cruthers shrugged and went back to cleaning his tools. Mike spun around and walked out as quickly as he had entered. He stalked to the turbolift, and then to Jeyelar’s quarters. The Valiant was a small ship. It didn’t take long to get where you wanted to go. He waited outside Jeyelar’s quarters until the doors opened. Mike stalked in and found Jeyelar sitting on the couch rather stiffly.

"How are you?"

"Sore."

"I told you not to go looking for K’Leena."

"I couldn’t help it. She was in trouble."

"She can handle herself, Commander," Mike said, growing irritated.

"No woman should have to handle herself in that situation."

"She's not like other women, Commander Darre," Burns told him in a quiet, controlled voice.

Jeyelar stiffened slightly at the change in Mike’s tone and emotions. This was not a man to be trifled with. Captain Burns would be a dangerous adversary.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Captain," he evaded.

Burns' eyes narrowed. "She is one of -my- officers, Commander. And a close friend. I wouldn’t allow her to be hurt."

"You just said Commander Paris can take care of herself."

"No, she can't. Not with you at least. Whatever hold you have over her is affecting her judgment."

Jeyelar’s eyes widened in surprise. "I have no -hold- over her, Captain. It's not my fault she's an accident waiting to happen. The woman is criminally reckless, in my opinion. She should be relieved of duty after what just took place!"

Mike felt his temper begin to slip. "That 'accident waiting to happen' just saved your life!" he ground out. "And almost lost her own doing it!"

"And broke a half a dozen Starfleet regulations in the process!" Jeyelar

yelled back. "She put herself and me in that situation. She's not a good officer, Captain. I don't care if she is your friend. She shouldn't be in Starfleet."

"That's enough, Commander!" Mike walked over to the back of a chair and clutched it, shaking with fury. "You seem to be forgetting one thing, Darre. We are -not- regulation Starfleet! Commander Paris is one of the finest officers I have -ever- had under me!"

"I suppose having her 'under you' would make all the difference," he

retorted coldly.

It took every bit of self-control he processed, but Mike did manage not to

knock the arrogant bastard out flat.

Barely.

"I'm going to forget you said that, Commander Darre," he told him icily.

"I'm going to chalk up this blatant insubordination and conduct unbecoming

an officer to the fact that it has been a very difficult day."

Jeyelar was appalled at his own behavior. He couldn't remember the last

time he lost control of his emotions like this. "I apologize, Captain," he said sincerely. "I was out of line."

"Yes, you were," Mike agreed.

"I would prefer that you did put this in my record, Captain. I should be

reprimanded for this."

Mike sighed and sat down across from Jeyelar. "No, Commander. We all say things in the heat of anger that we don't mean. You're upset, I understand."

"I still shouldn't have...."

"Jeyelar," Mike interrupted. "Have you given any thought as to -why- you are so concerned with K'Leena?"

The other man snorted. "Because she's an idiot! What the hell was she

thinking?! She could have been killed!"

"She was in command of the away mission, Jeyelar. Your safety was her responsibility. I know K'Leena, her only thoughts were to the safety of her

team. Above her own life, even. That's just how she is."

"Then she’s going to get herself killed."

"And, all of us with her, probably." Mike’s eyes showed the first hint of a smile. "You get under her skin unlike anyone I know. Take that as a compliment, Jeyelar," Mike said as he rose to his feet. "Get some rest. I need to find K’Leena and find out what she knows. We’ll meet in the situation room at 0900 hours."

"Thank you, Sir," Jeyelar managed to say as Mike left. Then, he lay back on the couch and winced. His side and leg still hurt like hell. He needed much more than a day to heal, but he’d take what he could get. Besides, he had a nagging feeling they were all in much more trouble than they knew.

*****

"K’Leena, are you in here?" Mike walked into her quarters, unannounced. It annoyed the hell out of K’Leena and it was the one thing Mike took great pleasure in doing.

"Jeez, and you yell at me for not knocking," K’Leena said, wandering out of the bathroom as she brushed her long hair. "What are you doing here?"

"You nearly got yourself and Commander Darre killed,’ Mike began neutrally. He sat down on K’Leena’s couch and motioned for her to do the same.

"I was about to take a shower. Is this going to take long?"

"Sit, K’Leena."

With a long suffering sigh, K’Leena sat across from her friend and captain. "What is it?"

"You should have followed us back to the rendezvous point."

"I needed to finish my mission."

"You worried the hell out of both of us."

"You worry too much, Mike, and I don’t care what Jeyelar Darre worries about."

Mike chuckled and shook his head. "He nearly died trying to save you."

"And, I could have died saving his sorry ass." K’Leena shook her head. "Mike, you know I don’t follow orders well when there’s a mission at stake. I did what I thought needed to be done, and I’m sorry for what happened. But, it’s over, we’re back on the ship, we’re safe, and so be it."

"You blew our cover," Mike pointed out.

"So what? I found out what we need to know."

"K’Leena, you didn’t..?"

"Sleep with him?" K’Leena snorted. "Hell no, but I did find out the who the leader is, and what their plans are."

"And, that is?"

"They’re sending several cloaked ships through the Neutral Zone in the next few days to enter the Federation unknown. After things have settled down a bit, they plan on hitting the key bases near the border."

"Shit," Mike swore, jumping to his feet. He walked over to K’Leena’s communication station and opened an encrypted channel directly to Starfleet Command.

*****

Tears rolled down Marissa’s face as she laughed at the stories Chris told her. They lay on the beach, faced each other, and talked about the days she couldn’t remember. She wiped the tears away and smiled at him. "I’m glad you came."

"Thank you," he said, rolling onto his back. It had been hours since he had arrived on the Enterprise, and they hadn’t left the holodeck. No one had disturbed them, either. It was as if someone had given the order that Holodeck Three was off limits. He rubbed his eyes and staved off a yawn.

"You’re tired."

"Your empathy tell you that?" Chris rolled back onto his side to face her.

Marissa laughed lightly. "The dark circles under your eyes gave me a hint."

"I haven’t slept well in months."

"When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep."

"The last time you slept in my bed," he answered, making her cheeks flush. She was saved from answering by the klaxon sounds of a red alert.

Like the Starfleet officer they were, trained to jump at that sound, they jumped to their feet and brushed the sand from their clothes. "Computer end program!" Chris called out, reaching his hand out for Marissa. She took his hand and they walked quickly off the holodeck. Marissa hit her communicator and said, "Lieutenant Riker to the bridge. Captain, can I be of assistance?"

"Negative, Lieutenant. We ask that all non essential personnel remain in their quarters," Harry Kim replied back, all business.

Marissa gritted her teeth and said, "Understood Sir. Riker out."

Chris pulled her into the turbolift and she ordered the lift to the deck where her visitor’s quarters were located. She felt Chris’ swift look and heard his intake of breath. "What?" She asked, looking over at him as the lift stopped.

"This is the deck where your old quarters used to be," he told her.

"That’s why Captain Kim put me in here," she replied, walking down the corridor to the quarters and inputting the access code. Chris followed behind her as she walked inside.

The doors closed behind them and the red alert lights cast eerie shadows on the wall. "Computer, lights. Fifteen percent," he called, making the lights come up just enough to illuminate the room.

Marissa walked over to the viewport and peered out. "I don’t see anything, I don’t feel anything, and I don’t sense anything, so why are we on red alert."

Chris came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I haven’t a clue, but if Harry Kim requests that everyone remain in their quarters, we’ll do so until the red alert is over."

"What are we going to do in the meantime?"

It was an innocent question, but it sent streaks of lightning through Chris’ body. "I can think of a few things," he said suggestively. He ran his hands down her arms and fought his body’s response to her. Wisely, he stepped back from her and walked over to the couch.

"Chris, what’s wrong?" Marissa turned around and walked over to the couch.

He shook his head. It was nothing she wanted to know, of that, he was sure. "Just concerned, that’s all."

"Never lie to an empath," she said with a light laugh.

"I haven’t seen you this happy in ages," he said, swiftly changing the subject. "Maybe we should never have left this ship."

"This ship seems to be blessed, doesn’t it?" Marissa smiled. "Everyone who’s ever served on this ship has a charmed life."

"Everyone?" Chris looked up at her with a smile. "Not everyone, Marissa."

"We could," she said, sitting down beside him. "I may not remember our marriage or our divorce, but I love you, Chris. I do remember that. I remember that I was in love with you from the day I met you."

Chris shook his head at the sweet words. "Marissa, you just think you’re in love with me."

"Don’t tell me what I think or what I know," she said, placing a hand on his knee. "I don’t think I love you. I know I love you, and I know even if I divorced you and slept with someone else, I was still in love with you. So maybe our marriage didn’t work out the first time. Maybe not remembering the reasons it didn’t work is a blessing. I know I love you, Chris, and I know the reasons why I love you, and I know you love me, too. I can sense it."

Chris knew he was fighting a losing battle when her hand slid up to his thigh. "Marissa," he warned in a strangled voice.

"What?" She turned her head to him. He lost his battle, reached up to cup her face, and kissed her gently. There was a feeling of unreality as she returned the kiss until he was laying on his back on the couch with her on top of him.

"Are you sure?" He whispered as her lips descending again.

"Yes," she breathed, already working to free him of his uniform. "I want this like I’ve never wanted anything before. I want you."

Her words sent liquid fire through his veins. His eyes were smoldering as he pulled her down to his lips and kissed her thoroughly. Their breathing was shattered when their lips separated. He tangled his hands in her curly hair as her hands went to his waist. "Marissa," he breathed, pulling her back down. He flattened her against him briefly, and then he sat up. She pulled away from him, confused, but the look on his face eased her concern.

"What?"

"Shhh," he said, putting a finger to her lips as his lips sought the soft skin at her neck. She sighed as he nipped at the skin near her ear. Then, he kissed his way down to the collar of her uniform. He made a sound of disgust, and before she knew it, her uniform top lay on the floor next to his. She chuckled as he continued kissing his way down her neck. Her amusement gave away to pleasure, though, as he traveled the valley between her breasts. His hands came into play and cupped the soft mounds of flesh. She breathed a word that might have been his name as he licked one nipple and closed his warm mouth around the nub. Her head listed back and her hands tightened on his shoulders. He gave the same treatment to her other breast before capturing her lips again in a bruising kiss.

