Unexpected Outcomes

by Ronda Sexton

AU story beginnng 4 weeks after "Conundrum."

Title: Unexpected Outcomes
Author: Ronda Sexton
Series: TNG-AU
Code: Riker/Ro
Rating: PG13

Ro Laren left the sickbay with a troubled expression on her
face. She never expected this to happen. After the Lysian
incident, she and Deanna had teased Will about the brief
affair he had with her. If she had known their affair would
result in pregnancy, she never would have teased him about
it. She walked down the corridor, arms tightly folded in
front of her. She had to talk to Guinan. She was the really
the only person, other than Captain Picard, that Laren
trusted. She could not go to him yet. She paused in front
of Guinan's quarters for a few moments then sounded the
chime. She heard a voice say, "Come," as the door slid
open. She walked in and saw Guinan sitting in a chair by
the table .

"Hello, Laren," said Guinan. "You look upset. Sit down
and tell me what's wrong."

Tears welled up in Laren's eyes. She sat in the chair by
Guinan. She shook her head. "I'm in trouble again. Do
you remember when the Satarrans took control of the
ship?"

Guinan nodded, "Yes, I remember,""

"I'm sure you heard I had an affair with Commander Riker
while our memories were blocked."

Guinan nodded again, she suspected what Laren's problem
was now, and waited for her to continue.

"Well," began Laren, tears sliding silently down her
cheeks, "I just left sickbay. I'm pregnant." She buried her
face in her hands and sat there quietly, trying not to cry.
Guinan's heart went out to her. She came to stand by Laren
and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Laren, you know I'll help you any way I can, but you have
to tell Will. He should hear it from you instead of reading
it in the Crew Health Status Reports. It will harder on both
of you if he finds out in the report."

She looked at Guinan with tear filled eyes. I know, but I'm
afraid to tell him. We don't get along that well. He'll be
furious, and he's going to blame me. I'm the one who
instigated the affair by seducing him."

Guinan shook her head. "Will is not going to be angry with
you, and he won't blame you either. As for you seducing
him, he could have said no. He choose to participate in
unprotected sex with you. The responsibility for the
pregnancy falls equally on both of you. Will is a good man.
I know that he's been hard on you, but that's only because
he wants to see you reach your potential. Go talk to him.
He'll be shocked, but he won't blame you. I know it's hard
for you to trust people, but you have to trust Will now.
Both of you are going to have to work together to get
through this."

Laren smiled weakly. "You're right, Guinan. I'd better go
tell him now, Dr. Crusher's Crew Health Status Report will
be going to him at the end of the shift. If roles were
reversed, I know I'd rather hear it in person than read about
it in a report. She stood up and turned toward the door.

"Wait a minute," said Guinan. "Go to the bathroom and
rinse your face. Everyone you see will ask what's wrong."

Laren went into the bathroom and rinsed her face. When
she came out, Guinan nodded. "That's better. Now go to
Commander Riker's office and tell him."

Laren walked slowly down the corridor to the
Commander's office. Her mind was reeling. How could
this have happened. What would Commander Riker say?
At his door, she paused briefly and then sounded the chime.
The door slid open to admit her to the office.

"Come in, Ensign Ro." Will gave her a friendly smile as he
wondered why she had come to see him.

Laren walked into the room with her arms tightly crossed in
front of her. I will not cry, she thought to herself. That
will only make him angrier. No matter what happens, I
will not cry. She sat down keeping her arms crossed in
front of her.

"You seem upset, Ensign. Is there something wrong?"
asked Will. He wondered what could have her so troubled.
Whatever the problem was, he hoped he would be able to
help her.

She sat silently for a few minutes with a distraught
expression on her face. Will sensed something was really
wrong and waited patiently.

Finally, she spoke, "Commander, when I said that the time
we spent together when the Satarrans took control of the
ship would be something we would treasure forever, I was
teasing you. I wish I was teasing you now, but I'm not. I'm
four weeks pregnant." She looked at her lap, expecting the
First Officer to explode in anger. Then she expected him to
remind her that he had said he hoped that they would not
regret it and lay the blame on her. All of her fears were
completely unfounded.

Will was shocked!! "Ensign Ro, I...I don't know what to
say. Are you sure?"

She looked up at him fearfully, and was surprised to see no
anger, only shock and sympathy.

" I'm sure," she began miserably. "I wouldn't be here
humiliating myself if I wasn't sure, Commander. I had my
suspicions, and Dr. Crusher confirmed it this morning. I
wanted to tell you before you read it in the Crew Health
Status Reports. It would have been very unfair to let you to
learn about it that way."

He shook his head. He decided to use a more personal
touch with their conversation, hoping that she would find it
comforting. "I'm so sorry, Laren. I appreciate you having
the courage to come tell me in person, I realize how
difficult it was." He looked at her thoughtfully, afraid of
how she might answer his next question. "Have you thought
about what you're going to do?" He stayed at his desk,
respecting her personal space, wanting to offer comfort, but
not wanting to offend or frighten her. He could only hope
her answer would not be to terminate the pregnancy.

"I've suspected it for two weeks now. I've had plenty of
time to think. I plan to have the baby and raise him. I
realize it will be embarrassing for both of us, but it is not
the baby's fault he was unplanned." She met Will's eyes
with a steady gaze, daring him to disagree with her She
would not have an abortion. "To Bajorans, all children are
precious. Far too many were killed by Cardasians during
the occupation."

"I'm not worried about embarrassment, Laren," he said
softly. "My only concern is for you and the baby. I am
glad you plan to keep the baby. I will help you in any way I
can. I'm just as responsible for the pregnancy as you. I
accept my responsibility. I willingly made love with you
during that time."

Laren studied his face carefully. He seemed sincere, but
trust did not come easily for her. She feared he was only
*doing his duty.* "You don't have to Commander, I'll be
okay....It's not your fault. After all, I was the one who
seduced you." Her voice was breaking, and she looked
back down at her folded arms, tears forming in her eyes.
Yes, this was Will's son too, but she didn't want him to feel
he had to do anything for her.

He got up from his chair and came around the desk to stand
beside her. "You may have come to my quarters to seduce
me, but I wanted you as much as you wanted me. I'm just
as responsible as you. I'll do whatever I can to help raise
our baby." He placed a hand on her shoulder. When she
didn't pull away, he squeezed it gently, offering comfort.
His unexpected compassion loosened her tightly held
emotions. She began trembling, silent tears streaming
down her face. He knelt beside the chair and took her in
his arms. She offered no resistance. He kept patting her
back soothing her.

"Shh....It'll be okay. We'll get through this. You'll see."
It felt so good to be held and comforted. Tears coursed
down her cheeks. Will held her, and let her cry. He
wondered even as he soothed her, how he could convince
her he was sincere. Being abandoned by his own father
made him determined to be the best father he could be to
his son.

After a few minutes, she pulled back and he released her.
"I'm sorry, I lost control, commander," she said in an
embarrassed voice, as she wiped the tears off of her face.

"You don't need to apologize. You've been trying to deal
with this alone with no emotional support. There's no
shame in losing control" A sudden uneasiness crossed his
mind. She seemed so distraught. Was it only due to the
fact she was pregnant, or was it something else. "Dr.
Crusher examined you this morning. Is the baby all
right?"

"The baby's fine. It's a boy. I saw him on the monitor, he's
perfect." She smiled remembering the tiny perfect form
wiggling on the screen.

"I'm glad to hear our son is normal." He looked at her,
pleased to see she had no negative reaction to "our son,"
because he was very serious about taking his full share of
responsibility for the child. His child would not suffer the
pain he had from being abandoned by his father. He would
make sure that would never happen to his son.

"Have you told anyone else?" he asked softly.

"Only Guinan, she's my closest friend on the ship. I
remember when I first met her. She told me that she
tended bar and listened. I went to her for advice. She told
me that I had to tell you before you saw it in the Doctor's
report. Deep down I knew I needed to, I just had to find
the courage to do so. I was afraid to tell you. We usually
don't get along very well. I was positive you'd be
furious."

"Laren, you've got to learn to trust people, me included. I
know it seems I'm on your case most of the time, I just
don't want you to waste your potential. You've made
tremendous progress since you've joined our crew."
"It's hard to trust people when you grew up in a Bajoran
resettlement camp," she said softly.

"You can't change your past, but you can make the future
better. One way to start is trusting other people. Some
people may let you down, but you can't give up on everyone
just because some people have let you down.""

"I know ," she said softly. "In fact I need to trust someone
else with this news right now. I have to tell Captain Picard
that I'm pregnant. It won't be easy. He gave me a second
chance when I really didn't deserve it. I hope he isn't
disappointed in me.

