WARNING: Porno websites are full of viruses and spyware! Learn to erase your browser history, delete your cookies, temp files and protect your computer at Free-Site.org. (your wife knows where you have been)

Imzadi: My Version

Chapters Twenty-three and Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-three

Will and Deanna had been back on Betazed for two days and now Will was back to work. He was rather glad to get away from Lwaxana Troi. She had been trying to run everything from the moment they got there and he was ready to look for other arrangements. Not that he did not appreciate the temporary shelter, he did. It's just he had to bite his damn tongue so much, out of respect for Lwaxana's so called hospitality. She had not given him and Deanna a moments time alone, either, which really got on both Will and Deanna's nerves.

He was begining to understand Deanna in some respects when it concerned her mother. Sometimes there was nothing anyone could say or do, because Lwaxana did not give anyone a chance. However, Will could have stayed at the embassy, but Lwaxana was trying to meet them half way, so he could not complain.

"Well, welcome back, Lieutenant."

Will came out of his thoughts and noticed it was Tang who addressed him. "Tang, you still here?" Will smiled.

"All part of the service, sir." Tang said. "So what brings you back?"

"Just one of those things, Tang." Will smiled. "But this is a good thing."

"There's a rumour going around Betazed." Tang said. "That you're getting married."

"And how did you hear about this, before I had a chance to say anything?" Will asked.

"All part of the service when one lives on a planet full of telepaths." Tang smiled.

Will grinned and said, "I should have guessed." And then he went to his office.

Tang followed shaking his head. "So, the young lady cast her hypnotic spell on you didn't she? I told you, these Betazoid women will do it to you everytime."

"Tang!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Shut up and get back to work."

"Yes, sir." he said. "Just..."

"I know, I know" Will said. "Just part of the service."

Tang departed and Will sat at his desk. "Tang's a good guy, but he can be so damn annoying." Will thought. Then he said to himself, "Was it really Tang or am I a little stressed out, here?" He shook his head and decided to let it go for now.

"Captain!" A familiar voiced screamed out. "I need to talk to you!"

Will buried his head into his hand and said to himself, "What now?" Then he stood up from his desk and greeted the man who walked straight through his open door. "Good morning, Mark."

"How dare you back out on that bet of ours!" Mark said jovially.

"What?"

"You know what I mean." Mark stated. "You sent back the 200 credits that I had transfered to your account and now I hear you're getting married! I say you won the bet fair and square."

"Does everything spread around here like wild fire?" Will asked.

"Hey, on a planet full of telepaths everything gets spread quickly!" Mark smiled.

"So I'm told." Will said.

"Well, don't you worry, you won the bet fair and square and then some." Mark said. "You'll get your 200 credits even if I have to make you eat them."

"Mark, really, I'm not interested in your money or this bet."

"Yeah, well, there's always a wedding gift." Then Mark starts to walk out, then turns to say with a smile, "Congrats, Will. You're a lucky man."

"Thanks, Mark." Then Will just grins and sits back down at his desk to go to work on some paper work, which consumed most of his morning. The only thing that interrupted him was an occasional co-worker coming by to welcome him back and congratulate him. And a brief visit from Deanna.

"Hello, Imzadi." came her voice soft and intimate. Will rose from his desk with a big smile and came around to give her a big hug and kiss.

"I'm glad to see you!" he said with a smile. "So how has your day been?"

"Well, I went to registar for one more semester before the babies are born and barring any complications, I think I can squeeze it in."

"Well, if you're sure about that, then I'm all for it." Will stated.

"That and it will give me something constructive to do in the meantime." Deanna said. "Will?"

"Yes?" he looked at her quizzically.

"I'm sorry if Mother is being a big pain to you." Deanna said. "I really don't think she means any harm by it. It's just the way she is."

"Ah, Deanna," Will tried to reassure her. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Deanna rolled her eyes again and pointed out, "Will, there you go again, stating something is within your control. Are we resorting back to old habits with me as a means to cope with the situation?"

"OK, If you want me to state the truth?"

"What do you think?"

"She's driving me freaking crazy, Deanna!" he said letting out a lot of frustration in one simple statement. "I'm sorry, it's just.."

"No, you were being honest with not only me, but also with yourself." Deanna said. "And I understand. You're not the only one she gets too, so don't feel so alone with your feelings and don't be afraid to tell me. I'm sure we will come up with better arrangements soon. We just need to be patient."

Will pulls her near and gives her a big hug. "You know, I love you, Imzadi."

"And I love you, too, Imzadi." Deanna said. "Well, I hate to say this, but I promised Mother, I would have lunch with her for a change. You join us?"

"For you, Deanna, I would, but I don't have much time for lunch." Will stated. "I have to eat and get to a briefing."