Marissa shifted on his lap and froze when she felt the evidence of his desire. He pulled away from her. "Want to stop? Tell me now before it’s too late."

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. I want you."

"Good," he said, flipping over as easily as he could on the couch. He lay her down and then stood up. Her eyes registered confusion until he pulled at the fastening of his pants. She reached for hers, but he shook his head. "No, I’ll do that," he told her as he stepped from his. He went down on his knees and kissed the outline of her ribcage to her waist. As his tongue teased her belly button and she giggled, he unfastened her pants and tugged them from her body. When they reached her feet she kicked them off, and then she froze. "Relax," he whispered, kissing her skin back up to her lips as he covered her small body.

"I can’t. I don’t remember this," she reminded him.

"I’ll teach you," he told her, parting her legs and resting his weight on his elbows. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, and her forehead as he cautiously entered her body. She gasped at the gentle invasion and shuddered in pleasure. Her eyes closed and she savored the feeling. Chris fought his body for control. As he did everytime they made love, he felt as if he could lose himself in her. "Marissa, look at me," he whispered. She opened her eyes and stared at him as he began moving. Then, her eyes slid closed again in pleasure.

He felt himself losing control, and he buried his face in her neck, inhaling the sweet scent that clung there. "I love you," he whispered in a ragged voice as he surged against her one last time.

She welcomed the weight of his body. Her fingernails traced patterns on his back that raised goosebumps on his oversensitive body. He shuddered, rolled to his side, and took her with him still linked to her body. "I’m sorry," he said, raising her fingers to his lips and kissing her. They balanced carefully on the smallish couch. She smiled into his eyes and kissed him lightly. "Don’t be sorry, Chris. Don’t ever be sorry for this."

"You deserved to…"

"Shh." She pressed a finger against his lips. She wrapped her arms around his torso and drew herself closer to him. "I have everything I need lying here with you."

Chapter Ten

"Alpha Team blew their cover," Geordi said neutrally as he walked into Will Riker’s quarters on DS9.

"Hello to you, too," Will drawled with an easy smile. "How did Alpha Team blow their cover?"

"Apparently a group of Romulans attacked Commander Darre, who was looking for Commander Paris."

"Why was Jeyelar looking for K’Leena?" Will leaned forward on his elbows. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like Geordi’s answer.

"K’Leena decided she needed to finish the mission even though Captain Burns had ordered the team back to the rendezvous point."

Will swore under his breath in Betazed. Geordi chuckled. "Does the girl *ever* follow orders?" Will asked grimly. "B'Elanna will hunt us down like dogs if she gets herself killed, Geordi."

"I’d be more worried about Tom." Geordi walked over and sat down across from Will. "Anyhow, Jeyelar went to find K’Leena. He ended up getting jumped by six Romulans, K’Leena found him, and pulled him out of there. When, they beamed back to the Valiant, K’Leena told Mike what she had found out, and he sent the information to us."

"And?"

"And, we dispatched the Enterprise, the Liberty Bell, the Mississippi, the Churchill, and the Phoenix."

"Overkill?"

Geordi shook his head. "There needed to be a show of force. We took care of it. The Romulans seem to be taking the hint."

"The Enterprise?"

"It wasn’t near the Neutral Zone, but Harry Kim asked. I don’t refuse him too often."

Will kneaded his temples. "My daughter and ex-son-in-law are on the Enterprise right now. Marissa’s working on her memory."

Geordi swore loudly in Terran Standard, and Will smiled. "I have a feeling if something had happened, Harry would have let me know," Will said, leaning back. "Just don’t tell this to Deanna."

"You got it." Geordi leaned back and relaxed briefly. "How’s she holding up?"

"Not well. None of us are."

"I can’t imagine, Will."

"Don’t try," Will said, looking intently at his old friend. "So, what are we going to do with the intrepid Commander Paris?"

Geordi shrugged. "Nothing. Until she does something really stupid she’s Mike Burns’ problem."

Will laughed aloud. "You’re an evil man, Admiral LaForge."

"No, Admiral Riker, I am a prudent man. As long as Mike Burns is the captain of Alpha Team, I don’t have to worry about anyone on that team unless something happens that makes me worry, and as long as I’m on K’Leena Paris’ good side, I’m not worried." Will stared in stupefaction at him, and then the two men shared a laugh.

*****

"Smooth flight," Jeyelar complimented as he and K’Leena exited the Valiant behind Captain Burns.

"What did you expect?" K’Leena was anxious to find a quarters with a comfortable bed and a shower with real water for their two day debriefing at DS9. She fully expected to get her ass chewed by Admiral LaForge.

Jeyelar shook his head at her. "You can’t even take a compliment, Paris," he said as a smile grew across K’Leena’s face.

"I take compliments from anyone who means them," she retorted, still smiling and looking in the opposite direction from Jeyelar. He followed her gaze and saw their captain wrapped around an incredibly beautiful brunette.

"Who’s that?" He asked.

"Tessa," K’Leena half answered, half called to her best friend. She walked over to them. "Mike, learn to share," she said as he pulled himself from Tessa’s embrace. K’Leena smiled broadly at her best friend and the two women hugged tightly and quickly. No one heard K’Leena’s wince of pain as Tessa squeezed her.

"That’s enough, Paris," Mike said, reaching out for Tessa’s hand. He grinned at K’Leena. "I’ve got a quarters and there’s a bed in there and it’s been too damned long since I held a beautiful woman in my arms."

"I better be the only beautiful woman in your arms," Tessa tartly remarked.

"You’re the only beautiful woman I know," Mike said, giving Tessa a smile that he reserved only for her. He squeezed her hand and tugged on it. "Come on, darlin. I’m exhausted and I want to curl up with you in my arms."

K’Leena watched as the two of them walked away with their arms encircling each other’s waist. A pang of longing and sadness shot through her, but quickly disappeared when she sensed someone else behind her. Her guards went back up. "What are you still doing here?"

"Got me," Jeyelar answered.

"Then go away."

Jeyelar laughed and shook his head. "You really hate me, don’t you, K’Leena?"

She stiffened and crossed her arms over her chest. His eyes narrowed dangerously at the fleeting sensation of pain that crossed her features when her arms touched her breasts. "I don’t hate you, I just don’t like you," K'Leena informed him haughtily. Then, disliking the intense look in his eyes, she quickly hurried off in the other direction.

He stared at her retreating back and decided to really anger her. You can run away from me, but I still know what you’re thinking. And, just for the record, I don’t hate you, either, he cast effortlessly into her mind. He watched with satisfaction as she froze and turned to him with a deadly look. He simply smiled back at her, felt her grow even angrier, and watched her walk off.

*****

The other side of the bed was cold when Chris reached over and touched Marissa’s pillow. He was groggy when he reached over, but when he touched the coolness, he came fully awake. "Marissa?" He called in a gravely voice, hoping that she was just in the bathroom. No reply came and he cursed fluently in Betazed. "Computer, locate Marissa Riker."

"Marissa Riker is on Holodeck Three." Chris gave a sigh of relief. At least she was still on the ship.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and sauntered to the bathroom. On his way, he instructed the computer to notify him if Marissa attempted to leave the ship. In the bathroom, he paused in front of the mirror, grimaced, and activated the sink. As he splashed cold water on his face, he activated the sonic shower. Then, he stepped into the shower and leaned against the cool, tile wall as the soothing waves cleansed his body.

When he emerged from the shower twenty minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom and found Marissa making the bed. With a smile, he leaned against the doorframe and watched. He knew she had sensed his presence. He saw the makings of a smile tugging at her cheeks. "You know, I could have made the bed," he said, walking up behind her and placing his hands at her waist.

"Yes, but something tells me you’re not the sort that cleans up after his own mess," she said, turning around with a smile.

"Guilty," he murmured as their lips met in a gentle, good morning kiss. "Why were you on the Holodeck?" He asked as they separated.

"Hoping to get my memory back," she said with a shrug. "It didn’t work."

Chris smiled and cupped her face in his hands. "Then, we’ll make some new memories, and they’ll be ten times better than the old ones. You’ll get to know your father again, and your relationship with him might even be better."

"It might be worse and we might not see each other after today," she said pessimistically.

Chris shook his head. "Don’t think like that." He longed to soothe her telepathically, but for her, their link didn’t exist. She hadn’t tried to forge it with him last night. "Now, do you want to stay here, or go back to DS9?"

"Captain Kim will let us stay here as long as we want."

"That’s what I’m afraid of." Chris’ eyes twinkled. "We might be pressured into duty."

Marissa’s musical laugh circled through their quarters. She was still close enough to Chris that her breath whispered on his cheek. He took a deep breath and tried to douse the flame growing in his blood. "Do we have to go back to DS9?"

"I think your parents would appreciate it. If they see you’re in good hands, they’re more likely to go back to Earth."

"That would be a relief," Marissa said, looking wistfully around the room. Her eyes settled on a small statue on the coffee table and they narrowed.

"Marissa?"

She pointed at the statue. "Why is that familiar?"

Chris followed her hand and gave a start. He cleared his throat and replied, "You left it here when we went to the Nighthawk."

She looked up with startled eyes. "It was mine?"

"Yes. These are your old quarters. Captain Kim thought it might be helpful," Chris said as she walked over to it and cradled it gently in her hands. He watched her for a moment, and then asked, "Marissa, do you remember something?"

She shook her head. "Maybe…I don’t know. There’s something so familiar about it. It feels like something I would have, but I don’t know where it comes from or why I had it."

The answers to her questions pushed at his tongue, but he wisely held his tongue. These were things she needed to answer on her own, if she could, in time. He let her study it for several more minutes and made a decision. He walked quietly over to the communications center and sent a communiqué to DS9. Then, he hit his communicator and said softly, "Watson to Captain Kim."

"Go ahead, Commander," Harry Kim said from the bridge.