"I agree, the Captain needs to be told, but I want us to tell
him together. I'm involved too." He saw doubt cross her
face and continued, "Laren, trust me, it will be easier if we
tell him together."

She gave him a small smile. It would be easier to face the
Captain with Will rather than on her own. The Captain
would just call him in anyway. Perhaps Will had really
meant it when he said he'd take his share of responsibility
for their child.

"Let's get it over with." her voice trembled slightly.

'It's going to be okay, Laren. I'm going to help you with our
son. The Captain isn't going to think badly of you for
having sex with me. He'll be as supportive as possible.
Let's go." He took her hand and led her to the door. As
they walked out of his quarters and into the corridor. Will
tapped his CombadgeBadge.

"Riker to Captain Picard."

'Picard here. What is it Number One?"

"Sir, can you meet me in the conference lounge
immediately."

I'm on my way. Is there a problem, Number One?"

"I'll explain when I get there, sir."

In the turbo lift he asked, "Has Dr. Crusher given you a due
date yet?"

"Bajoran women are pregnant for five months and humans
for nine months. Dr. Crusher is not sure how long it will
take since this is the first Bajoran-Human pregnancy.""

"Well, no matter how long it takes both of you going to be
fine. Dr. Crusher will make sure of that."

An uncomfortable silence ensued in the turbolift. Laren
nervously wondered how the Captain would react to the
news. She hoped he would not be disappointed in her.
He'd made her his special reclamation project after the
incident with Orta. She wanted him to be proud of her, and
now she was pregnant with the First Officer's baby. The
lift doors opened, and they stepped out and walked to the
conference room.

"Remember Laren, everything will work out." whispered
Will as the door to the conference room slid open before
them. Captain Picard was already there when they entered
the room. Laren looked at him nervously, and then
lowered her gaze to the floor.

"What is the problem, Will." asked Picard. Ensign Ro
was clearly upset, and he wondered if Will was planning to
bring her up on disciplinary action. The two of them
seemed to butt heads with each other often enough.

"Captain," began Will quietly. "Ensign Ro and I have
something very important discuss with you."

"Well, Number One, Ensign Ro sit down and explain the
problem." said the Captain.

"Sir," began Laren softly. "I'm pregnant."

Picard stared at her in shocked disbelief. "Who is the
baby's father, Laren?" he asked gently.

"I am, Captain." said Will. "When the Satarrans took
control of the ship and none of us had our memories, Laren
and I had an affair. I've already assured her that I intend to
accept my responsibility for her pregnancy."

"I had no doubts you would, Will." said Picard. "How do
you feel about all this, Laren?" His voice was so
understanding and reassuring, she hoped she wouldn't cry
again.

"Well sir, I wish it had not happened, but since it has, I plan
to have the child and raise him. I would also like to stay on
the Enterprise. This is the only home I have. Dr. Crusher
says the baby appears to be growing slowly by Bajoran
standards, but he is normal. She isn't sure when I'll deliver,
or if there will be complications with the pregnancy. This
is the first Bajoran-Human pregnancy."

"I'm sorry Laren got pregnant," began Will. "But I am glad
that she wants to stay on the Enterprise. I plan to be an
active father."

Laren looked at Will. She took a step of trust and said, "I
want you to be an active father. A father is very important
to a child. We both know what it's like to be raised without
a father. The Cardassians killed my father in front of me
when I was seven years old. Your father abandoned you
when you were fifteen. I would never deny you your rights
to be involved with our son's life. I missed having a father,
and I'll bet you did too."

"Well, it seems you two have a good start on working this
out," began the Captain. "I'll be getting regular reports
from the Doctor on your condition. I'm sure everything
will be fine." The Captain rose to his feet. "If you need
anything else let me know. I'll give you all the help and
support I can."

"Thank you for your time, Captain." said Will. He and
Laren walked out of the room together. "There, now that
wasn't so bad was it?" asked Will gently.

"I guess not," replied Laren softly. She looked at Will with
a blank expression on her face. "At least the Captain took
it well. I seem to be the only one who isn't taking it well"

"You will soon," Will assured her. "You're the one who's
pregnant. So it may take you longer. Besides, your body
has to adjust to lot of hormonal changes right now." He
placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know everything will
work out Laren. Please try not to worry."

"I'll try, but it won't be easy." she answered. "It's bad
enough being pregnant, but because this is an inter-species
pregnancy, Dr. Crusher wants to monitor me on a weekly
basis. I'll be going to sickbay every week. She'll do
imaging of the baby every week to make sure everything is
developing properly. If problems occur, then she'll do
whatever is necessary to save the baby and me."

"Well, if you don't object, I'd like to go to the appointments
with you. I want to follow our son's development too."

Laren thought a moment. She had to try to trust Will. He
was the father of her child. It would not be fair to refuse
his request. He had a right to follow his son's development.
"I have no objections," she said softly.

"Good," said Will. "I meant what I said about taking my
full share of responsibility for the child."

********


A week later, Laren waited uneasily with Will in Sick Bay
for Dr. Crusher to examine her again. It was not a long
wait, and Dr. Crusher was soon busy running scans.

"Everything still looks good, Laren. The baby is continuing
to develop normally. He's still growing a little slowly, but
there's no need to worry yet. I'm going to put an image up
on the monitor now." She hit a few buttons on the Medical
Tricorder and the baby's image appeared on the monitor by
the exam table. Will and Laren stared in awe at the sight
of their unborn son.

This is incredible, breathed Will. "Just five weeks old, and
he can already suck his thumb."

"That's not all," said Dr. Crusher. "He also has fingerprints,
he can urinate, and listen to this." She hit another button
on the Tricorder and they heard the unmistakable sound of
a tiny heart beating. "That's his heartbeat." She smiled at
the wonder and amazement on their faces. "Everything is
going fine, Laren. Continue the Vitamin supplements I
gave you last week, and eat a balanced diet . Try to eat
foods from all the major food groups at every meal,
especially proteins, fruits, and vegetables. We want that
little boy to stay healthy. Keep working on your relaxation
exercises too. They'll help you during delivery."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Laren softly. "I'll do my best.
There is one thing I am concerned about. I've been having
trouble eating. I haven't been hungry. You said the baby's
growth was a little slow. I know that it will hurt the baby if
I don't eat properly. What can I do?"

"Well, considering the stress you've been under, it's no
wonder. Now that Commander Riker knows about your
pregnancy, that should help reduce some stress. Don't
worry about it now. Let' see if you do better over the next
two to three weeks. I'll see you next week." Dr. Crusher
smiled warmly at Laren and Will as they departed. It
would be interesting to see how all of this worked out.
Will was a man of integrity. She knew that Will accepted
his responsibility. He had come to talk with her soon after
Laren told him she was pregnant. Laren was having an
extremely difficult time accepting her pregnancy and was
very wary around Will. It would take time, but Laren
would come to trust Will.

In the corridor, Will turned to Laren. "It's an hour and a
half to our duty shift. You should get something to eat.
Doctor's orders you know." He smiled encouragingly at
her.
Laren shrugged, "I know I should, I'm not really hungry, but
I'd better eat something."

Will studied her thoughtfully. He wanted to make sure she
ate. "Come along with me to Ten-Forward. We can both
get something to eat there." She looked into his eyes, and
saw that it was useless to protest, so she walked with him
to Ten-Forward. As they walked in together and found a
table, crew members stared at the unusual sight of the Will
and Laren dining together.

"Maybe this is not such a good idea," began Laren. "People
are staring at us." Her face turned red.

"They're just surprised to see us together. Don't let it bother
you." He walked over to a food replicator and ordered two
steak dinners. He sat hers in front of her. "Now eat, Laren.
The steak will provide the protein, and the vegetables and
fruit are good for you too."

She slowly picked up a fork. She didn't want to be here, let
alone eat. She wondered how long it be before she started
to show. The ship's gossip mill would be going full force.
Maybe Will did not care about ship gossip, but it bothered
her to know that once again she would become the topic of
even more gossip. Even though Captain Picard had given
her a second chance, some people had felt she did not
deserve to be serving on the Enterprise. Garon II was a part
of the past she had long sought to leave behind her. It had
been her stubbornness that caused the deaths of the other
crew members. She often relived that day in her
nightmares.

"Laren.....Laren?" Will reached over to touch her hand. "I
asked you twice, how do you like you meal?"

She blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. The food is fine.
I was just lost in thought."

Will wiped his mouth and grinned. "It's a good thing you
liked it, it's almost gone."

She looked down at her plate in surprise. "This is the most
I've eaten in weeks. That will be good for the baby."

"Maybe you should eat meals with me more often, if that
will make you eat more. I'll just have to get used to having
a silent meal." said Will with a teasing smile.

Laren looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to
be rude." She stared down at the table.
"I'm just teasing, Laren. Why don't you drop the Sir when
we're not on duty," suggested Will.