"I understand." Deanna kissed him, then said, "Just because you do have a meeting. You can't use that excuse all the time."

Then she smiled and kissed him one last time, but this time Will acted like he was going to keep her there and not let go. Just kiss her all over. Deanna giggled when Will worked his way down to her neck. "This is very nice Will, but I do have to go and you have work to do."

"Yeah, you're right." he said still holding her. "But this would be so much more fun."

She gave him one last long loving kiss and asked, "Will that take care of you for a while?"

"Oh, most definately." Will answered with a smile and let her go. "I'll see you later and I do hope there's more where that came from."

She smiles and while she's walking out, she looks over her shoulder saying, "There is, there is."



Will decided to have lunch at the cafe instead of walking back to the Troi Mansion. Part of the reason was getting to the briefing on time, the other reason was he really was avoiding Lwaxana. Unfortunately, he knew Deanna knew and he wished she did not, but that was something Will knew he would have to get use to, eventually.

While Will was in the cafe he saw Garth Xerx entering and spoke to him.

"Well, if I haven't seen everyone, today!" Will said by way of a greeting.

Xerx sensed he was being addressed and he turned to see who the familiar person was. "Lieutenant Riker!" he said with a smile. "Nice seeing you here!"

"You, too." Will said. "Have a seat."

"Thank you." Xerx said. "So what's on your mind, Lieutenant?"

Will raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm sure you probably know, already."

"Well, unlike Lwaxana, I rather you tell me what you want to talk about." Xerx stated.

"Spoken like a true Psychologist." Will complimented.

"Well, that and I just prefer it that way." Xerx said. "I find it makes people more comfortable that way and they are free to talk about what ever they want to talk about. So, what is it you want to talk about?"

Will sat quiet for a moment and then asked with a bit of caution, "Can I talk to you about a certain Betazoid person that really gets on my damn nerves!"

Xerx chuckled. "Frankly, Lieutenant, Lwaxana gets on a lot of people's nerves, even Betazoids' nerves. While I think highly of her, I have to admit, she can get to me too. I just wouldn't want to have to live with her."

"Yeah, well, I hope by the time Deanna and I are married, I have found other accomodations that has lots of space between us and her."

"Lieutenant!" Xerx said with excitement. "I have the perfect place!"

"Yeah?" Will asked. "What's that?"

"Well, I have this house I'm wanting to sell," Will was all ears now. "I could work something out with you on the amount of credits and then throw in any repairs and remodeling that needs to be done before you move in as a wedding gift."

"Oh, really, that's not necessary." Will said.

"No, no." Xerx said. "I want the remodeling and repairs to be my gift to you two. It's the least I can do. There's really very few repairs needed anyway. Why don't you come and take a look at it tomorrow?"

"Sure, what time?"

"How about this time tomorrow and then you can surprise Deanna with it, when ever you want to or whenever you can't hold back any longer, which ever comes first."

"Now that sounds good." Will smile at the idea of sharing the traditional Earth ritual of carrying the new bride over the threshold with Deanna.

Xerx smiled at the interesting human tradition he sense from Will and thought, "Some of these Human traditions sound nice. I bet some Betazoid women would even enjoy such a thing."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Xerx." Will said. "I need to get back to work. I have a briefing to be at in ten minutes."

"Oh, go right ahead." Xerx said. "I need to finish up and get back to work myself."

Will went back to work feeling better and was anxious to get back to Deanna at the end of the day. However, he was going to try to keep his conversation with Xerx a secret, if possible, for a while. Living with a telepath and an empath left very little room for secrets. Will just hope he could pull this surprise off.

Chapter Twenty-four

Will met with Xerx during his lunch at the address Xerx gave him. Will noticed it was within viewing distance of the University and thought, "This location is perfect for Deanna." Xerx had already arrived and unlocked the house.

Sensing Will's presence, Xerx stuck his head out the door and said, "Come on in and take a look around."

Will entered. "This is nice and roomy."

"Most Betazed homes are. It serves it's purposes." stated Xerx. "Here is the main room and over here is the sitting room, den, library, whatever you want it to be."

They walked over to a room that opened off the main room and entered. Will smiled.

"It needs a woman's touch, really. I think Deanna can handle that, but we don't want every room, of course, decorated in pink." Xerx joked.

"I rather doubt Deanna's favourite colour is pink." Will responded with a slight chuckle. "But you're right, I will probably want a room decorated to suit my tastes."

Xerx smiled back and then said, "The beauty of this house is that it is perfect for families with young children. There's no stairs to worry about little ones falling down. It's all one floor."

Will turned his head to Xerx and said, "How did you know?"

"Well, first off, Chandra was the first person Deanna told." Xerx said. "Secondly, you're an open book Will. I have no idea how you're going to surprise Deanna with this."