"With your permission, Sir, Commander Riker and I would like to stay aboard for a few more days. Something has triggered her memory."

"Permission granted, and keep me posted, Commander."

"Understood, and thank you, Sir."

"Kim out."

Chris walked back over to Marissa and quietly said, "I sent a message to your parents telling them we would be here for several more days."

"Good." She still stared intently at the statue.

"You’re trying too hard."

"It’s better than not trying at all," she cried as her frustration grew.

Wisely, Chris took the statue from her hands and placed it back on the coffee table. "Getting frustrated won’t help, either."

"Don’t act like you know what’s best for me!" She exploded, throwing her hands in the air. Had the statue still been in her hands, it would have shattered against the wall. Chris stared at her with wide, surprised eyes. "You don’t know what’s best for me, and neither do my parents or my doctors. I’m so damned tired of being told how I feel. You don’t know how I feel!"

"Yes, I do," Chris said quietly. "I feel everything you feel just like you feel everything I feel."

"When did you become empathic?"

Chris shrugged off her question. "And, I don’t know what’s best for you, Marissa. I know what’s best for someone who’s frustrated, and that’s to do something to take their mind off the frustration."

"I’m not frustrated!"
Chris couldn’t stifle the laughter shot from him. Marissa’s eyes narrowed to ice blue slits. She reached out and grabbed the statue. Without thinking, she threw it at him. It sailed cleanly over his head and shattered against the wall behind him. Chris laughed even harder as Marissa went rigid with the sound.

"Nice. You broke the only thing you slightly remember," he said, still laughing, wiping his eyes, and looking up at her. "And, you have still have a lousy throw." He saw the stunned expression on her face and rose slowly to his feet. "Marissa, what’s wrong?"

"The last thing I threw at you was a crystal vase my parents gave us for a wedding present," she remembered slowly, looking at Chris.

"Yes, it was." He walked over to her. "You remember?"

"I remember that day. It was the day I asked you for a divorce." Marissa’s eyes grew shiny.

"Yes, it was." He touched her shoulder.

Her eyes grew wide again. "Oh my god!" she whispered. And, then, she passed out.

*****

The guest quarters assigned to Alpha Team on DS9 were small to say the least. K’Leena walked into the tiny, two room, apartment, dropped her duffel bag on the floor, and wearily dragged herself into the bathroom. It had been a long day. And, seeing Mike and Tessa together had done little to comfort her. It would have been really nice to have someone waiting for her when she got home. Someone to hold her and let her know she was all right. Someone to curl up next to in her bed tonight when the nightmares came. And they would come. Of that she had no doubt.

There were many things she had neglected to tell Mike in her report. As she slowly removed her uniform, the elements left out became painfully obvious. The mirror she stood before reflected the bruises decorating her body. The Romulan had enjoyed hurting her. She never gave him the satisfaction of knowing how much pain he had been inflicting, though. She had smiled and seduced the information she needed out of him without ever letting him know how much she was suffering. It had been difficult. Not only had she needed to keep the pain inside, but she had to keep the pain from her crewmates, especially Jeyelar. She knew having a telepath aboard was a bad idea, and had she let the pain overtake her, he would have felt it. She wouldn't let that happen. She was too proud and too embarrassed. So, she had hid it from him.

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as she stepped into the sonic

shower. Real water would have been better, she thought distractedly. It

would have made her feel clean.

*****

Across the station, Jeyelar paced from one end of his tiny quarters to the

other, ruthlessly ignoring the aches in his body.

Waves of agony buffeted his subconscious. Images assaulted his mind. It had been bad enough to *know* she had been in another man's arms, but to see it happen.... To feel her terror and pain....He cursed violently, and stalked from his quarters in rage.

*****

She stepped out of the sonic shower feeling slightly better and reached for her nightgown. The old blue flannel gown had been a gift from her father for her seventeenth birthday. It was always so cold aboard a space station that she took it with her whenever she was deployed. Tonight, however, she wore it for reassurance and comfort, not warmth. She didn't know if she would ever be

warm again.

Her hands shook violently as she tried buttoning the tiny buttons that ran down the front of the gown. Tears began to course down her cheeks as she

fumbled with the fastenings. She damned herself for her actions on Romulus. Mike had been right. She was an accident waiting to happen, and one day her recklessness was going to get her killed. After all these years she'd saved herself for her mate, and she had almost been willing to sacrifice her virginity today for the sake of a mission. Another sixty seconds and he would have been inside of her. She gasped as her stomach rolled in disgust. She could feel his hands on her again. The cold, clammy touch. The forceful grip that left bruises on her breast, her hips...the insides of her thighs. And his mouth. She shuddered uncontrollably and sank to her knees without realizing it as she relived the memories. She didn’t hear the chimes ringing in her quarters. All she heard was her own silent screams. All she saw was the Romulan's face. Then, the horrific images of finding Jeyelar on his hands and knees in the alley ran through her mind’s eye. That moment of absolute terror when she thought she was too late to save him. The knowledge he would die because of her! K’Leena cried out in agony, burying her face in her hands as she rocked back and forth, trying desperately to stop the images.

And, that was the sight that greeted Jeyelar when he soundlessly entered her quarters. Strong, confident to the point of arrogant, fearless K'Leena Paris, curled up in a ball on the floor of her quarters sobbing silently.

She wasn't surprised when his strong arms pulled her into his embrace. She didn't question. She didn't pull away. She turned into him and held on for all she was worth. His warmth helped to chase away the bitter chill that had engulfed her. His strength kept her upright when she would have collapsed. His gentle caress replaced the feel of the Romulan's hands on her body.

They stood like that for a long time.

When she finally settled down enough to look up at him, she was shocked at the compassion and concern in his eyes. "How did you know?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"How do you think I knew?" His voice was light and teasing. "I felt it, K’Leena. Hell, any telepath on this station can feel the terror you’re trying to bottle up. What happened down there?" He asked gently.

K’Leena bit her lip and shook her head. Her hands clasped the front of her nightgown tightly. His large, strong hands came to rest on hers. "How bad did he hurt you, Leena?" Jeyelar asked gruffly, emotion making his voice tremble.

She shook her head again, but her fingers grew slack. He pried them loose and let the nightgown fall open. She flinched but allowed him to parted the open nightgown to expose the bruises to his gaze. His jaw clenched as he reached out to gently brush the angry purple marks with his fingertips.

K'Leena gasped at the touch. Her whole body responded to his tender and innocent caress. Then, he pushed the gown off her shoulders causing it to fall to the floor in a faded blue puddle. She felt his fury when he saw the damage that had been done to her.

"I'm taking you to the Medical Bay," he told her firmly.

"No!" she panicked. "I don't want anyone to know!" She moved away from him, grabbing her robe off the bed and dragging it on.

"K'Leena! You might have internal injuries!" Jeyelar paused for a moment before continuing, "Are you bleeding?"

She looked at him for a moment, confused, then ducked her head in

embarrassment. "He didn't rape me, Jeyelar," she whispered. "It didn't go that far. I got what I needed before I had to...." Her voice trailed off.

Some of the tension left his body, but not all of it. "But you would have,

wouldn't you? You would have given yourself to him for the mission," he

realized.

"People's lives were at stake, Jeyelar," she reminded him, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. "I was doing what needed to be done. I just wish...."

"What?" he asked, striding over to her and taking her in his arms again.

She was shivering. He led her to the small sofa in her room and sat down, pulling her on his lap so he could hold her.

"What do you wish, K'Leena?" he asked again, stroking her back, surprised she was even letting him comfort her. He would have thought she'd prefer Mike, or another woman. Not that he was complaining. Something about this felt very *right* to him. It was as if this was exactly where she was

supposed to be. That was a rather disconcerting thought, though, and he

pushed it down deep.

"I wish...," she sighed, a small shudder coursing down her spine. "I wish I had made love to a man before today. Then maybe I wouldn't have been so scared, maybe I would have been able to do it. That was the hardest part, accepting that I might have to give that monster something I had cherished my whole life and saved for my mate."

Jeyelar froze at her confession. "You're a virgin?"

She nodded into his chest. "Klingon women don't have sex outside of a mated relationship. It's not honorable."

"But letting him rape you would have been!" he demanded, furious with her.

"It's battle," she said simply. "There is only honor in battle."

He grasped her shoulders to bring her gaze to his. She saw the disbelief and the fury in his eyes. "Would you have really let him have you, K'Leena?"

"If I had to, I guess," she replied, but she wasn't sure anymore. "I just

didn't like the idea of my first time being like that."

"Don’t like it? You should hate it! It’s not supposed to be like that, K’Leena. It’s supposed to mean something. Sex isn’t something you throw around in hopes of a mission turning out the way you want it to turn out. Gods, K’Leena, did you even think about all the consequences?" She shook her head and stared at him. "God, K’Leena, you just said it’s dishonorable to have sex outside a mated relationship for Klingons and that you don’t like the idea that your first time could have been like that, and yet you were willing to let him rape you because that would have been honorable. Do you not hear the contradiction with that?"

"I do, but there are important things in life that demand we give up our ideals for the greater good."

"That’s Starfleet bullshit and you know it." He raked a hand through his hair. "Have you ever been close? Or tempted. I mean, willingly."

K'Leena smiled fleetingly at a memory. "Burns!?" Jeyelar almost shouted, reading her mind without a qualm. "He's dating your best friend!"

She gave him a withering look. "Before he met Tessa. We're talking almost ten years ago, Jeyelar. Back when Mike and I were at the academy, we dated. Tessa was all of thirteen at the time. It didn't last. I couldn't take his

possessive attitude and he couldn't handle my temper." She shrugged. "We

stayed close friends, though. I love him to death, just not that way."

"But you almost...?"

"Yeah," she chuckled. "We'd had too much to drink. Our first year had just ended and we were celebrating. One thing led to another and before I knew

it, we were in his bed."

"What happened?"

"I got scared," she admitted shyly. "Mike's a big guy. Almost a whole foot taller than me. I panicked when he rolled me under him. He, umm...."

Jeyelar raised an eyebrow. "He what?"