"Okay, whatever," said Laren with a touch of uneasiness.
Will was trying, she had to admit that. She still wasn't sure
whether she really wanted him to. She wondered what his
motivations were. She stood to her feet. "Well, it's almost
time for my duty shift to start, so I'd better head for the
bridge. I'll see you there." Before Will could object, she
was gone.

Will shook his head, it was not going to be easy, but
somehow he would prove to Laren that she could trust him.
Dr. Crusher told him it would take time and to be patient.
He wondered how long it would take. After the Satarran
incident, he had found himself thinking of her late at night
when he could not sleep. She had been a spectacular lover.
Filled with fiery hot passion. Now as a result of their
passion filled affair, she carried his child. He shoved the
memories to the back of his mind. It was time to report to
the Bridge. He strode across the deck and walked out the
door.

********



Two weeks later, after her weekly exam, Laren sat in her
quarters looking at a huge pile of pasta and two side dishes
of vegetables. She hadn't gained as much weight as the
doctor thought she should, and the baby was still growing
too slowly, so Dr. Crusher programmed the food replicators
to give her a special maternity diet. At least Will had not
been at the exam to hear the discouraging report. There
had been an important away mission to deliver scientific
materials to a research station, and he had to lead the
mission. It was actually a relief to be away from him for a
while. He was beginning to drive her crazy. She thought
that it was because he cared, but he had become somewhat
overprotective of her. As, she picked up her fork to begin
eating, the door chime sounded.

"Come," she said busying herself with her food. Perhaps
whoever it was wouldn't stay long. Everyone on the ship
knew she was pregnant. It hadn't been too hard to figure
out who the father was either. Their weekly visits to
sickbay for her checkups, and Will spending a lot of his off
duty time with her were all the clues anyone really needed
to draw their own conclusions.

Guinan walked into her quarters. "Hello Laren," began
Guinan. "When you didn't come to Ten-Forward for lunch,
I was concerned. So I came to check on you."

Laren blushed. "I decided to eat in my quarters today. Dr.
Crusher put me on a special diet. I haven't gained enough
weight, and that the baby has not grown enough. I really
was trying to eat as much as I could. Now the food
replicator records whatever I don't finish. If I don't eat
enough, she said she put me in sick bay and use a plasma
infusion unit on me. Will is going to be fussing over me
even more now," sighed Laren. "I know he is just trying to
help, but sometimes it gets to be too much."

"Sounds like you'd better eat more. Then the doctor won't
use the plasma infusion unit on you, and Will won't fuss
over you so much. What you have today looks great. Keep
on eating, I've already had my lunch."

Laren continued eating. The food was good. She looked at
Guinan and smiled. "At least with the Doctor's diet, Will
can't feed me some of his stranger concoctions." She made
a face. "Last night, he made Chili, and I had such bad
indigestion, that I thought I was going to die. To make
matters worse, since I'm pregnant, I couldn't take anything
for it."

"Pregnant women have had to live with indigestion for
years." saidGuinan. "I remember when I was pregnant with
my second child, I had indigestion nomatter what I ate."

"Dr. Crusher said that this diet should help quell the
indigestion. It's not high in fat, and it's blander than Will's
chili,"

"I think just about every food that exists is blander than the
Commander's chili. That stuff could almost eat right
through the hull of the ship," laughed Guinan. Just then,
the door chimed sounded. "Looks like you've got more
company,Laren." I'll go and leave you to your company."
She walked to the door as it opened. Will stood in the
doorway. "See you later, Laren, Will." With that, Guinan
breezed out the door leaving them alone.

"Hello, Laren," began Will. He smiled warmly. "I'm sorry
I couldn't be here for the exam. What did the doctor say
about you and the baby?""

"Well I haven't gained enough weight, and the baby hasn't
grown enough, so, she's put me on a special diet. The food
replicators will issue me what's on the diet, and record any
food I leave on my plate."

"Well, with the Doctor's diet, you'll do better. The baby
will too. You've got some great food. I haven't had my
lunch yet, and you look like you can use some company."
Laren nodded mutely, what else could she do? Tell Will
no, and ask him to leave. She was trying hard not to have
any major conflicts with Will. Besides, a part of her
wanted to be with him. His kindness and gentleness
towards her since she told him about the baby had really
made an impression on her, even if his occasional bouts of
over protectiveness drove her crazy. She wanted to love
and trust Will in return, but it wasn't easy. Will walked
over to the replicator and ordered up some pasta for
himself. He carried it to the table.

"I got all the materials delivered to the science team. If I
hadn't had to supervise that mission, I'd have been there
with you, Laren. I wish you could have rescheduled your
appointment."

"Doctor Crusher wants to examine me at the same time
each week." she reminded him gently.

Will gave her a charming smile. "Well, the Doctor knows
best. We need to do what ever she says, so we'll have a
healthy son." He looked at her with deep warmth, and she
shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Will meant well, but
sometimes, she found herself overwhelmed by the intensity
of his emotions.

She began to sneeze. After eight sneezes she said, "I hate
these sneezing fits. People are even betting on how many
times I'll sneeze when I start." She rolled her eyes in
disgust.

"Don't let them get to you, Laren. Some people are just
insensitive." Will vowed silently to himself to find out who
was betting on Laren's sneezing fits and put a stop to it.
They finished the meal with light talk of the mornings
away team mission.

*********



Two months into the pregnancy, Laren began to show. Her
uniform had been getting tighter, and she'd finally
surrendered to the inevitable of wearing a maternity
uniform. At least there had been no more betting on her
sneezing fits. Through the grapevine she had heard that
Will had put a stop to it. He was really trying hard to help
and be supportive, but at the same time, he was becoming
increasingly over protective. They had had a big argument
when she felt he had gone overboard. She had told him
that she was the one who was pregnant, and as long as the
doctor okayed it, she would keep on using her favorite
holodeck sailing program. Laren frowned as her door
chime sounded, because she didn't want to be bothered
right now. Fighting with Will always left her out of sorts.

"Come," she said. The door slide open to reveal the First
Officer. He had some flowers in his hand.

"I'm sorry that I made the fuss about the sailing program. I
know that the holodeck has safeguards built in, I just
wasn't thinking. I only want to make sure you and the baby
stay safe. He handed her the flowers. "I hope these make
you feel better. I know giving them to you makes me feel
better."

Lauren accepted the flowers with a small smile. "Will,
you've got to realize that I'm not going to do anything to
hurt our baby. You said I needed to trust you, well you
need to trust me too. She sat the flowers on the desk. I've
got something else to tell you too. She smiled and
continued. I've started feeling the baby move. You can't
feel it on the outside yet, but I can feel him moving
inside"

Will looked at her slightly bulging stomach. "You can feel
him now. That must be an incredible experience. Men
miss out there. It almost makes me wish we were the ones
who got pregnant instead of the women"

She looked at him in amusement. "If men had to have the
babies, after their first pregnancy, they would never have
another one."

He gave her a concerned look. "You're not worried about
the baby are you? Dr. Crusher says your pregnancy is
coming along fine. In fact, she said he was growing very
quickly now. He's even at the top of the growth scale."

"I'm not too worried," she said. "At least, the labor and
delivery shouldn't be too bad. I'm glad I won't need any
drugs for it." said Lauren.

"What do you mean no drugs?" asked Will in confusion.
"Why should you suffer needlessly?"

"Will, I won't suffer. Baron women do not have pain
during childbirth.Our bodies release natural endorphins that
make us feel pleasure instead." she explained gently. "The
only problem that may come up is my labor stopping if it
goes on too long. If the endorphins begin to rise to toxic
levels, then labor stops"

"What would cause you to be in labor too long?" asked
Will in a concerned tone. "I thought Dr. Crusher said
everything was fine."

"With the baby it is. She says I'm still too stressed out. If I
am not totally relaxed during delivery, my labor can go too
long. It could even become necessary to do a C-section or
risk a fetal transport can't be." said Laren.

"What about dangers from the C-section or fetal transport?"
asked Will.

"Well, here on the ship there won't be too many risks from
a C-section. The biggest risk is blood loss. Fetal transports
are only done as a last resort. Lost of cellular cohesion is a
risk factor with it. We hope to avoid either one. You keep
hearing Dr. Crusher tell me to work on relaxation
exercises. "

Will nodded. "I've noticed she tells you that quite often."

"They'll help me when I go into labor." she explained
softly. "I don't want the traditional instruments played
though. That's just cultural nonsense."

"Traditional instruments," said Will in a puzzled tone.

"Don't worry about it." began Laren. "The delivery will be
really different from human deliveries. If you change your
mind about being in the delivery room with me I'll
understand." she said, taking his hand in hers.

He squeezed her hand gently. "I'll be there. I'm going to
stand by you through all of this."

