Imzadi: My Version

Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning Deanna showered and put her clothes from the previous night back on. Will was running a little late to meet with Mark Roper for breakfast, but he did not care. He was happy and so was Deanna. He gave her playful little pecks on the lips as she was trying to leave. She backed up giggling against the wall and Will had one hand on each side of her still kissing her.

"You know...(Will kisses her) at this rate...(again he kisses her) I may not leave." she said all smiles.

"I know." he said with a grin.

"I thought you wanted me to go back home?"

"No, I said you needed to." He still had that playful smile. "I want you stay, but since you can't, I figure this would be a good send off."

"Well, it certainly is that." she smiled.

"Just promise me one thing before you leave." Will requested with a kiss.

"And what might that be?" Deanna inquired, still all smiles.

"When the time is right, (he kisses her) you've got your career going (another kiss) and are happy with your life, marry me."

Deanna's heart leapt in unbelieving joy. She smiled, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him a long and passionate kiss.

When she released him from the kiss, Will said, "I'll take that as a yes."

"You'd better, Will Riker." she said. Then he released her and she started to leave.

"Deanna." he said softly.

"Yes?"

"Before I leave tomorrow, will you meet me at the museum in the morning, one last time?"

She smiled the most beautiful smile Will thought he had ever seen. "Yes, I'd like that."

With a big grin on his face, Will said, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

They parted for the rest of the day.



Deanna arrived back at the Troi mansion. She noticed her mother was in the study, also wearing the same clothes she had on last night. She also realized it was almost seven in the morning. Her mother wasn't usually up and dressed at this time.

Deanna walked into the study sensing her mother was not mentally wishing her away and said, "You're up early."

"I never went to bed last night." Lwaxana responded. "You should never leave a woman my age alone with her thoughts."

Deanna noticed a holopicture in front of her mother. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's something I found last night." Lwaxana then handed her the holopicture.

There was a five year old little girl in the picture with her father. "Is that me or Kestra?" Deanna asked.

"It's you, before your father died."

"I don't remember this picture." Deanna said.

"Maybe it's because I never brought it out after your father's death, until now." Lwaxana had another holopicture beside her also. Deanna looked at it and saw it was a picture of her grandmother. Lwaxana's mother.

There was a long silence between them. Finally, Deanna said, "I just came to get my things." She started to leave until her mother spoke.

"You know, when I was your age, I did the same to my mother. The circumstances weren't that much different, and she said the same to me as I walked out the door. When I told you not to come back, it reminded me of the time my mother and I got into it. She did the same to me. Planned every detail of my life."

"Did you return?"

"Yes." stated Lwaxana. "She didn't really mean it. At the time she did, just as I did, but when I got back she regretted saying it. She even had a man planned for me, but he met another and married her."

"Must have been hard for you."

"For a while it was." Lwaxana confirmed. "But then I met your father. We also had an explosive argument about him, because she did not like anything about him. Too human. I guess parents make the same mistakes every generation."

"Did she dislike him as much as you do Will?"

"Oh, no, she was worse." Lwaxana stated. "I must admit, though, Lieutenant Riker does have a lot of good qualities. Much like your father. I can see why you are so attracted to him."

"So that's why you didn't try harder to stop me." Deanna said. "You were hoping he would talk to me like my father did."

Lwaxana nodded and said, "Obviously he did, because you're here and not leaving with him."

There was a brief silence between them. Then Lwaxana said, "You know, Deanna, you don't have to leave."

Deanna smiled a reassuring smile and said, "I know, but things can't go back to the way they were."

"You are right, Lit..." she stopped herself. "Deanna. Things were simpler then and uncomplicated, but I must accept that you are not a little girl anymore. You're a grown woman and it's not what you want. I'm not an ogress. Really, I'm not."

"I know, Mother."

"If you leave where will you go?" her mother asked.

"I don't know. The dorms, Chandra's." she shook her head and shrugged. "I do want to finish my studies in psychology and I haven't ruled out Starfleet."

"Well, if you want and only if you want to, you can stay here. With me." Lwaxana offered. "And you can do what ever makes you happy. Just promise me you won't become a naked blue dancer on Zetli. It's so cold there. You'll catch your death."

She hugged her mother, and smiled, "I won't mother, but I do have a definite idea what I want for my life. I want to finish my studies, get my career going as a Psychologist and when Will and I are ready..." She pauses with a hesitant smile. "We want to be married."

"I was hoping that what I was reading from your mind was true." Lwaxana said with a small smile.

"So, you're not going to insist that we not see each other?"

"No." her mother said. "As I said, Will Riker is a lot like your father. I'm really not surprised you have fallen in love with him and if he makes you happy...."

Lwaxana never finished her sentence, but Deanna knew and understood. They decided they both were hungry and went to eat breakfast. Deanna insisted they should not disturb Mr. Homn. Saying that it would be fun if they made breakfast themselves, together.



Riker strolled in the cafe all smiles. Roper greeted him with "You're late, Captain."

Riker continues to smile and says, "Well, I was a little detained."

"The scuttle butt says you had a nice looking young woman in your room all night." Roper informed him.