"He didn't realize until I started crying and fighting him. He rolled off

me so fast he knocked the lamp off his bedside table and it fell on him and

broke. He ended up with a concussion and a huge gash in his head. I felt

guilty for him getting hurt and he felt so bad for scaring me, he wouldn't

touch me for a week. It wasn't long before we decided to call it quits."

"He still looks out after you," Jeyelar realized.

"Yeah, he does. Mike's a great guy."

K'Leena snuggled back into his warm embrace with a yawn. She wouldn't think about why this felt so right, tonight. She wasn't going to analyze it. She wasn't going to fight it. She just didn't have it in her right now. And

she didn't want to be alone anymore.

Go to sleep, K’Leena. I'm right here, Jeyelar thought to her, feeling her exhaustion.

She didn't object when he stood up with her in his arms and carried her to the bed. She sighed contentedly when he kicked off his boots and crawled

into the small bunk with her, wrapping his body securely around hers.

Don't leave. The thought came out of nowhere for her.

Jeyelar smiled when the unspoken request brushed his mind. "I'm not going anywhere. You're safe," he whispered outloud.

Safe. A small smile touched her lips as she drifted off to sleep to the sound of his heart beating in time with hers. Yes, she was safe.

Jeyelar lay awake long after her breathing became slow and steady. He cradled her in his arms, rested his chin on her head, and inhaled the flowery fragrance of her shampoo. Inside, his anger seethed at the edge of his conscious. For her sake, he pushed the anger deep down so it wouldn’t affect her. The idea that she was willing to go as far as she was gnawed at him. If being in Alpha Team meant sacrificing the things a person held dear, then he knew he couldn’t be in Alpha Team.

Chapter Eleven

"Marissa, hey, wake up." A hand brushed her face and stirred her back to consciousness. She forced her eyelids to open and tried to focus on the things around her. Everything was blurry and an ache gnawed at the back of her head. She focused on the face in front of her.

"Where am I?"

"Don’t you ever get tired of asking that question?" Chris teased her,

helping her sit up. The room spun around her briefly and she shook her head.

"I’m obviously in Sickbay," she said dryly. "My head hurts so either I hit it or I’m about to get a killer headache."

"You hit it when you passed out."

"Memory flood…overloaded my brain."

"That’s what the doc said." Chris stood up and held his hand out to her. "Do you remember?"

"Remember what?" Marissa allowed him to help her stand up.

"Anything."

"I remember everything," she said, glancing around Sickbay for the doctor. "I guess I should thank you for getting me so frustrated that I threw that statute."

Chris’ face fell. "Thank me? That’s all."

"What else do you expect?" Marissa looked at him incredulously.

"More than this."

"Chris, I’m sorry. I didn’t remember anything and…"

"And what?" Anger surged through his veins. "You still made love to me."

A fiery blush stained her cheeks. "All I remembered was falling in love with you, Chris. I didn’t remember all the things that happened afterwards."

"So this is it. It ends here in Sickbay." Chris clenched his fists together at his sides as she looked sadly at him.

"No, it ended months ago, Chris. You know that." Her voice grew soft and sad. "I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you again."

"It means nothing to you?"

"What?"

"All the time and energy I’ve devoted to you for the past couple of months? All the times I sat beside your bed praying you would wake up…praying you wouldn’t die…helping you get your memory back. All of that means nothing to you?"

"Chris, I…"

"You know what? Forget it, Marissa." His anger bubbled to the surface. "You once accused me of putting duty in front of love, and you know what? You were right. I did put the ship and her crew ahead of you and our marriage, but that stopped the day I lost you. That stopped the night you made love to Jeyelar Darre. That stopped when your father contacted me and told me you were nearly dead from an attack. You can’t see that I’ve changed. You can’t see that I still love you and that I never stopped. I can see that you’re never going to forgive me no matter what I do. I spent months chasing you. I’m not chasing you anymore."

Marissa’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Chris’ retreating back, but no sound came out. By the time she recovered her voice, he was long gone from Sickbay, and well on his way off the Enterprise. It was time for him to regain his life and stop living his life for her. She swallowed hard and knew for sure she had lost him, and this time, it was solely her fault.

*****

Neither remembered falling asleep, but both awoke to the same, insistent sound of K’Leena’s door chimes ringing. K’Leena reached up to rub her eyes and Jeyelar began untangling his arms from around her. She made an unhappy sound and he smiled, but that smile quickly faded when a voice came around the corner. "K’Leena, get your ass out of bed. Tessa and I want to go to breakfast and you’re coming with us!" Mike rounded the corner to the small bedroom and saw Jeyelar and K’Leena untangling themselves from each other in her bed. Shock lit his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" K’Leena sat up slowly and her robe fell slightly open.

Mike saw the bruises at her collar bone and running down inside her robe. His eyes widened and he looked at Jeyelar. "You did that?" He demanded in anger.

"Did what?" Jeyelar looked at Mike with confusion and took a quick scan of his mind. Fury filled his face when he realized what Mike was assuming. Before he could deny what Mike was thinking and before K’Leena could tell Mike what had really happened, his fist connected with Jeyelar jaw sending a blinding blaze of red before Jeyelar’s eyes.

"Mike! What are you doing?" K’Leena jumped off her bed and grabbed at his arm. With pressure to the right place on his hand, she had him on the floor in short order. "Jeyelar didn’t do this to me. The Romulan did."

"That wasn’t in your report," he rasped out. K’Leena’s foot on his neck was making it difficult for him to breathe, much less talk.

"Because I didn’t think you needed to know." She took her foot off his neck and allowed him to rise back to his feet. "Jeyelar, I am…" K’Leena’s voice faded as she looked around the room. "Where..?"

"He probably went to Sickbay. I’ll find him and apologize, K’Leena."

"You better. Dammit, Mike!" She exploded. "You had no right to do that. You had no right to come in my quarters uninvited. You’re not my brother and you’re not my father. Robbie and my dad have more respect for me than that!" K’Leena’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. "How could you do this?"

"K’Leena, I’m sorry," Mike apologized quietly, stunned by the tears. "I saw him taking his arms from around you, I saw the bruises, and I just thought…"

"You thought wrong, Mike," she retorted, wiping furiously at her eyes. "Now, get out. Tell Tessa if she wants to see me, she can come by here, but I don’t want to see you. Do you understand? You are not to come by here to check up on me, you are not to come in uninvited, and you are not to slug anyone I sleep with!"

Mike backed up towards the door as K’Leena advanced towards him with growing anger in her eyes. He nodded as the doors opened behind him. "I understand," he said quietly.

"And, understand, if you ever want me to forgive you, you will apologize to Jeyelar."

"I will."

"Good." K’Leena reached over and punched the button that made the doors close on Mike’s face.

*****

Jeyelar stalked into his quarters, walked over to the small closet, and grabbed his duffel bag out of it. Savagely, he began stuffing his clothes into it. He yanked the zipper so hard it nearly tore. Then, he threw it on the floor and walked over to the communications station. "Darre to Admiral Riker."

A few seconds passed by before he got a response. It was groggy, as if he had awakened the admiral. "Riker here. Your debriefing isn’t for several hours, yet, Commander."

"I won’t be able to attend that debriefing, Sir. Any information you need from me is in my report. Captain Burns has it."

"Explain." In his mind, Jeyelar saw the scowl he knew was on Will Riker’s face.

"I have decided not to join Alpha Team. I will be returning to my post on the Destiny immediately."

"Commander, you don’t really have a choice in attending the debriefing. It is required for the mission you were on. You have to be there."

"I will not be there, Admiral. Court-martial me if you choose, but I am leaving for the Destiny within the hour. Darre out." Jeyelar’s fists were clutched at his sides. He knew he was going to find himself on the receiving end of a court-martial in record time.

His door chimes rang and his head jerked up in surprise. Surely Admiral Riker hadn’t made it to his temporary quarters this quickly. "Come," he called, walking cautiously toward the door and extending his telepathy to identify the visitor.

By the time the doors opened, Jeyelar was standing squarely inside the door, blocking the entrance. "You are not welcome here, Captain," he said icily.

Mike raised his eyebrows. "Nice beginnings of a shiner."

"Get out."

"I’m not in." Amusement tinted Mike’s voice, which angered Jeyelar further. Jeyelar sighed and moved out of the doorway. "Does this mean I can come in?"

"I don’t give a damn what you do." Jeyelar walked into the small bedroom, grabbed his duffel bag, and slung it over his shoulder. Then, he walked back into the living area.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the Destiny," Jeyelar answered.

"You can’t do that. We have a debriefing with Admirals LaForge and Riker."

"Screw it." Jeyelar shifted the duffel bag.

Mike gave him an incredulous look. "You know, I never took you for a stupid man, Jeyelar, but what you’re doing right now is incredibly stupid. You’ll end up with a court-martial and find yourself serving time on a penal colony."

"If it gets me away from you and the rest of your team, so be it. I’m not cut out for this crap."

Mike’s bellowing laugh echoed through the quarters. "Yeah right. I tried telling someone that once, and it didn’t work. It’s not going to work now. You are cut out for this team and you know it. You don’t like it, but you know you’re made for this job."

"Maybe I am, but I won’t serve under a man like you."

Ordinarily, Mike would have flinched and became angry, but instead his smile grew and he nodded his head. "I wouldn’t serve under a maniac like me, either."

"If you’re trying to convince me to stay, you’re doing a lousy job." Jeyelar tried to scan Mike’s mind but found the captain’s mind irritatingly blocked.

"One thing we’re trained in his mental shielding from telepathic races. It protects us from mind probes." Mike grinned at him. "Look, Jeyelar, you’re an asset to this team. What you did on Romulus probably saved K’Leena’s life."

"All I did was get my ass kicked," he grumbled.

"Which is how we found K’Leena, and how we found out about the Romulans’ plans. Who knows if K’Leena would have been alive by the time I finally decided to go after her. I don’t see very clearly where K’Leena is concerned."

Jeyelar rubbed his sore jaw. "That’s the understatement of the year."

"I’m sorry about that." Mike gestured to Jeyelar’s jaw. "I was out of line"

"Just a bit."