Their eyes met and they gave each other deep
understanding looks. After several moments, Laren
loosened her hold on Will's hand, and he released her hand
as well. Both were aware that their relationship seemed to
be on the brink of a major change.

"I think it's almost lunch time," said Will in a quiet voice.

"Yes, it is." said Laren. "Dr.. Crusher says if I continue to
do well, later on she'll let me try a week without the
diet."

"That's great, Laren." said Will with a big smile. "Before
we know it, our son will be born. He'll be strong and
healthy too, thanks to the Doctor and to you."

Laren smiled, "To keep it up, I'd better get my lunch." She
walked over to the food replicator and said, "Computer,
please prepare a lunch from the prescribed diet for Ensign
Ro Laren." A few seconds later, a tray with a plate of meat,
vegetables, fruit, yogurt, a roll, and milk materialized. She
took it to the table and sat down.

"Would you care for some company, Laren?" Will asked.
They usually ate together, but he wanted to give her a
choice.

"Why not? Go to the replicator and get some lunch."

Will walked over to the replicator and ordered up his lunch.
When the tray of food materialized, he picked it up and
carried it to the table. "You didn't have to wait for me to
start eating Laren." he said.

"It's okay. I didn't mind." She began to eat. Will was glad
to see she had regained her appetite. She seemed to be
enjoying her meal.

Laren looked at Will shyly, "Dr.. Crusher says that by next
month we should be able to feel the baby move by touching
my stomach. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you or
surprise you, but you should get something to anticipate
and look forward to since I can already feel the baby and
you can't."

"I can't wait." beamed Will. "That's going to be so
incredible to experience." They both looked at the crib by
Laren's bed. Soon their son would be born and sleep there.
He was really looking forward to feeling the baby move
inside Laren, and to holding him once he was born.

At the end of lunch, Will rose and took both trays back to
the replicator slot. He slid them inside and punched the
recycle button. He walked back to the table where Laren
sat.

"I enjoyed having lunch with you." he said tenderly.

Laren smiled up at him with warmth. "I enjoyed having
lunch with you too." she said softly.

Will took her hands in his for a brief moment, then quickly
bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you at
dinner time," he said.

As he walked out, Laren's surprised eyes followed him,
wondering if she were ready for the change they'd both
sensed earlier. Her hand reached up involuntarily to touch
the spot he had kissed.Part of her was ready, but another
part thought about their working relationship. It was rocky
at its best. How could a romantic relationship ever survive
that kind of turmoil?

Title: Unexpected Outcomes
Author: Ronda Sexton
Series: TNG-AU
Code: Riker/Ro
Part: 5/?
Rating: PG13

A few weeks later at her checkup, she and Will waited
patiently for the doctor to come in. As they waited, Will
remembered back to the day Laren had told him that the
baby's kicks could now be felt on the outside of her
stomach. He had asked her if the baby was kicking now.
For an answer, she had taken his hand and placed it over
her swollen stomach. Then he felt a series of strong lively
kicks. This was his child. A part of him. They had sat
together on the couch as he felt the baby kick. Since that
first evening, there had been many such evenings, sitting
together one arm around Laren, the other on her stomach
feeling their son.

Kisses were also more frequent now too. Before he left her
each night, he gave her a gentle kiss. The kisses had
progressed from her cheek to tender kisses on her soft lips.
Laren had begun to respond, kissing him back the second
time he kissed her lips.......He came back to the present
when Laren groaned softly and held her stomach.

"I wish he wouldn't kick so hard." sighed Laren. She
rubbed her stomach with both hands.

"He's definitely going to be a strong the way he kicks." said
Will. At that moment, Dr. Crusher came in.

"Hello, Laren and Will, sorry I'm a little late. There was
an injury from the Cliffs of Heaven diving program again.
Let's see how you're doing."

Dr. Crusher picked up a Medical Tricorder and began
scanning. "Looks great, Laren. The baby's growing well.
I'll put the image on the monitor."

The image flashed up on the screen. He was kicking and
moving in a lively fashion.

"He's certainly lively." said Will. He'll be an athlete for
sure.

"Laren, the baby's growth rate has improve tremendously It
looks as if you're going to have a big baby. I also see that
you've been eating all the food in your prescribed diet. So
I'm going to let you try a week without the diet and see
what happens. If everything continues to go as well as it's
going now, I don't see any reason to put you back on a
prescribed diet. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, can you begin to estimate a delivery date yet? At the
beginning you said I'd probably go six to eight months.
This is five and half months, and I was hoping you might
know something by now."

"Well, judging by the baby's size, comparing it to Human
and Bajoran fetal growth scales, I'd say you'll deliver at
approximately seven months." she stated.

"You mean she may have the baby in one and a half
months?" asked Will.

"Probably so," began the Doctor. "But the baby could take
longer to develop completely. If he does come too early,
we can always use our neonatal equipment to care for him.
If Laren does go into to labor, then we can always induce
labor." explained Dr. Crusher. "Anymore questions?"

"How big do you think the baby will be?" asked Laren.

"He'll weigh well over nine pounds if he continues to grow.
If he gets too big, we may have to do a C-section."

Will looked at her with concern. "Isn't that dangerous for
both of them?"

"Not as dangerous as Laren trying to deliver a baby that is
too big for her body." answered Dr. Crusher patiently. "Do
either of you have anymore questions?"

Laren nodded. "I've begun to experience pain from my
lower back down into my thighs. It's not constant, but
when the pains occur, they are very intense."

"He is very close to your cyatic nerve. The pain is caused
by him settling on the nerve endings. He could end up
settling there and putting pressure on the nerve for days."
She frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can
give you for the pain that won't hurt the baby."

"Well what about blocking her pain receptors with a neural
transmitter?" asked Will.

"We can't do that, we have to know exactly what's she's
feeling, or she could go into labor and not know it,"
explained Dr. Crusher. "The things she can do to help
alleviate the pain are use heat therapy and massage therapy
on the affected areas."

"Can you show me how to do the massage therapy?" asked
Will. He wanted to do whatever he could to help ease the
pain she felt.

"If both of you can come by after your duty shift, then I'll
show you what to do," offered Dr. Crusher.

Will glanced at Laren, and she nodded. "We'll be here," he
said to Dr. Crusher.

She looked at him with a grateful expression. "Thank you,
Will, I sure that using heat and massage will help ease the
pain considerably."

"I'll do anything to help you, Laren. You should know that
by now," whispered Will gently.

Dr. Crusher smiled. "Do you two have any more
questions?"

"I do," said Will. "What can I do to help her get ready for
delivery?"

"Help her with relaxation exercises. Those are very
important. If she can't relax enough to deliver naturally,
I'll have to take the baby, and I don't want to do a C-section
unless I have to. Do either of you have any more
questions?"

Laren looked at Will, who shook his head, and then said,
"No, not right now."

All right, then you two can go. I'll take your prescribed diet
off the computer so you'll be able to choose your own
meals."

They walked out of Sickbay together. Laren shook her
head with a smile. "Six weeks more, and the baby could be
here, I can't believe it." Her hands traced the curve of her
stomach. "I'm ready for this pregnancy to be over."

"I'm ready for a different reason," began Will. "I want to
hold my son in my arms." He placed an arm around her
shoulders. "His mother too."

Laren blushed. Will had never been openly affectionate in
public. He noticed her embarrassment and removed his
arm. They continued down the corridor slowly. Will
glanced at her, and was pleased to see she was not angry. It
must have been that she was just unaccustomed to public
displays of affection.

"We should get some supper. We need to be on the
holodeck in an hour." said Will with a smile, hoping she
would like his surprise.

"The Holo Deck," began Laren. "What are we going to do
on the holodeck?"

"That's a surprise. It should also help reduce your stress
levels. I've planned something really special for us." said
Will with a smile. The program he had chosen was going
to be great. They needed the time alone together in a
setting other than in each other's quarters.

For now, he led her to Ten Forward for a meal. They
walked over to the food replicators and ordered dinners.
He smiled when he saw the meal she had chosen. It was a
combination of Human and Bajoran foods. It looked quite
appetizing. As they looked for a table, Deanna and Worf
signaled them to come to their table.

"Hello, Will. Hello, Laren." said Deanna with a smile.
They sat at the table with them.
"Commander, Ensign," began Worf. "How was the exam?
Is the child well?" Since Will and Laren had asked them to
be the child's Godparents along with Guinan and the
Captain, Worf had taken the honor very seriously, and
always asked about their child.

"He's just fine. In fact, Dr. Crusher thinks he may be born
as soon as six weeks from now. She also thinks he's going
to be a big baby." said Will with a smile. He reached over
and placed his hand over Laren's. "Before long, we'll be
parents."