"Oh, really?" Will said with a smile.

"Yes." Roper said with a sly smile. "I guess I owe you 200 credits, but I want details first."

"Well, who says anything happened?" Will asked, refusing to devulge any information.

"Oh, come now!" Roper exclaimed. "You can't tell me you had Deanna in your quarters all night long and nothing happened!"

"Who said it was Deanna?" Will asked, giving Mark a hard time.

"Tang did. Short, curly dark, hair and eyes." Roper repeated the discription. "He even said she was introduced to him by the name Deanna Troi and that she was the woman you rescued."

Will just shook his head and chuckled. "Mark, I'm not telling you a thing."

"Well, a bet's a bet." Roper said. "I'll have 200 credits transferred to your account before you leave tomorrow."

"Mark," Will said firmly. "I told you, I do not want the 200 credits, even if it is a bet. To me the bet would be I pay you 200 credits if I didn't get her to sleep with me and I would get nothing if I did."

"No." Said Roper. "That's not how I see it."

"Mark, I don't want your money." Will said very firmly.

"You're in love with her!" Mark said with a joyful smile.

"Yes, I am." Will confirmed with a smile. "But that's all I'll say."

"Given the circumstances," Mark began to ask. "Are you wishing you didn't have to ship out tomorrow?"

"Yes and no."

Mark Roper looked totally confused.

Will noticed this and said, "It's a very long story of unfinished business that we both need to complete before anything else."

"I'm still confused." Roper stated.

"Like I said, it's a long story." Will said, then added with a smile. "But I will see her again, before I leave."

Chapter Sixteen

The begining of my "Middle"

Will met Deanna in front of the painting she had tried to get him to look at what lied beneath the surface. The one with the big goopy swirls. He stared at the picture and listened to the music in the background. For some strange reason, the music, as he listened, help enhance the picture he was observing again. He realized, at that moment, the picture bore a striking resemblance to space. The stars, planets, galaxies. Everything that one could find in space. All of it.

He sensed her standing behind him and turned to her. "Imzadi." he greeted her lovingly.

She threw her arms around him and said, "Oh, Will!" he heard tears in her voice. "I wish you didn't have to go."

He returned her embrase. "I know." he replied sadly. "I wish I could stay, but I can't. And you have to reach your goals, also. It's just not the right time for us to be together. Not just yet. The powers that be and all."

"As much as I realize this, I still wish we could." she said.

"So do I."

She raised her head to look at him face to face. "I did talk to Mother."

"Yes?" Will asked a little brighter. "What happen?"

"She's really not against us." she told him. "In fact, she implied her blessing."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by implied."

"She said, she understood why I am attracted to you." Deanna informed him. "And she would try and let me make my own choices that I'm happy with, including concerning you." She finally smiled. Will loved her smile and knew he would greatly miss it.

Will smiled back at her. Then he kissed her on the forehead, brushed the stray hairs out of her face and stared into her tearful eyes for several minutes, trying to hold his own tears back. He just could not say good bye to her.

Finally, he kissed her once more. Then said, "I love you, my goddess of the moon." and started to leave. However, before he got to far, she sent to him, "We will be together again. One of these days, Imzadi." Tears rolled freely down her face as she watched Will pause for a moment. He kept his back turned to her. Will too felt the pain of having to leave her, but he did not want her to see he too had tears in his eyes, so he finally departed.

-------------------------------

Years into the future.

Admiral Riker and Data were discussing Deanna's passing. Will stated very little bothers him anymore.

"Is it because of Deanna Troi?" Data asked.

"Ancient history, Data."

Data seemed pensive. "I am aware of something, that if you take it in the proper state of mind, you maybe able to put your frustrations aside."

"Really. And what precisely do you know, Data?"

Will hardly expected what Data had said next. "What would you say if I told you, Admiral, that somewhere, Deanna is still alive?"

The statement hung there for a moment and then Riker actually smiled. "Turning into a philosopher on me, Data?"

"Sir?" Data said in confussion.

"You're about to tell me, Deanna is alive in our hearts and minds if we remember her."

"Actually, no sir."

Riker's smile dropped. "Data, what the hell are you talking about then?"

"Our stop before Betazed was at the World of The Guardian of Forever."

"And?" Riker was starting to get a little impatient with Data. "Why the hell can't he just say what he means?" he thought to himself.

"While I was there the scientists showed me temporal irregularities they have discovered. These irregularities are known, interchangably, as alternative time lines or even parrallel universes. There are several encounter in Federation history."

"Data, I know all of this, damn it!" Will said impatiently. "What the hell does this have to do with Deanna?"

"It has to do with these time streams." Data pauses. "No one knows how many there are, perhaps an infinite number, but apparently they key off at significant moments in time. Focal points was the term Spock used. The constant surveying of the events that the Guardian displays will sometimes reveal one or more of these offshoots."

Riker swallowed hard. "And they've... they've found one involving Deanna?"

"That is correct, sir." Data replied.

TBC with "The Middle" an A/U (Alternative Universe). Hope you are keeping up here and haven't gotten suddenly lost. That's why the A/U.

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