"That's what I'm worried about." Will said with a discouraged look on his face. "If she and Lwaxana don't know already they soon will."

Xerx looked at him sympathetically, "Lieutenant, I know Deanna has probably taught you quite a bit about us and all, but either she didn't succeed in teaching you how to put up mental blocks or didn't teach you at all."

"A human can do that?"

"Well, yes." Xerx informed. "Usually, I don't teach humans this, but in your case, since there's no way you're going to even surprise her on her birthday, I will. I seriously doubt you will use it for bad intent and marrying into the Troi family, you're going to need it, son."

Will was not sure how to take any of this and did not care too much for being called son much, but he took it as a gesture of an older man's friendship and said nothing about it.

"Well, Xerx, that would be nice to learn, but if you have reservations..."

"No, no." Xerx said. "You being an open book has left me no reservations. You need help, especially when it comes to Lwaxana."

"You are so right." Will smiled. "When do we start?"

"Well, after I finish showing you the house and if we have time, we can begin." Xerx said. "But to thoroughly get a grasp on it, it'll take sometime to master, unfortunately."

"Well, then, let's finish looking at the house, talk business and get on with learning mental blocks, so I can surprise Deanna." Will smiled.

"OK." Xerx agreed. "Right this way."

They exited out of the door they came in and arrived back into the main room and went through a door, which was across from the enterance of the house.

"This is the kitchen." Xerx said. "Lots of space to move around in and plenty of places to store things. Women of any culture like that." Xerx smiled.

"I can understand why." Will said.

"Go ahead, check everything out." Xerx offered. "You'll see water, lights and everything works properly. Now, I will say this, and I'll have it fixed before your wedding day. There is a leak in the ceiling somewhere in here." He pointed up at the ceiling about the approximate place of the leak.

"I appreciate that." Will said. "And everything else looks fine."

"Now we can enter the hall by the way we came or by this door." Xerx explained and led Will through the other door. It was an "L" shaped hall with the bathroom at one end and the bedrooms at the other end and lead back out to the main room. In all, there were three bedrooms and like the rest of the house, they were also spacious.

"As you can see, it's just your basic home, but perfect for young families." Xerx stated.

"It's perfect." Will stated with a grin.

"Well, then." Xerx smiled. "Let's talk business."

The two men discussed the total amount of credits it would be and then Xerx set about helping Will be able to surprise Deanna with the house when he was ready to show it to her.



Back at the Troi mansion, Lwaxana was talking to Deanna about the plans for the ceremony. Chandra, who was the equivalent to the Maid of Honour, stood by and just listened while the two Troi women talked.

"Mother," Deanna sent. "There's less than two weeks until the wedding and not all the guest have RSVP'd. How can we have this if not everyone can make it?"

"Well, my dear, that's their problem." Lwaxana informed. "Now I really think a pale blue band would be nice."

"Mother, I could care less about the band right now!" Deanna said. "What if Kyle Riker has not gotten the invitation. It is a long ways from here to Earth."

"Well, he has less than two weeks to RSVP." Lwaxana stated. "Either he will or he won't. Now, back to the band."

"Mother!" Deanna exclaimed. "I really think if Kyle Riker had the chance, maybe he would want to be there for Will on this occassion."

"Deanna, you and Will want to get married, right?"

"Yes, we do." Deanna sent with a smile.

"Well, if I have to take care of the wedding plans, then it will be before you show too much."

"I really don't see how it matters, Mother." Deanna replied.

Lwaxana's eyes got wide, "It does matter!" she said aloud. "You are a daughter of the Fifth House and we must always look our best and appropriate. We can't let everyone know that you and Will sort of got the cart before the horse."

Deanna was appaulled by her mother's attitude and her face looked it also.

Chandra finally, but meekly, spoke up, "Actually, Mrs. Troi." she bagan. "There's a lot of people who know and they don't seem bothered by it."

"You're too young to understand, dear." Lwaxana informed Chandra telepathically, "But they are probably not letting their true feelings known. They expect certain things from the various houses and getting life a little backwards is not one of them."

"Really, Mrs. Troi." Chandra sent. "They are Betazoids after all, why would they hide their true feelings."

"Chandra, even us Betazoids don't always say how we feel about something." Lwaxana stated arrogantly. "There's somethings we keep to ourselves. Now back to the band."

Chandra and Deanna allowed Mrs. Troi to change the subject back to the band.

"Mother, how about off white."

"No, pale blue is much better for you, dear." Lwaxana insisted.

"Mother!" Deanna shouted in her mother's head. "I don't want pale blue. Now it's my wedding ceremony and I would prefer white. I'll settle for off white if I must, but not pale blue."

"White is not quite appropriate, dear." Lwaxana informed with a sing-song tone in her voice.