"If I had of thought for a second, I would never have done that. You wouldn’t hurt K’Leena or anyone else without a reason."

"K’Leena’s given all of us reason to hurt her." Jeyelar smiled. "But, you’re right. I wouldn’t hurt her or anyone else unless my life depended on it. If I ever see that Romulan again, though, he’s mine."

"I’d like a piece of that," Mike added. "Back to the matter at hand. Don’t risk your career because you’re pissed off at me, Jeyelar. To quote our favorite Klingon, ‘It wouldn’t be honorable.’" Jeyelar smirked and snorted out a laugh. "And, besides, if you’re not there, K’Leena’s going to assume that I didn’t come and apologize, and then I’m going to be right back on the top of her shit list."

Jeyelar sighed and dropped his bag on the floor. "Fine. I’ll go, but I’m still not sure about Alpha Team."

Mike put a hand on the other man’s shoulder as they walked out the door. "Yeah, but at least now you’ll be in Starfleet long enough to figure it out."

*****

In her quarters, K’Leena savagely ripped a brush through her hair. Her eyes glared back at her from the mirror as she gathered her hair into one hand, twisted it, and clipped it into a bun at the nape of her neck. As she walked over to the closet the chimes rang to her quarters. "Come in!" She called, walking over to the closet and grabbing a clean uniform.

"Leena, where are you?" Tessa walked around into the sleeping area and paused. "Hey."

"I have to be at a debriefing in ten minutes." K’Leena’s voice was clipped as she dropped her robe and pulled on her uniform.

"Good, that gives us time to talk." Tessa dropped gracefully onto K’Leena’s unmade bed.

"Tessa, don’t take this the wrong way, but Admiral Riker will kill me if I’m late."

"At the moment, I think your debriefing is irrelevant." Tessa raised one eyebrow so high it made her forehead wrinkle. K’Leena looked over at her in disbelief. "Sit for a minute."

"Tessa, I have to go." Impatience crept into K’Leena’s voice.

"K’Leena, sit down for one damned minute!" Tessa glared at her best friend.

"I’ll stand." K’Leena crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. "Make it quick, Tessa."

"Mike told me about this morning."

"Pet’Q," K’Leena spat.

"It’s a little early in the morning for Klingon curses." Tessa raised her eyebrow again.

"Stop it. You look like Aunt Ani."

"Well, she is my mother," Tessa said mildly. Then, she sighed and looked down at her fingernails. "K’Leena, Mike was just concerned about you. Yes, he was out of line to punch Commander Darre, but he just lost it when he saw those bruises."

K’Leena blushed and glanced away from Tessa. "That still gave him no right to slug him."

"No, it didn’t, and Mike should be with Jeyelar now. We talked for a bit before he went to go find Jeyelar. He thinks of you as his little sister, and like an older brother, he thinks he has to protect you."

"I have a brother. I don’t need another one. Besides, Jeyelar did nothing to hurt me, Tessa. He was there for me last night when I really needed someone."

"Mike thinks you two slept together." Tessa continued scrutinizing her fingernails and wondered how to broach such a touchy subject.

As Tessa expected, K’Leena bristled and avoided her. "I have to go to the debriefing."

"Mike is going to make excuses for you," Tessa told her. "K’Leena, I think we really need to talk about this. Sit down."

K’Leena’s face flamed, but she finally sat down on the floor across from Tessa. "So, what is it we need to talk about that is so important that Mike is excusing me from the debriefing?"

"Sex."

K’Leena laughed so hard her cheeks hurt when she stopped. "Tessa, my mother had this talk with me when I was thirteen."

"It’s different when it’s a friend. Your mother tells you the basics. I’m here to tell you the things your mother wouldn’t tell you."

"Like what."

"Like letting yourself get raped for the benefit of Starfleet is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, and I’ve known you for a long time, K’Leena. I’ve seen you do some stupid things, but that’s by far the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. To allow a man to touch you with the intent of hurting you is not what sex is about, K’Leena."

"I know what sex is about, Tessa. I almost had sex with your boyfriend."

Tessa flinched and looked over at K’Leena. "I know that. Mike told me that a long time ago. The point is that you almost did, but you didn’t because you got scared and Mike ended up with a concussion."

"So what?" K’Leena shrugged. "A lot of girls get scared."

"Only when it’s with the wrong person."

"You weren’t scared with Mike?" K’Leena raised her eyebrows skeptically.

Tessa shook her head. "I didn’t know what to expect, but Mike made it almost perfect."

"Almost?"

"I neglected to tell him that it was my first time."

"And?"

"Did your mother ever tell you that the first time can hurt?"

"Yeah." K’Leena’s eyes widened. "It did?"

"It wasn’t pleasant," Tessa said dryly. "He stopped the second he realized what was happening. Then, he made sure the second time was something I would never forget."

"Tessa, why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don’t want you to think that sex is something you can throw around or use as a game. It’s not a game and it’s not something to throw around, and I want you to understand that there is a huge difference between having sex and making love. There is a huge difference, K’Leena."

"I know that!" She exploded. "Don’t you think I want that for myself? I want what you and Mike have. I want what my parents have!"

"Then why are you willing to except less than that?"

"You think that’s what I would have been doing if I slept with Jeyelar last night?"

"No, I think that’s what you would have been doing if you allowed that Romulan to rape you. K’Leena, nothing in Starfleet is worth what you were willing to give." K’Leena sighed and visibly relaxed against the wall. Tessa leaned back on her hands and asked, "So, did you sleep with him?"

"Yes, I slept with him. No, we didn’t have sex or anything else like that," she clarified. "I think I would have, though."

"I thought you couldn’t stand him."

"He saved my life. He comforted me when I needed it. Something out there keeps throwing us together. It’s like we’re meant to be together."

Tessa chewed the inside of her lip briefly and then asked, "Leena, what about Marissa Riker? Mike told me that she was the reason Jeyelar had joined Alpha Team."

"I don’t know," K’Leena admitted. "I know she’s left the station with her ex-husband."

"Mike told me she woke up from her coma with no memory of the past ten years or something."

"Eight years, and yeah, she’s on the Enterprise trying to get her memory back."

Tessa smiled softly. "Dad’s a sucker for a pretty girl."

"You oughta know." K’Leena smiled up at her best friend. "Thanks, Tessa."

"For what?"

"For this. Maybe I needed this."

"Maybe?" Tessa smirked. "We both know you needed this. Now, go to your debriefing?"

"Why? By now the meeting’s going to be over."

"Go anyway." Tessa grinned evilly. "Maybe you’ll run into Commander Darre."

K’Leena’s face flamed. "Tell Mike he can come around me again."

"You tell him at the meeting," Tessa said, rising to her feet and walking to the door. "See ya later, Leena."

"Yeah," she said, distractedly. As Tessa left, she walked over to the mirror and scanned her reflection again. Her clear blue eyes shined back at her and wisps of her flame colored hair had come loose. It framed her face in slight curls. All in all, nothing she saw in the mirror made her grimace. That would come later when she took off her uniform and looked at the angry purple bruises on her chest and legs. "Computer, is Mike Burns still in Conference Room 3?"

"Affirmative."

K’Leena smiled and started out to the conference room.

*****

"I’ll expect to see Commander Paris later?" Geordi gave Mike a pointed glare that he nearly wilted under. He looked away from the admiral and found himself eye to eye with an even icier glare.

"Commander Paris will report to you as soon as her emergency is cleared."

"Good," Admiral Riker said, ending the meeting with that one word.

Everyone filed out and gave their captain a sympathetic look. All of them were thinking the same thing. Mike was in trouble again because of their pilot. The only one not thinking that remained behind for a moment. "I’m amazed at how quickly a problem developed for Commander Paris." Jeyelar crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

"She’s talking to Tessa about what happened on the mission. Tessa’s going to give the report to Admiral LaForge. There’s no sense in K’Leena having to relive that night in front of two admirals."

Jeyelar nodded. "Good thinking. I’m sure Commander Paris appreciates it."

"I’m sure she does." Mike looked away from Jeyelar at a place on the wall and spoke quietly. "I haven’t thanked you for ignoring me and going after her. You saved my best friend, Jeyelar. I will always be grateful for that."

Jeyelar was struck speechless. He stared slightly dumbfounded at Mike who gave him a sardonic smile. "I can be nice when I choose. Now get out of here and get some rest. Who knows when we’ll get our next assignment." Mike raised his eyebrow and stared meaningfully at Jeyelar. It was the truth as he knew it. Their missions came out of nowhere, and usually in the middle of the night. Jeyelar cocked his head, considered saying something, decided against it, and left the conference room. Mike sank back down in his chair and kneaded his temples for a moment before he heard the doors slide open again.

"I told you to get some rest," he said without opening his eyes.

"I thought the briefing was still in progress." K’Leena slid into the chair opposite of Mike.

"Hey. It ended a few minutes ago." He offered K’Leena a slightly beaten smile.

"Damn. Were they pissed that I wasn’t here?"

"Until I told them that you had a family emergency. If anyone asks, Robbie was in an accident, but he’s fine."

K’Leena laughed lightly and shook her head. "Make sure Robbie or my dad knows that."

"I sent subspace messages to them before the briefing started." Mike leaned back in the chair and stared at K’Leena. "So, we’re back on speaking terms?"

"I had an interesting chat with your girlfriend." K’Leena leaned forward and propped her head up on her elbows. "I learned a lot about your sex life."

Mike snorted. "What sex life?"

"Tessa’s in your quarters." K’Leena wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Mike rolled his eyes.

"Sex isn’t all there is to our relationship," he told her.

"Then marry her."

"I’ve asked. She doesn’t want to get married yet."

K’Leena shook her head. "You’ll wear her down eventually." She smiled at him for a moment, and then glared slightly. "Did you talk to Commander Darre?"

"Before the briefing and afterwards."

"And?" K’Leena pressed.

"I apologized for decking him."

"He accepted?"

"He was here."

K’Leena’s forehead wrinkled. "What does that mean?"