"That's wonderful." said Deanna. "Worf and I are very
honored you have asked us to be Godparents."

The meal continued with light conversation about the baby.
When they had finished, Will stood with a smile. "You'll
have to excuse us, but we're due on the holodeck."

He took Laren's tray and carried them both to the replicator.
She followed him, filled with curiosity. She had no idea
what he had planned. They walked down the corridor from
Ten Forward to the holodeck.

"Come on, Will, tell me what you're up to," asked Laren.

"Sorry, it's a surprise. You'll see when we go in," said Will
mysteriously.

At the entrance to the Holo Deck, he paused and said,
"Computer, holodeck program Riker-Six." The doors slid
open to reveal the Alaskan countryside.

There nestled in the mountains was a small cabin. Smoke
drifted lazily from the chimney. The ground was covered
with snow. Will looked at her with an excited face.

"Well, what do you think?" His eyes sparkled with
anticipation. This was his favorite place from back home.
High up in the mountains of Alaska, in wild untamed
woods.
She smiled at him. "It's beautiful. Where are we?"

"It's a little cabin up in the mountains of Alaska. I spent a
lot of my leave here when I was in the Academy." He led
the way to the cabin. He opened the door. Inside, it looked
much like a 20th century dwelling. Will was beaming with
pride as he led her inside. "This house has been in my
family for 300 years. We've made every effort to keep it
the same as it looked when my family originally got it. It's
even listed as a historic landmark. The only modern
conveniences are the com system and a food replicator."

He pointed to a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace. "That
bear was killed by one of my ancestors. He saved a family
on a picnic when the bear attacked.
"It's all very nice, Will." said Laren as she looked around at
all the old stylefurnishings.

Will walked over to a closet and pulled out a set of cold
weather gear. He handed it to her. "Put this on." he said.
"We're going to take a little walk in the snow."

She took them and began putting them on as he pulled out
his gear. A totally evil thought crossed her mind. Pelting
Will with snow balls would be fun. She thoughtback to the
snowball fight she'd been in during her academy days.

Will turned and looked at her. "Well, lets go." He took her
hand and led her to the door. Once they were outside, she
scooped up a handful of snow and darted away from him as
she formed it into a firm ball. Mischief danced in her eyes
as she rolled it in her hands. Will stared at her in surprise.
He'd not expected this. She threw the snowball, scoring a
direct hit on his shoulder.

Then, the snowball fight was on. They both began to pelt
each other with snowballs. It was good to see her relaxed
and having so much fun. Suddenly, just as he threw a
snowball, she turned and it hit her swollen stomach. She
let out a breath and put her hand to her stomach. He was at
her side in an instant.

"Oh,, Laren, I'm sorry! Maybe we'd better get you to sick
bay and make sure the baby is okay." said Will in a
concerned voice.

She laughed merrily, "It's okay, Will. Pregnant women are
more sturdy than you think. It just startled us, that's all. He
jumped hard, but he's okay."

"Are you sure? asked Will.

I'm positive,, lets go on that walk you suggested." She held
out her gloved hand to him. He took it and used it to pull
her close.

"That's a great suggestion." said Will. Then he slipped his
arm around her waist. They walked slowly through the
woods. A light snow was falling. His arm was holding her
close to his side, and it felt so good. Slowly, she slipped
her arm around him. He smiled down at her warmly.
"That feels good." He tightened his arm for a moment in a
quick hug.

They walked on. Laren gazed in wonder at the beauty
around her. Even the hydroponics gardens didn't compare
to this. "This is a lovely place. You must have enjoyed it
as a child. The resettlement camps where I grew up were a
nightmare. Not enough food, clothing, or shelter. It was
really bad." said Laren.

"Well, that's over now. You're here on the Enterprise, and
you have a good life now." said Will as he gave her a
comforting squeeze. "Life here wasn't always easy either.
My mother died when I was two years old, then my father
abandoned me when I was fifteen. I made it in spite of
that. You've made it through incredible hardships too. It
shows your strength."

He stopped at a railing, overlooking the sheer drop off.
The valley belowthem glistened with snow. "Now, this is
my idea of Heaven." sighed Will. "Nature in all its beauty.
Iuse this program when I get homesick for earth."

"It's lovely." said Laren with a smile.

Will gazed affectionately at her. He used his other arm to
pull her into an embrace. She gazed up at him expectantly.
He bent his head and gave her a long, tender kiss, pulling
her closer as she responded. Finally, he pulled back and
smiled led down at her. She seemed so calm and relaxed.
The tension everyone usually saw in her seemed to have
faded away.

"I think we'd better head back for the cabin. I don't want
you to get too cold."

Keeping an arm around each other, they walked back down
to the cabin. Once they were inside, he helped her out of
her parka.

"Laren, sit on the couch, and I'll get us some hot cider. It'll
warm us up fast."

She walked over and sat on the couch rubbing her stomach.
"He's kicking again. He's certainly lively." She thought as
she watched Will coming over to the couch with two cups
of steaming cider. They hadn't discussed a name for the
baby yet. It seemed like now would be a good time. They
were both in a pleasant mood. Will sat on the couch beside
her and handed her a mug. He put an arm around her
shoulders and took a sip of his cider. He noticed Laren
wasdeep in thought.

"A penny for your thoughts, Laren." he said softly. His arm
tightened around her pulling her close to his side.

"I was just thinking, we haven't discussed a name for our
son. It won't be long before he's born. We need to decide
on a name."

"Do you have any Bajoran names in mind?" asked Will
softly.

"Well, I like the name Raulsta. I also want him to have
your surname."

He pulled her into an embrace, feeling the baby's kicks
against his stomach. "Laren, I wouldn't have it any other
way. I want him to have my name." He released her with a
smile. "How about Riker Raulsta William for his name. It
would be both human and Bajoran."

"I think that sounds fine. Adding William to Raulsta is a
good idea. My father's name was Raulsta, and your name is
William. Both sides of our son's heritage will be
represented." She leaned her head against his broad
shoulder. It was good to have the name chosen. Trusting
Will had not come easily, but more and more she was
finding that she did trust him. His tender treatment of her
since she told him she was pregnant had drawn her very
close to him. She even found herself adhering to Starfleet
protocols closer than ever before. She did it, because she
found herself wanting to please him. She felt more at
peace with herself right now than she had in along time.

He cupped her face with his hand, and turned it to tenderly
kiss her. Her lips were soft and warm against his. He slid
his hand from her cheek to her neck, then across her
shoulder and down her back to pull her into a closer
embrace as he kissed her. Laren felt Will's tongue brush
against her lips. She yielded to his searching, and felt his
tongue touch hers. It felt so good. One of her hands
moved behind his head, while the other slipped around him
to hold him close. After a long,lingering kiss, they pulled
back, staring into each others eyes. The intensity of
themoment left them both breathless. It was by far the
most passionate, intimate kiss they had shared since her
pregnancy had drawn them together.

Finally, Laren lowered her head, leaning it against Will's
chest. It felt so good to be treated with love. She was no
longer a love-starved child in the resettlement camp, but it
had been a long time since she had felt such acceptance
and love from a man.

Will continued to hold her, pressing his cheek to her hair.
He realized that his feelings for Laren had become deeper
than he ever thought possible. The time they had been
spending together since she told him about the baby had
truly bonded them together. He was determined that his
child would never suffer the pain of abandonment that his
father had caused him. He would also never suffer the
harsh life that his mother had in the Bajoran resettlement
camps.

He grew concerned at her silence. "Laren," he began softly.
"Are you okay?"

She nodded quietly, keeping her head buried against his
chest. Sensing that she needed to be held, he kept his arms
around her, holding her close and stroking her back. A
fierce sense of possession and love stirred up inside him.
They sat there each others arms until their time in the
holodeck was over.


********


Laren was in the sixth month of pregnancy. Dr. Crusher
said she could have the baby anytime. Laren continued to
man her Bridge Station, wanting to work rather than be
idle. Dr. Crusher saw no reason why she shouldn't work
either. She and the baby were doing fine. Will had been
concerned about her working, and they had almost gotten
into a fight over it. She finally called Dr. Crusher to
explain to Will that working would not hurt her, and the
activity was beneficial to her. It would help keep her stress
levels down. The massages he gave her helped too. Even
though the baby had dropped and shifted position so that
she no longer had the severe back pain, he continued to
give her massages. After talking with Dr. Crusher, Will
apologized to Laren. His making up kiss, as he called it
had been so intensely passionate that it had left her
breathless. She just wished her labor would start. She was
tired of being pregnant. Dr. Crusher had told her she would
probably start labor within the next two weeks. She hoped
that the Doctor was right. She was tired of sneezing fits,
and she was tired of waddling where ever she went.