"Oh, you don't want people knowing I'm pregnant, but yet you insist on blue for my band." Deanna sent. "That's really good, Mother." Deanna rolled her eyes.

"OK," Lwaxana said aloud. "Have it your way! Be non-traditional! Have a human wedding for all I care!" Lwaxana started to leave the room.

"Mother!" Lwaxana stopped, turned around with anger written all over her, but listened to Deanna. "I'm happy with a Betazoid wedding, but I'm not happy that you are limiting me in what I have to choose from. I'm also not happy that you are not allowing me to help plan my own wedding. You're planning it all! Now, you said a few months ago you would let me live my life and do what makes me happy. Well, let me do that, Mother!"

"You're right, Lit..." Lwaxana stopped herself again. "Deanna, I did say that, but think about tradition."

"Mother, I don't want tradition! I don't care about tradition!" Deanna informed. "I want my wedding to be what I want and care about! Not what you want!"

"Then you plan it!" Lwaxana said and walked out of the room.

"Deanna," Chandra said in sympathy, "Surely you and your mother can compromise on something."

Deanna shook her head, turned around and looked at Chandra. "I wish it were that simple, Chandra. Mother is set in her ways, I guess. Tradition, tradition, traditon. That's all she's ever talked about."

"I know. My mother is sometimes like that." Chandra said. "But I think Father helps some with that. If he were here, maybe he could convince your mother, like he has mine sometimes, that it would be good for you to make some of these choices concerning your wedding."

"Well, Chandra, he's not."

Lwaxana walked back in and sent, "And your father would probably be right, Chandra."

Deanna and Chandra looked at Lwaxana, not really surprised she heard what they had said.

Lwaxana continues looking like she could cry, "Deanna, you're all I have. You're my baby." Lwaxana paused. "It's hard for me to let you grow up when you're all I have left. Your sister died long ago and then your father died. I know I should let you go and not hang on to you so tightly, but it's a very hard process for me."

"You know, Mother." Deanna begins. "I can't say I understand, but I can say, that what you just said, maybe one of those things that I will understand some day."

"Oh, Deanna." Lwaxana smiled with tears still in her eyes. "You can be so wise beyond your years. Well, we have a wedding to plan. Now, about that band."

The two girls stared at her for a minute waiting for Lwaxana to talk about pale blue bands.

"You say you want off white?"

Deanna smiled. "That will be fine, Mother."

"OK," Lwaxana sent. "Now that, that's settled, let's talk flowers."

Lwaxana finally allowed Deanna to make some choices on her wedding ceremony and the planning process started to go a little faster and smoother. The afternoon went fast and before they knew, Will was back.

"Oh, Will." Deanna said getting up to drag him into the room. "You're just in time! We are discussing the menu. What would you like to have at the reception?"

"Oh," Will said a little surprised. "I think I'll let you ladies handle that."

"No, Will." Deanna replied. "I want to know what food you would like to eat at the reception."

"Really." Will said, waving his hand, not wanting to deal with the little details. "You guys decide."

"Will!" Deanna said. "I really want your input. For all I know, you would like to see some Earth dishes there."

"You're not going to let this go. are you?" Will said with a smile. Deanna shook her head no. "OK, seal." He said jokingly and with a big grin.

Deanna almost laugh. "Will, please. Be serious."

"Trout?"

"Better, but how is it cooked?" Deanna asked.

"Oh, Deanna." Lwaxana said. "Never mind that. If that's what he wants, I'm sure we can find someone who knows how to cook Earth dishes."

"Brownies, would be nice, too." Will said with a smile. "Or chocolate souffle'."

"Oh, you're just saying that, because I like chocolate!" Deanna laughed.

"Well, you did ask for Earth dishes." Will stated.

Will got everyone to laugh and then Lwaxana decided that was enough to work with for one day.

"I'll contact the florist, find someone who can cook Earth dishes, and arrange for what we have decided on tomorrow." Lwaxana stated. "Chandra, it's getting late, would you like to have dinner with us?"

"No, actually, my hubby is expecting me." Chandra reminded her with a smile. "Thanks for the offer though." Then turns to Deanna, "I'll see you for the first day of classes tomorrow?"

"Yes." Deanna responded. Then Deanna turned to Will and hug him. "Missed you today." She whispered in his ear.

"I missed you, too." Will replied.

Lwaxana sat there, looking as though she could cry.

Chandra just smiled. "RaBeem. I'll show myself out." She sent to whoever was listening.

Deanna and Will knew Lwaxana could sense what they maybe saying aloud, but were not worried about it. Lwaxana, just watched them, smiled and said to herself, "They do make a cute couple." Tears ran down her face as she thought, "My baby is getting married."

Go To Chapters Twenty-five and Twenty-six

Go To Fanfic Menu

Go To Main Menu