Mike sighed. "When I got to his quarters, his bags were packed, and he was well on his way back to the Destiny. He had basically told Admiral Riker to go to hell, and told me almost the same thing before I apologized."

"Where is he now?"

"I told him to go get some rest. We never know when we’re going to get shipped out again."

K’Leena snickered and stood up. "So true. I should do the same thing, shouldn’t I?"

Mike met K’Leena’s gaze and nodded slowly. "If you’re asking me what I think you’re asking me, then yes, you should. I think he’s a good guy, K’Leena. He was willing to die to save you. That tells me a lot about him."

"Don’t come into my quarters without ringing the bell," K’Leena warned.

"As long as you give Tessa and me the same courtesy." Mike raised his eyebrows meaningfully. She laughed and nodded her head.

"I promise."

"See ya later, Leena," Mike said as K’Leena left the conference room.

*****

Still slightly damp from his shower, Jeyelar opened the closet and replaced the uniforms he'd pulled out of there earlier, in his fit of pique. Turning

around, he surveyed the room dispassionately. Sterile. Even for a space

station. He wondered briefly when his things from the Destiny would arrive.

He'd been up close and personal with the miniscule quarters on the Valiant.

He was going to have to put most of his stuff in storage on Betazed. That

. "Mike said you were going to leave Alpha Team," K’Leena fumed.

"Is it true?" Her hands flew to her hips, her fingernails crushing into the velvet of her dress. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a dress unless it was required for a mission. The long, deep blue, velvet gown fit her like a glove. Sleeveless, with a low-cut scooped neckline, it set off her figure perfectly, falling to her feet in a soft, straight skirt.

"At the time I had just been punched in the face by the captain of the team," Jeyelar reminded her, his voice still strangled.

K’Leena shook her head. She'd left her hair down too, and it floated around her shoulders. The thick, slightly curly hair was more than a little unruly if left to it's own devices. So, she tended to braid it or put it up in someway. "I straightened Mike out. If you had of stuck around, you would have known that, but you ran off."

"It was either that or punch a senior officer." Jeyelar shrugged and looked up at the beautiful, angry woman. "Why are you so angry with me?"

Because you were going to leave without saying good-bye to me, K’Leena thought quickly. A wry smile came over Jeyelar’s face. "I would never leave without saying good bye to you, K’Leena."

A whoosh of air escaped K’Leena’s lips and she sank down on the couch beside him. He rolled his head to the side to look at her and tried to read her thoughts. She tossed up a weak mental block that he did nothing to break. If she wanted to share something with him, he was willing to wait and let her tell him when she was good and ready.

"I don’t understand why other races think Klingons like pain with sex," she said quietly. "I certainly didn’t like it when I was down on Romulus."

"No one would have liked what you did down on Romulus." Jeyelar raised his eyebrows. "Never let a man touch you who has the intent of hurting you. Never, K’Leena," he repeated. "It’s not worth it, and I know you think you wouldn’t have reacted the way you have if you weren’t a virgin, but you’re wrong. Any woman, virgin or experienced, is going to react like that when nearly raped."

"There’s something else." K’Leena laced her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white. Jeyelar waited patiently, allowing her the chance just to talk. "I lied when I said it would have been honorable for me to sacrifice myself for the sake of the mission." K’Leena’s eyes grew shiny. "If a Klingon woman allows herself to be raped, then she deserves it and is dishonored."

"Then…why?" Jeyelar sputtered.

A tear spilled over her eyelid and she wiped it away angrily. She managed a watery smile. "I guess I wanted to prove something to myself."

"And, what if you had of failed?" He asked gently.

K’Leena shrugged. "I never thought of failing. I don’t fail." Her cockiness returned and brought an arrogant tilt to her head. A lock of her unruly red hair fell to her face. Jeyelar reached over and brushed the lock back behind her ear.

"So I see. You’re still alive," he joked with a smile. K’Leena returned his smile and felt lost by the look in his eyes. They were wide, dark, deep pools. His hand trailed across her face. She caught it with hers and raised it to her lips as if she were going to kiss it. Instead she bent her head and lowered her nose to his wrist. She inhaled deeply. When she looked up, her blue eyes were dark and intense. Before he knew what was happening, K’Leena dropped his hand, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his.

"I want to do this," she breathed.

Jeyelar shook his head. "No, this isn't a good idea. You don't know what you're doing."

She raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer. "I'm seducing you. Am I doing it wrong?"

Jeyelar jumped to his feet and walked away from K’Leena. He raked a hand through his hair and fought for a shred of self control. A groan of agony almost strangled him. Doing it wrong?! Hell, she couldn't be doing it more right! And the little witch knew it! He took a step back, then another, until he reached the doorway of the sleeping area. She smiled when the bed stopped his retreat. A moment later she was standing directly in front of him, her small hands resting lightly on his chest. He fought the urge to wrap his arms around her, keeping them firmly at his sides.

innocence that was designed to make him crumble.

"I know." She pressed closer and his hands came down hard on her hips to keep her from rubbing against him. "Stop it," he growled.

K'Leena smiled slowly, her hands sliding the edges of his robe open and down his arms. Jeyelar tried to push her away then, but she grabbed onto his

shoulders and pushed back, hard. He'd forgotten how strong she was. He fell back onto the bed, with her splayed across his body. She gave a soft laugh and quickly straddled his hips, grinding herself down on the painfully hard erection he'd had since the moment she walked into his bedroom.

what I had in mind."

He didn't even want to know what she had in mind.

She sat back with an evil smile. "I could tell you," she offered, wiggling

her hips as she shimmied the dress up higher and arousing him even more with

the view of her white thighs spread wide over his hips. "But I'd much rather -show- you."

The dark blue gown sailed high into the air, leaving her as naked as he was.

"Gods, Paris!" he croaked. "You walked through the entire station like

that?!"

She laughed. "Yeah, and it felt great."

Jeyelar closed his eyes and dragged a frustrated hand over his face. She leaned down again, pressing her breasts against his smooth chest, her mouth teasing his playfully.

Her tongue darted out quickly to tempt his mouth open. "Don't analyze. You can't stop this, Jeyelar. You know it as well as I do. From that first moment we met in Sickbay I knew this would happen. So did you."

His hands slid up her thighs, over her soft round bottom to the silkily

smooth skin of her toned back, drawing her even closer as he opened his

mouth to her with a defeated groan. "This is a really bad idea," he breathed against her lips.

"I know," she whispered back, reveling in the feel of his hands as they

knowingly stroked her, pushing flat against the back of her hips as he

ground up with his. She gasped at the pressure it put on her most sensitive

spot and wriggled down on him harder to increase it.

Jeyelar growled deeply, his hands inching down further until his long

fingers could delve where she was hot, and wet and so ready for him. "We're

going to regret this," he warned again, sliding one finger deeper and

probing her entrance.

"I know," she breathed, capturing his mouth with a soft cry when she felt

him penetrate her slightly.

"You're not going to stop me, are you?" he rasped in a tortured voice.

"Gods, no!" she exclaimed softly. His finger slid deeper inside her and she felt her muscles contract in response. "Oh," she gave a tiny cry. "That

feels good."

It was his undoing. Up until now, he still had somewhat of a grasp on his

emotions. Her response did him in. He wanted to be the first man to make

love to her. He wanted to be the first to make her come. He wanted to be

inside of her when it happened. He wanted -her-, more than any other woman

he'd ever been with.

He yanked her head back down to his and crushed his lips to hers. She sighed into the kiss as he tangled his free hand in her hair. With his thumb, he began to circle her most sensitive place. She gasped against his lips and surged against him, bringing their most intimate parts into contact. He could almost feel the heat of her response against his aching erection.

Desire overruled common sense and he slid another finger into her tight passage. She moaned and her head titled back. He kissed her neck, her collarbone, the top of her breasts, her nipples, and followed the path back up to her mouth. He withdrew his fingers from her body and her eyes widened in confusion.

"K’Leena," he breathed, pulling her head back down into a sensual kiss that shattered her self control. His hands lifted her rounded bottom and settled her above his hardness. Her eyes flew open and the fear and uncertainty in her eyes brought his self control roaring back. He groaned, cursed savagely in Betazed, and lowered her back to the bed. "I can’t do this," he whispered.

"Yes, you can." K’Leena leaned into him, but he turned his head and raked a hand through his dark hair. He felt her confusion and growing anger. Underneath it all, though, he sensed her fear.

"No, K’Leena, we can’t." He looked up at her and smiled sadly. "I won’t make love to you, no matter how much I want to, when you’re this afraid."

"I’m not afraid." Her voice faltered and she reached for his robe.

Jeyelar chuckled and flopped back onto his bed. K’Leena glared at him and her anger grew. "Don’t you want me?"

"More than my next breath."

"Then why?"

Jeyelar shrugged. "It just doesn’t feel right. Not like this."

K’Leena grabbed her dress and yanked it over her head. "It won’t ever, then. I won’t bother you again, Commander," she glowered as she stalked toward the door.

"K’Leena!" Jeyelar yelled, sitting up on his bed as the doors to his quarters closed. He covered his face with his hands and swore in several languages. The chimes to his quarters rang again only seconds later and several other curses came from his lips. Then, he froze and shook his head. "Not now," he breathed. "Come in," he said as he grabbed his robed and pulled it on. Tightly, he tied the belt and held his breath until the doors opened wide and another arrogant woman walked into his quarters.

Jeyelar felt a headache coming as he walked into the living area. He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and kneaded his brow as the cocky young woman raised her eyebrows and inquired, "Can I come in?"

"What’s stopping you?" He opened his eyes and looked over at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you?" She walked far enough into his quarters for the doors to close behind her.

Jeyelar scanned her mind and found it firmly locked away. She smiled. "Sorry, my thoughts are my own," Marissa said, placing her arms on a chair. She leaned on it and tossed him a smile. "That girl who stormed out of here was K’Leena Paris, wasn’t it?"

"How do you know K’Leena?" Confusion creased Jeyelar’s brow, and then he remembered. "Oh. K’Leena’s the one that talked to you about the attack."