One and a half weeks later, she was still waiting. She was
at her station on the bridge. Suddenly she felt a strange
sensation starting in her lower back andspreading to her
stomach. She knew from the descriptions of labor, that it
was time for her to give birth to her son. She turned to the
Captain. "Sir, I think I should go to sickbay." Will was up
and at her side in an instant.

"Is the baby on the way?" he asked.

"I think so. I can feel it." she answered. Her voice was
tinged with nervousness and excitement.

"Picard to sickbay."

"Sickbay, Dr. Crusher here. What is it Captain?"

Ensign Ro is in labor. We're sending her right down."

"Acknowledged, Captain. We'll be ready. Crusher out."

The Captain smiled warmly at both of them. "The two of
you go on to sickbay." He gave Laren a gentle pat on her
swollen stomach. "Don't worry Laren, you'll do just fine.
I'll be down after you deliver."

As the turbo lift descended, Will wrapped his arms around
her in a comforting embrace. He felt her trembling.

"Hey, you'll do fine. I'll be by your side the whole time.
Try not to worry. Relax, Laren. Breathe deeply and
slowly." She buried her face against his broad chest,
accepting his comfort. Slowly, her trembling stopped.
The turbo lift slowed and as he released her, the doors slid
open. They walked to the doors to Sickbay. As they slid
open, Dr. Crusher was there waiting for them.

"Let's get you to the maternity ward." said the Doctor
briskly. She led the way. Once inside the ward, a nurse
helped Laren change into a sickbay gown. Will stood by
waiting patiently while the nurse got her settled in the
birthing chair. It was already setinto the delivery mode.

"Now remember, Laren. You have to stay relaxed. Will,
do you remember what I told you?" asked Dr. Crusher.

Will nodded and began to gently massage Laren's legs. She
leaned against the backrest. Will could tell she was still
tense. He walked up to the back of the birthing chair and
began to massage her shoulders.

"Easy, Laren, easy. Breathe deeply, you're going to be
fine." Will looked up at the monitors. So far the endorphin
levels looked normal. She still seemed so tense. He leaned
down near her ear.

"Laren, what can I do to help?" he whispered.

"Just stay here with me, Will. I just need you here with
me," she said in a strained voice.

Dr. Crusher looked up at the monitors. "Laren, use one of
your relaxation exercises I taught you. Will, help her, talk
her through it. The stress level indicator readings are
rising. If we can't get it down, and the endorphin levels get
too high, it will stop her labor.

Laren closed her eyes and concentrated on the snowy
Alaskan woods she and Will had explored in the Holo
Deck.

Will began softly talking her through a walk in the snowy
winter woods. As he guided her through the exercise, the
stress indicators began to drop dramatically. Her endorphin
production also began to slow. Will wondered about the
fates of nature that gave Bajoran women pleasure inducing
endorphins to make the delivery of a child painless, but
could easily rise to toxic levels if the mother became too
stressed or tense.

At the end of the exercise, Laren seemed much calmer.
But, within a few minutes, the endorphin levels began to
rise rapidly again. Dr. Crusher frowned. Laren had told
her that her mother had suffered similar problems in
childbirth. The levels were running close to toxic levels
again. As long as labor progressed and neither she or the
baby showed any signs of distress, she would let the birth
go on naturally. However, she was fully prepared to do a
C-section if she had to. She saw Will looking at the
endorphin reading with concern. The board was behind
Laren where she couldn't see it. The doctor shot Will a look
that said for him to be quiet about the level of endorphins,
knowing would only stress Laren even more. For the time
being, her labor was progressing.

"I can feel the baby moving further down." she sighed.
The endorphins being released by her body kept her from
feeling any pain. However with current levels, she might
have to spend more than the usual three days in sickbay.
Dr. Crusher looked at the readings. Hopefully the labor
would not stop now. The baby was halfway into the birth
canal. Soon it would be over. Normally it took about an
hour for a Bajoran woman to give birth, but over the years
Beverly had learned that wasn't always the rule. Laren
seemed to be staying calm. Will was standing behind her
and gently rubbing her neck and shoulders whispering
encouragement in her ears.

"Laren, Will, it shouldn't be much longer now," said Dr.
Crusher

Laren sighed, "It's about time. I'm sick of being in labor."

Will looked at her, "You've done great!! I know I couldn't
go through this and stay calm and relaxed."

"I can feel him moving further down." said Laren in a
voice of wonder. She was so caught up in the miracle of
birth that she forget about being frightened.

"The head should be presenting any moment now. Will if
you want to see your son being born, you need to move
down here with me right now," said Dr. Crusher with a
smile.

Laren looked at Will. This was it, the moment they'd been
waiting for. "Go on, Will, I'm fine now. I want you to see
Raulsta being born."

He bent down and gave her a quick kiss.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said as he walked to
stand by the doctor. As he watched in wonder, he saw a
head of dark hair begin to emerge. Before his eyes, the
miracle of birth played itself out.

After the baby emerged, Dr. Crusher thumped the baby's
feet. He drew a deep breath and let out a lusty cry. As
Will walked back to the head of the birthing chair, Dr.
Crusher held him up so Laren and Will could get a good
look at their son.

Dr. Crusher smiled at both of them. "Let me get him
cleaned up, thenyou can hold him." She turned to the nurse
who was assisting her. "After the placenta is delivered,
clean her up and take the unit out of delivery mode."

Soon, Laren had their son in her arms. Will sat next to the
bed watching their son nurse at Laren's breast. The rich
colostrum would make him healthy and strong. There had
never been a doubt in Laren's mind about nursing the baby.
Will was pleased she had chosen to do so. There was still
no better way to nourish a baby.

The doors slid open, and Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard
both walked in. He shook his head as Will started to stand,
and waved him back to the chair. "As you were, Will." he
said. He walked over to the bedside. "Congratulations to
both of you. Dr. Crusher tells me you have a perfect, healthy
son."

Laren gave the Captain a weary smile. "Thank you, sir."

Will looked up, "Seeing him born was the most incredible
experience ofmy life. Laren did a great job."

"I'll leave you three alone now. Will, you're off duty for the
next seventy-two hours. You both need to spend time
bonding with your child."

"Thank you, sir." said Will quietly.

The Captain left the room.

Dr. Crusher came to the bedside. "I told his Godparents
they could visit after you three have had a chance to rest. If
the next seventy-two hours go well, you and the baby will
be released from sickbay."

"But Dr. Crusher," began Laren in protest.

"Laren, you know the regulations as well as I do. Mothers
giving birth inany Starfleet facility are kept in medical care
for a minimum of seventy-two hours.

Besides, your endorphin levels were 12.475 from being at
a toxic level. You would have to stay anyway, so we can
monitor you. You may have to stay longer depending on
how quickly your endorphin levels return to normal. It
won't interfere with you nursing your baby, but it can still
hurt you. Your Bajoran physiology keeps the endorphins
out of your breast milk."

"I know, but I'd be a lot more comfortable in my own
quarters."

"Laren, there are other good reasons for mothers and
newborns to be under medical care for at least seventy-two
hours. Sometimes problems don't always show up right
away."

Will became concerned. "Do you expect any problems
with Laren or Raulsta?"

"No, but the regulations are there for precautionary
measures." She looked down at Raulsta, who had stopped
nursing and fallen asleep. "Let me take him to the nursery
so you can get some rest. We'll bring him to you when he's
ready to nurse again. Will you can either stay here with
Laren and sleep in the Father's Bed here, or you can go
back to your quarters. Whichever you choose, you need to
get some sleep."

"I'll stay here with Laren." he said softly, laying a hand on
her shoulder.She smiled up at him, glad he was willing to
stay with her.

Dr. Crusher carefully picked up Raulsta, so not to waken
him and carried him to the nursery.

Laren closed the nursing vent on her gown. I'm so sleepy."
she murmured. She looked up at Will. "Thank you for
staying with us."

He bent down and kissed her tenderly. Then he began
adjusting hercovers to make her more comfortable. "Sleep
now, Laren. You need to rest, and there's no telling when
Raulsta will be ready to nurse again."

She closed her eyes and was asleep in seconds. Will went
over to the Father's Bed that was provided in each
maternity room. He lay down and was soon asleep.

A few hours later, Laren felt someone give her shoulder a
gentle shake. A nurse was standing there with Raulsta.
"He's ready to nurse again." shewhispered softly. She
helped Laren and the baby get positioned for nursing. Will
stirred over on the Father's Bed. He rolled over and saw
that Laren was nursing Raulsta. Smiling he walked over to
her bedside. Raulsta was nursing hungrily.The nurse left,
giving Will and Laren privacy.

"He certainly has an appetite," said Laren with a wince.
"He sucks really hard."