"Yup." Marissa tucked a lock of her curly hair behind her ear. She waited for Jeyelar to realize what he had said. A minute passed and they stared at each other. Two minutes passed and she sighed impatiently. Three minutes passed and he grinned at her. Four minutes passed and she gave in. "I remember K’Leena coming to talk to me."

"Which means you got your memory back. Going to the Enterprise must have done you some good."

"Some good…some bad." Her face clouded over as she thought of Chris. "I’m transferring back to the Nighthawk, but I needed to come here first."

"I’ve left the Destiny…officially."

"For what?" Marissa propped her head up with one hand. Her elbow rested on the back of the chair.

"For the same thing K’Leena does."

"Starfleet Intelligence?"

"You could call it that." His raised eyebrows told her not to ask anymore.

"Good luck with it, then."

"What do you need to talk to me about?"

Marissa sighed, lifted her head, and let her arm fall. She stared down at the chair for a moment, and then decided to sit down in it. It took her several minutes to arrange herself in the chair. Through all her fidgeting , Jeyelar waited patiently. When she was finally comfortable, she began quietly, "I didn’t remember you or our relationship the last time you came to see me in Sickbay. There are a lot of things I know now that I didn’t know then."

"Such as?" A growing feeling of sadness pervaded his sense of her, and he knew exactly what she wanted to talk about.

"Such as the fact that we were sleeping together…that I was pregnant."

Jeyelar nodded his head. He leaned forward and laced his hands together. Then, he stared down at him. "I wasn’t sure you knew, and then after the accident, I didn’t see the point in telling you."

"Even if I hadn’t known, I still had a right to know." There was accusation in her voice and in her eyes.

"I know," Jeyelar admitted softly. "Still, it was something I wanted to spare you. No matter how young the pregnancy is, if a woman knows about it, she tends to bond to it."

"I wouldn’t say I was bonded to it. I was more shocked than anything. Weren’t you on boosters?"

Jeyelar chuckled and shook his head. "It never crossed my mind. Sex wasn’t something I did often."

"And, it is, now?" Marissa wagged her eyebrows with a teasing smile. He looked up at her and shook his head.

"Not right now, but be damned sure I keep up with my boosters." Jeyelar rubbed his face and then his neck.

"What would you have done if the accident hadn’t have happened?" Marissa asked quietly.

"What would you have done?" He returned evenly.

The point was made. Marissa shrugged. "I honestly don’t know. After my divorce, I didn’t think I’d have to worry about children again."

"By the way, where is Chris?"

Marissa stiffened and swallowed hard. "On the Nighthawk, I guess. He left the Enterprise before I did…it wasn’t a happy parting."

"What happened?"

Shaking her head, Marissa answered, "Miscommunication. My pride. Stupidity. You name it."

"You’re too stubborn sometimes, Marissa. Chris loves you very much. It’s obvious. Hell, even I could see how much he loves you."

"You could?"
"Marissa, he didn’t leave your side for days! Only a foolish man or a man in love would do that. Chris is not a foolish man."

Marissa nodded in agreement. "I am the foolish one, but I hope to correct that." She smiled at Jeyelar. "I thought I was falling in love with you," she admitted quietly.

"Maybe you were. I thought I was falling in love with you."

"Were you?"

Jeyelar shrugged. "I don’t know. As I told your father, love is a complex emotion. On some levels, I think I did love you, but on others, I can’t be sure. I think I reminded you of Chris in some ways and you clung to that. You wanted me to be him. Eventually, though, you would have found out that I wasn’t him, and you would have left. Maybe we got lucky with the accident and your memory loss."
"Maybe so." Marissa smiled sadly at him. "We really messed up, didn’t we?"

Jeyelar smiled at her and shook his head. "No, we didn’t mess up at all, Marissa. We had an experience, and we learned from our experience. We’ve both made some mistakes, and we have to fix those mistakes if we can."

"How are you going to fix your mistake?" Marissa looked over at him with a smile.

"I don’t know," Jeyelar replied, thinking of a certain angry Klingon. "I don’t have much experience at dealing with temperamental women."

Marissa laughed. "K’Leena?"

Jeyelar nodded. "I’ve never met another woman like her. She’s a very special and very talented woman."

"My father has said she’s the best pilot he’s ever seen."

"That she is, but she’s the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met."

Marissa’s eyes twinkled. "More than me?"

"Gods, yes." Jeyelar laughed. "At least you can admit when you’re wrong."

"Give her time. Maybe she’ll come around."

"I doubt it." Jeyelar shook his head and smiled at Marissa. "I’m glad you’re going to be okay, Marissa."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"And, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth earlier…about the baby. You deserved to know, even if it was after the fact, and I’m truly sorry."

Marissa stood up and walked over to the couch. "You would have made a wonderful father, Jeyelar. Maybe you’ll have another chance someday…with better circumstances and a woman who truly loves you."

"And, you will make a wonderful mother one day, Marissa…when you and Chris finally get your acts together," he said, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly. He kissed the top of one of her hands before he released it. "Go to Chris," he told her. "Good luck."

"The same for you with K’Leena." Marissa walked over to the door. "If you two are meant to be, you’ll find a way to each other. I know that for a fact."

Jeyelar walked with her over to the door. It opened and Marissa stepped out into the corridor. "Thank you," he said, smiling at her. "Friends?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Of course." Marissa smiled warmly at him. "Stay safe, Jeyelar."

"I will," he promised as she slowly walked away from him to a turbolift. He watched her all the way into the turbolift, until the lift doors closed and he could no longer see her. Then, he walked back into his quarters and into the sleeping area. He flopped onto his bed, covered his head with a pillow, and hoped for no more disasters or visitors until morning.

Chapter Twelve

Two days passed with relative quietness. It seemed as if things were finally settling down around DS9. It was rare, especially in his line of work, to enjoy a morning in bed, but he lay in his bed with his hands cradling the back of his head and a beautiful woman sprawled across his chest sound asleep. A smile graced his lips. He moved one of his hands from behind his head to the top of hers. Absent-mindedly, he played with the dark strands until her hand snaking down his stomach stopped him. "You may be able to function on two hours sleep, but I can’t. I need more."

"That, I know." A note of suggestiveness crept into his voice. She tilted her head up to look at him, and made him pay for that comment by sliding her hand even lower. He grimaced in pleasure and in pain as she skimmed his hardening flesh.

"Something wrong?" The innocent look in her eyes made him laugh and pull her up higher on his chest.

Her dark hair spilled around their faces, creating a curtain. He cradled the back of her head with one hand and deepened their kiss. She sighed against him and rested fully on his chest, both of her hands pressed firmly on his chest.

"I thought you were tired," he whispered, pulling away from her.

"Trying to stop what you started?"

He laughed and ran his hands through her hair. "Never." He squinted his eyes and held a few strands in his fingers. "Grey hair," he commented with a sigh. "When did we get so old."

"You’re old. I’m seasoned," she chuckled, yanking her hair out of his hand. "When are we going home?" She leveled off his chest and sat up in all her naked glory.

"Whenever you’re ready. As far as Command knows, we’re still on leave." A wicked grin lit his blue eyes. "We could go to Risa…" he tempted. She wrinkled her nose and he chuckled. "Or, we could lock ourselves in at the beach house and not come out for a week."

"Or we could lock ourselves in the lodge for a week," she suggested. "It should be fairly frigid in Anchorage this time of the year."

Ice fishing sounded tempting. A roaring fire…the bear skin rug…fresh fish cooking…Deanna huddled around the fire trying to stay warm. It brought a smile to his face, but no matter how much he wanted to go, he wouldn’t put Deanna through that misery. He sat up and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How about we go spend a week on Betazed," he compromised. "Maybe Marissa and Chris can come spend the week with us."

Deanna drew her knees up to her chest and lowered her chin to them. "You’re getting your hopes up too high, Will. For once, I think your daughter is out of luck."

"When she’s out of luck she’s my daughter?" Will raised his eyebrows. "I find that unfair. If she does something wonderful, she’s your daughter, if she does something so-so or screws up, she’s our daughter, but when she’s flat damn out of luck, she’s my daughter?"

Deanna’s eyes twinkled briefly before they darkened again. "I wish none of this had happened…to her. She’s had so much heartache in the past year."

"She brought a lot of it on herself."

"She’s too stubborn. She’s just like you," Deanna said.

Will pulled Deanna back down to his waiting mouth and captured her in a engulfing kiss. "Then, she and Chris will be joining us on Betazed, if she’s like me. She won’t give up until she gets what she wants, and what she wants is Chris."

"Hum," Deanna murmured, losing herself to the kiss. She forgot everything around her except the burning heat of her husband’s mouth and the insistence of his hands. When he pressed into her body, the world shattered and nothing else in the universe mattered.

*****

It was three in the morning and Jeyelar was prowling around the promenade deck of Deep Space Nine still unable to sleep. It had been two days since his encounter with Marissa and the last time he had laid eyes on K’Leena. She was avoiding him. He was sure of it, and it was driving him crazy. He paused at the railing overlooking Quark’s bar, closed for the early morning, to gather his thoughts. He sensed people around him, but they were Starfleet personnel attending to their business around the station. More than once, someone had almost stopped to talk to him, but when they saw the look on his face, they immediately continued along their way.

"What are you doing up?" A surprised voice asked from behind him.

Jeyelar narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the familiar presence. Then, he swore silently as he turned around. "Can’t sleep," he answered with forced lightness.

Tessa’s blue eyes sparkled as she grinned. "Another victim of K’Leena Paris."

"Excuse me?" Jeyelar leaned back against the railing.

"She doesn’t get to you?" Jeyelar smiled at the peaceful young woman.

"So, how should I deal with her?" Jeyelar’s voice was weary, as if he were tired of fighting with himself.

"Confront her. If you haven’t noticed, K’Leena likes confrontation. In fact, she thrives on it."

Jeyelar shook his head. "I don’t think she’s looking for confrontation this time, Tessa."

"Why not?" Confusion marred her pretty face.

"Because K’Leena tried to seduce me two days ago and I refused her."

"Shit," Tessa whispered. "But, you’re wrong. Confrontation is exactly what K’Leena’s going to be looking for after that, so you need to change the rules on her."

"Rules?" Jeyelar choked. "There are rules?"

"So, what’s rule number one?"

Tessa shrugged. "Like I said, sometimes you have to make things up as you go." She stretched her arms above her head and feigned a yawn. "It’s late. Mike will be looking for me. Good night, Jeyelar." Tessa walked off with a wink and Jeyelar laughed aloud. He understood her message perfectly.

*****

Warm water sluiced down her tense muscles, soothing her. She couldn't sleep. Never in her life had she been this embarrassed, and never had she felt this way for so long. Two days. She shook her head. Nearly three, and she still couldn't look him in the eye, she felt like a fool. Obviously, she was a complete failure at the art of seduction.

The door to her quarters sounded and she stepped from the shower. Hastily pulling on her robe, she called out as she tied the sash.

"Come in, Mike!" It was so late it didn't occur to her that it could be anyone else.

It wasn't her captain that entered her quarters a moment later.

"Get out!" she hissed, grabbing for the edges of her robe, drawing the gaping front closed.

Jeyelar raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you always greet your captain half-dressed?"

K'Leena drew herself up haughtily. She was a Paris after all. She had her pride.

"That, Commander Darre," she began frostily. "Is none of your damn business." Turning her back to him, she dismissed him in one arrogant motion.

If Jeyelar had been a smart man, he would have left quietly. Of course, something about this woman made him do things he would never normally do. Like what he was going to do next.

K'Leena gave an angry shriek when his hands came down hard on her hips, pulling her back against him. Then she was stunned still when she felt the evidence of his arousal pressing hot and hard into the small of her back. She should stop him. She should pull away and order him out of her room...her life. But, Kahless, that felt good!

One of is hands splayed over her flat stomach, holding her firm to him. The other slid into the open neck of her robe, cupping the still damp skin of her breast, his fingers teasing the hardening tip. K'Leena shuddered under his caress. She wanted this. His lips traced the outline of her ear before his tongue darted inside to send lightening bolts of electricity racing through her.

A little voice in the back of his head warned him this was probably not a good idea. He hadn't come here for this. He had just wanted to talk. Settle things between them. Why was it so damn hard to stay away from her? Why did this always feel so completely right to him?

K'Leena gasped and rolled her hips back against him when he nipped the soft skin at the base of her neck. "Did you like that?" he breathed. Then did it again. The tiny moan she gave ravaged his self control. Right or wrong, he had to have her. Jeyelar turned her in his arms. He gazed down into her passion-drunk eyes.

"What do you want, K'Leena?" he asked hoarsely. "I won't have you regretting this. I'm only offering now. Not forever. I want you to know that before I make love to you."

She blinked once, then again. A long moment passed, before she stepped back from him and crossed her arms in front of her defensively.

"I'll just be one of the many, huh, Jeyelar?" She watched his face closely.

She stilled. "What do you mean?"

"Hell if I know." He raked a hand through his hair. "In my quarters you said we knew this was going to happen from the moment we met in Sickbay, and you were right. I knew it the second I laid eyes on you. You struck something inside me that no woman has ever struck in me. I knew I had to see you again. When Mike offered me the chance at Alpha Team, I jumped at it just to be near you again, no matter how much you hated telepaths. You’re under my skin and I can’t get you out of my mind." He smiled ruefully at her. "I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone in my life. I want to make love to you, to be the first…to be the last…to be whatever you’ll let me be, but I won’t do it as long as you’re scared."

"Don’t worry." He smiled and lowered his mouth back to hers. They kissed again for what seemed like hours, and when the kiss broke, their breathing was shattered. "Where are those sleeping quarters again?"

She led him through a doorway into an impossibly tiny bedroom. Jeyelar laughed and shook his head. "You’d think they could provide better quarters for you."

"Yeah," she answered, but her accommodations were the last things on her mind. She turned to him, slid her hands under his shirt, and pulled it off. He raised his eyebrows.

"Getting ahead of me, aren’t you?"

"Nope." She shook her head and made her wavy red hair tumble around her shoulders while her fingertips explored the planes of his chest and stomach.

As long as her fingers played over his skin, he controlled himself rather well, but the second she brought her mouth and tongue into play, he lost it. His fingers tangled in her hair and her name escaped his lips in a throaty whisper. Her fingers pulled at the snap on his waistband until his trousers were unbuttoned and she pushed them from his hips. His erection strained against his shorts and she smiled up at him.

He pulled her back up to his lips and devoured her mouth, her neck, and her breasts as soon as he made short order of her robe. His lips closed over one nipple and suckled lightly. She moaned and her head fell back. His tongue traced a line of fire from her breasts to her belly button. She laughed as his tongue ticked her there. His mouth descended slightly, and she tensed. He swallowed hard. "Want me to stop?"

She shook her head. He gave her an approving hum as their lips met again. She strained against him, unintentionally driving him crazy as she brushed against his hardening erection. It was still painfully bound in his underwear. He scooped her into his arms like a baby and lay her on the bed. She made a startled sound and her eyes opened in time to see him remove his underwear and lay down beside her. "K’Leena?" He asked as he pressed a kiss to the top of her breast.

"I’m fine," she told him.

He took her at her word and studied the unbroken line of her body. He smiled at her uneasy gaze. "You’re beautiful."

She flushed and turned on her side. "I’m not, but thank you," she whispered, pressing her lips to his in a sensuous kiss. One of her hands rested against his chest while the other one began travelling down his body. When her cool hand encircled his throbbing body he groaned in pleasure and agony. Tentatively, she ran her fingers lightly over the rock hard length and circled around the enlarged head. "You keep doing that, and I’m not going to be able to control myself," he warned her.

"So let go." She kissed his neck as he pushed her flat and rose over her body. Her legs automatically formed a cradle for his body, but she froze when his erection pushed at the entrance to her body.

"Not yet," he assured her, letting one of his hands drift between them. He gently pushed one finger inside her body. Around his finger, her body throbbed and liquid heat spilled forth. He bit his lip and fought for control. She sighed as her hips instinctively thrust against his hand. He groaned again and bit at her nipples. She gasped in pleasure, and he slid another finger inside her body. Her hips thrust again, and he pushed back with equal force. Her eyes flew open at the sudden pleasure. His thumb encircled his most sensitive spot. Her hips thrust harder. He continued his assault as more liquid heat spilled into his hand. A moan escaped her lips. Her head jerked on the pillow. "Please," she whispered, not knowing what she was asking for until he showed her.

He increased the pressure of his thumb and quickened the strokes of his fingers. A fine sheen of sweat broke out over her body. She moaned again, still not knowing what she sought, but knowing she had to have it. He smiled and lowered his head to her body. He removed his thumb and she groaned in protest. He replaced it with his tongue and she gasped in surprise. He stroked her rhythmically with his fingers and his tongue until she broke. Waves of ecstasy spilled over her body. She jerked, his name came from her lips, and he continued stroking her until the contractions stopped around his fingers. Gently, he pulled them from her body and kissed his way up to her mouth. "I want to make love to you, K’Leena," he told her. "But only if you’re absolutely sure."

Absolutely sure? She looked at him incredulously. "I’m positive," she murmured, pressing her lips to his.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and curled his other hand around her hip. She made a startled sound when he rolled on his back so that she straddled his hips. Then, he smiled at her. "Do whatever you want. I’m not going to stop you."

Her eyes widened. She mulled it over for a brief moment, and then she did as he told her. She leaned down and tasted the hollow between his collarbones. Then, she trailed her tongue across to his nipple. Testing him, she bathed it with her tongue, and then she bit down on it. His breath hissed out and his hands flexed on her hips. She smiled as she drug her tongue to his other nipple and treated it to the same torture. Then, she slid down his legs. His eyes opened in surprise, and then they closed as her tongue cautiously tasted him. Her mouth closed over him like a warm fist. His fingers dug into the bedcovers. He didn’t have the control to let her play for long. If she kept this up, he was going to explode.

With a strangled sound, he reached down and touched her head to stop her. She looked up at him with a strangely satisfied grin. "You can’t keep doing that. I can’t stand it."

K’Leena shrugged and sat back up. She lifted her hips and moved over his body. Then, her eyes looked to him with uncertainty. His hands rested on her hips and he stared back at her. Wordlessly, he gently pulled her down until he felt the barrier. He nudged against it as her eyes closed. The feeling of his body stretching hers was too much. "K’Leena, I’m sorry," he groaned, and then he swiftly pulled her down.

Her eyes locked with his. As much as he tried to fight it, his mind joined with hers. She gasped before sighing in pleasure as she took him in. The pain had been momentary and it went quickly. Then, all she felt was him. Everywhere.

Imzadi.

*****

Stepping off the transporter pad was like stepping back in time. A smile came to her lips and she nodded her head at the familiar transporter chief. He nodded back at her with a smile. She walked quickly out into the corridor, glanced around, and headed for the turbolift. "Computer, locate Christopher Watson."

"Christopher Watson is currently on the bridge."

"Bridge," she ordered the turbolift.

Her heartbeat doubled with every second it took to get to the bridge. The doors opened and her heart leapt into her throat. She stepped out and felt as if she were floating. Her eyes found him and all her resolve returned. With a deep breath and a toss of her head, she walked down the slight incline to the command center. Her former captain and her former husband stared at her, one in surprise, one in delight.

"Lieutenant Commander Marissa Riker reporting for duty, Sir," she said to the captain. He nodded her head at her with an approving smile. The determination on her face and in her stance was nothing less than what he expected from a Riker.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. Commander Watson will see to your accommodations and duty schedule."

Christopher looked at his captain as if the man had suddenly grown two heads and words spilled from his mouth before he could stop them. "Like hell!"

Captain Wicks’ eyes widened. He looked to his first officer and found the younger man’s gaze was fixed solely on the young woman standing before them grinning like she knew the secrets of the universe and had no intention of sharing. He glanced between the couple, felt the animosity crackling between them, and grinned. An attraction so strong between two people simply couldn’t be ignored. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that life was going to get very interesting around his ship very quickly.