Will chuckled, "Well, at least he's healthy." He sat in a
chair by the bedand reached out to softly stroke the tiny
head with his fingers. "Two point four kilograms." he said
with a sigh. "He's so tiny and fragile."

"Well, if he keeps eating like this, he won't be tiny very
long." said Laren.She stared down at their son. He looked
so much like Will. They both watched as he continued to
nurse.

"This is the best food for him. I'm going to breast feed him
for a year.Of course, when I go back to work, I'll have to
use a breast pump to fill bottles for the child care center.

"I'm really glad you're breast feeding him." began Will.
Breast fed babies are always the healthiest." He reached
over and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

The door chime sounded. "Come," said Will. The door
slid open andWorf, Deanna, and Guinan walked in.

"Oh, Laren," breathed Deanna. "He's beautiful."

"He certainly resembles Commander Riker," remarked
Worf as he looked at the baby.

"There's nothing more wonderful than a newborn baby."
said Guinan.

Raulsta had slowed his nursing, beginning to doze off to
sleep as henursed. When he was fully asleep, she pulled
her breast from his mouth.

"Guinan," she whispered. "Can you put him in the crib."

"Yes, I'll be glad to." She gently lifted the baby in her arms
and placed him in his crib. The rest of the visit was spent
in small talk.



********



When the seventy-two hours were finally up, Laren was
glad to be back in her own quarters. Raulsta was asleep in
his, and she was resting in bed. The stress of the delivery
had really taken a toll on her strength. She was still tiring
easily. The toxins from the endorphins caused her muscles
to ache. While Bajoran physiology could keep endorphin
toxins out of her breast milk it could not filter out pain
medications. There was nothing that could be done, except
for massaging the sore muscles and using thermal heat
packs. The worst pain was in her back. The muscles had
already been irritated earlier in the pregnancy by the baby's
position. Now the build up of toxins made the muscle pain
even worse.

Taking care of a newborn was hard. If it weren't for Will's
help and support, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to make it.
He had been so good to her. In the seventy-two hours she
and Raulsta had been confined to sickbay, he'd been with
her every minute. It was all the little things he's done.
Helping her in and out of bed while she was still weak,
giving her back rubs to ease the sore muscles caused by the
near toxic levels of endorphins in her system, and changing
diapers. He was taking his role as father very seriously. In
fact, she expected him at any minute. He was going to
have lunch with her and see if she needed anything.

The door chime sounded. "Come," she said. as she sat up
in bed. The door slid open, and Will, seeing her in bed,
came immediately to her side.

"Hello, Laren, how do you feel?" asked Will with
concern.

"I'm doing better. I just needed a little rest." She began to
get out of bed,and Will took her arm to help her up. He
held out her robe and helped her slip it overher arms.

"Thank you, Will, I still just don't seem to have my back in
shape yet. I've been doing those exercises Dr. Crusher told
me to. She said it would take time."

"Let me help you over to the table," He whispered so he
wouldn't wake up Raulsta. He took her hand and also slid
his arm around her waist, giving her support as she
walked. He eased her into a chair, then went to the
replicator. "Now, do you have any special requests, or
shall I surprise you?"

Laren smiled, "I'll let you surprise me." She hoped she
wouldn't be sorry. Some of Will's surprises were a little
bizarre at times. However, this time was not one of those
times. Will set a steaming bowl of stew in front of her.

"This looks delicious, Will. Thank you." She picked up
her spoon and dipped it into the soup and lifted it to her
mouth. "Mmmm tastes good too."

"I'm glad you like it. How's Raulsta been this morning?"
His eyes shoneat the mention of their child.

"He was up at 0600 to nurse, then he was up again at 1000
hours to nurse again. He's still nursing really well."

"That's good. He's a very important part of my life." He
looked directly into her eyes. "So are you, Laren."

Laren smiled, You're both very important to me too."

It didn't take long to finish lunch. Will quickly cleared the
dishes away.
"Laren, I don't need to be on the bridge for another thirty
minutes, would you like a backrub ?"
She nodded gratefully. "That would be wonderful. I can't
believe I'm still sore." She pushed back her chair and he
helped to her feet. They walked to the sleeping area. She
slid out of her robe and removed her pajama top. She
eased herself onto the bed and lay face down. Will took
the lotion from the night stand and squeezed some into his
hand. He rubbed his hands together, and then began to
smooth the lotion on her back. He rubbed firmly,
massaging deep into the sore muscles.

Laren sighed, "That feels so good." She closed her eyes
and relaxed.The touch of Will's hands was soothing and
eased the aching muscles in her back.

"I'm glad you like it." he whispered softly as he continued
to massage her back. He thought about how much he cared
for Laren. He wanted her. Not just in a sexual way, he
wanted to marry her. He wanted them to be a real family.
Raulsta deserved a complete family. He did not want him
growing up with a split family. He planned to bide his
time, and let her recover from the birth of their son. Then
he would ask her to marry him. They would be a family.
His child would never have a childhood like his with only
one parent living with him, and he would never, never
abandon hisson as his father had him.

Will realized it was time for him to return to the bridge.
He pulled the covers up over her, and leaned down near her
ear. "Laren, I have to go back to the bridge now." He
moved to kiss her, and she raised her head to meet his lips.
The kiss was incredibly sweet and tender. Laren put her
hand on his cheek as his tongue sought hers.

After a few moments, Will pulled back. "I'll be back at the
end of shift, Laren," he whispered. He quietly walked out
of her quarters.

Laren turned to her side and reached for her pajama top.
She slipped it back on. Raulsta was still asleep, but he
would be up soon. She lay back down and pulled the
covers back up. She thought about Will. They had gotten
so close. She let her mind float back to the brief affair they
had during the Sattarran incident. She'd never had such a
wonderful exciting lover before. Even today, as he
massaged her back, the touch of his hands had stirred
memories of passionate caresses. She longed for those
touches again.

********


Before she knew it, her nine week maternity leave was
over. Today was the first day she had to leave Raulsta in
the child care center. She checked his bag carefully.
Everything was there. She held Raulsta close and waited
for Will. He knew how hard it was going to be for her to
leave Raulsta, and had promised to go with her to take him
to the center. The past nine weeks had been wonderful.
Will, Raulsta and she had spent quite a bit of time together.
Usually, when Raulsta was down for the evening, they
would sit on the couch and talk and cuddle. Laren knew
there would soon come a night when she would have to
decide whether or not to let Will make love to her. Their
cuddling had become much more than cuddling. Last night,
Will had slid his hands under her shirt to caress her breasts.
She hadn't tried to stop him, and the caresses had felt so
good.......

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the door chime.

"Come," she said.

Will walked in and she stood to greet him. He looked at
the baby in her arms, and then pulled her into his arms to
kiss her. He kissed her deeply, enjoying the way she
responded to him.

He finally pulled back and said, "We'd better go, it wouldn't
do foryou to be late your first day back to work."

He picked up bag and they walked out. Inside the lift Will
noticed that Laren was very quiet and said, "Laren, I know
this is hard for you. He'll be okay. I promise." He put his
arms around her to comfort her.

The lift doors slid open and they walked the short distance
to the child care facility. Laren signed Raulsta in and left
slowly. Will followed her to the turbo lift. After the
doors closed, he took her in his arms.

"I know he'll be fine," she whispered. "It's just so hard to
leave him after spending nine weeks having him with me
all the time."

"It will get easier as days go by. The first day is always the
hardest," whispered Will in a comforting tone.

The lift began to slow and they pulled apart just before it
stopped and the doors opened. The both walked onto the
bridge.
The Captain smiled at her and stood up. Welcome back,
Ensign." He shook her hand warmly.

"It's good to be back, sir." she said simply. She took her
position at the con station. She knew it would be a boring
day. Star charting always was.

Finally, her shift was over. She and Will went together to
get Raulsta. As soon as she had him in her arms she felt
much better. Will took his bag and they both headed to her
quarters. Raulsta seemed to be hungry, so she hurried to
change into casual clothes to nurse him.

Soon they were sitting on the couch. Raulsta was eagerly
nursing. Will sat close beside them, his arm around Laren
as she nursed the baby. He looked at Laren's breast. His
mind wandered back to their brief affair that had resulted
in Raulsta being conceived. He remembered kissing and
caressing her breasts.

He recalled how eagerly she had responded to his love
making. He wanted her....He wanted to make love to her
again. He thought of the evenings they'd spent here in her
quarters since Raulsta's birth. How they had sat on the
couch kissing, and how last night she'd allowed him to
touch her breasts. It had been a natural progression, their
kisses had become so intense, that he had wanted more.
She had responded eagerly to that touch, kissing him more
passionately and pressing against his exploring hands.

He was brought back to the present as Laren pulled her
nipple out ofRaulsta's mouth. He was sound asleep. She
fastened her bra and pulled her shirt down. While Will
carried him to his crib, she went to the food replicator to
order supper for both of them. He joined her as she set the
tray on the table. It was a mixture of human and Bajoran
foods they both enjoyed. They began eating.

"This mission has to be the most boring one I've ever been
on," said Laren.

"For us, yes," began Will. "But Stellar Cartography is
having a ball."

"At least it was an easy day. Since I had to leave Raulsta
for the first time." She looked over to the crib where he
slept. "I missed being with him."

Will reached out and took her hand. "I know you did. It
will get easier asyou get back into your routine.

They finished the meal quietly. Will gave her a smile.
"You got the food,so I'll clean up." He gathered up the
dishes and took them back to the replicator.

While he cleaned up, she went to check on Raulsta. He
was sleeping peacefully, so she went to sit on the couch.
Will joined her, sitting close and putting his arm around
her. He drew her close, and she put her head on his
shoulder. They sat there awhile enjoying being alone with
each other.
After a bit, Will bent his head down and gently kissed her.
She shifted her body to return the kiss more fully. She felt
his strong muscular arms pull her close. His lips brushed
across her cheek, and he began kissing her neck. She
moved one hand to stroke his silky beard as his lips
traveled from her neck back to her lips. His tongue
prodded her lips playfully. She parted them and felt his
tongue brush against hers. Fires of passion coursed through
her body. She felt one of his hands fingering the hem of
her shirt. She kissed him harder as his hand slid under the
front of her shirt. His other hand began sliding up the back
of her shirt. Soon, she felt them unfastening her bra. He
moved one hand to caress her breasts, and the other pulled
her closer. She was awash in desire. One of her hands
found it's way under his shirt, and began to caress his chest.
He moaned softly and his hand slid from under her shirt
and came to rest on her knee. She felt the warmth of his
hand through her hose. It begin gliding up her thigh. As it
slid under her skirt, she realized they were reaching a point
of no return. She didn't care. She wanted this, and sensed
that Will did too. They had both known for some time that
this was going to happen. His hand come to rest on her hip.
Pulling her closer with his free hand, he slipped his hand
into the elastic waistband of her panties. He began to
massage and caress the area between her thighs. Her whole
body began to tremble, and her breathing quickened as he
continued to caress her.

She slid her hand down from his chest to his crotch. He
was hard. She stroked him through his pants, enjoying the
way he responded to her touch.

He nuzzled her neck with her lips and whispered urgently
in her ear. "Laren, I love you so much. Let me make love
to you."

She was beyond words, drowning is a sea of passion and
desire. She nodded her head against his chest. He stood
and lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He
lowered to her feet and held her close in a passionate
embrace. Soon, they were undressing each other. Clothes
fell to the floor as quickly as they were removed.

When they had undressed each other, Will gathered Laren
in his arms and pulled her down on the bed with him. Fires
of passion ignited them and consumed them.

Afterwards, they lay intertwined in each others arms. Will
looked down at her and decided now was the time to ask
her to marry him. Pulling her closer, he said, "Laren, I love
you and Raulsta so much. I want us to be a family. I want
to marry you."

She looked into his eyes and saw love and tenderness there.
The love and tenderness she wanted so badly. She nodded
her head. "I love you too, Will. I want us to be a family.
I'll marry you."

Will lifted her face to his and kissed her with a tenderness
she hadn't known he possessed. "Laren, we're going to be
a family now. I want us to get married as soon as possible.
I'm afraid that as far out as we are, there won't be anyplace
to go for our honeymoon."

She snuggled closer to him. "Well, there's always the Riker
Six on the holodeck deck. That would be a fun place to go.
We could spend one night there, and go off later on when
the opportunity arises."

Will smiled at her. "I agree. I think that the bear skin rug
would be the perfect spot to make love to you on our
wedding night."

"I see," she replied. "Bare skin on the bear skin rug.
Sounds very sexy."

Raulsta began to cry. Laren sat up. "It's time for him to
nurse again."

She began to get up, but Will stopped her. Let me get him.
I might as well practice since we're going to be a family.
He went to the crib and changed the baby's diaper. Then he
brought him to Laren. They sat quietly so he would go to
back to sleep when he finished nursing. When he finished
nursing, and had fallen back to sleep, Will carried him back
to his crib. Then he slipped back into bed beside Laren.

"You're a wonderful father, Will." she said as he drew her
into his arms.

"A wonderful father," he began. "Is that all?" One hand
stroked her body suggestively.

"No, you're also a fantastic lover," she said as she move
her head to kiss him."

"Well, in that case, "I'll give you more evidence to prove your
statement is true." Will pulled her on top of him and began
kissing her with rekindled passion


********



The next morning, Laren and Will sat down across from the
Captain in his ready room. He was fairly certain he knew
what they wanted, but waited for them to tell him.

"Captain, Laren and I want to get married," said Will.

The Captain smiled, "Have you set a date yet?"

"Not yet," began Laren. "But we want to be married as
soon as possible"

Will nodded in agreement, "The sooner the better."

"Well, Will, you know what to do. After all, it is the First
Officer who handles requests for Wedding Certificates.
You both come from different cultures, have you discussed
the type of wedding you want?

Laren spoke up, "We just want a regular ceremony in Ten
Forward. We're going to wear our dress uniforms. After
the ceremony, we want to have a small reception there
too."

Will smiled. "I had to talk her into doing that much. She
just wanted to be married here in your Ready Room with
the required witnesses and that was it."

The Captain smiled. "Usually it's the groom who wants to
simplify the wedding. But Laren, Will is right. Your
wedding should be something special to remember."

Will got all the information entered into the computer. In a
week, the wedding would take place. They'd be a family.
He smiled thinking of the sexy red night gown he'd gotten
for her as a surprise for the wedding night. Imagining her
in it made him wish he had not gotten her to agree to wait
until their wedding night before making love again. It
wasn't going to be an easy agreement to keep, but the way it
was kindling their passion it would be worth it. Their
wedding night would blaze with passion and desire.

Before they knew it, the wedding day arrived. At the
appointed time, Laren and Will stood before the Captain in
Ten Forward in the presence of their friends.

"Since the days when wooden ships first began to sail
across oceans, Captains have had the honor of marrying
men and women" began Captain Picard. "Today, I have
the honor of joining two of my Senior Officers in
marriage." He turned to Will. "Will, do you take Laren as
your wife. Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish her
until death do you part?"
He stared down at Laren with a loving gaze. "I do."

"And Laren, " continued the Captain. "Do you take Will as
your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish
him till death do you part?"

She looked up at Will with tears welling up in her eyes. "I
do." she said softly.
"Then by the power vested in me as Captain of the USS
Enterprise, I now pronounce you man and wife." He gave
them both a warm smile. "Will, you may kiss your
bride."

He took Laren into his arms and gave her a long passionate
kiss. Their friends all burst into applause.

The Captain stepped forward and hugged Laren and gave
her a kiss on the cheek. "You've got a good man, Laren."
Next, he shook Will's hand and said, "You have a very
special woman, Will." The others pressed forward to offer
their congratulations too.

The reception was wonderful. Guinan had insisted on
planning the whole thing. She had done a marvelous job.
As Laren dance her first dance with Will, she felt as if she
had finally found happiness.

At last, they stood before the doors of the Holo Deck.
Raulsta was being taken care of by Guinan for the night..
The doors opened, and they walked through the snow to the
cabin. They entered the cabin and closed the door. Will
picked up a package from the sofa.

"This is a special present I bought for you to wear tonight.
Go into the bathroom and put it on. You can also freshen
up a bit if you'd like. I made sure you have anything you
might want in the bathroom. I've got final preparations to
make out here," said Will.

She looked up at him with a loving smile. "I can't wait to
wear this for you." She turned and walked into the
bathroom. In the bathroom, she opened the box to find the
sexy red nightgown and matching bikini panties Will had
bought for her. She changed from her dress uniform to the
night gown. Next, she went to the dressing table. It was
set up with everything she could ask for. She touched up
her makeup and put on the perfume that Will loved for her
to wear. One quick glance in the full length mirror told her
she was ready. She walked out the bathroom door.

The room was lovely. Will had turned the lights down low.
A fire blazed in the fireplace. Will stood by it in a dark
blue robe. When he saw her coming out of the bathroom,
he picked up two glasses of sparkling cider and walked
over to her. He handed her a glass and raised the one in his
hand to a toast.

"Here's to us." he said softly.

"To us," she echoed touching her glass to his.

They both took a drink. Then Will put his arm around her
and led her to the bear skin rug by the fire. "I've been
thinking about this night since I decided to ask you to
marry me. Since we set the date, I've spent every night
fantasizing about making love to you here on the rug."

Laren sipped her drink thoughtfully. "I've thought a lot
about it too. Since we decided not to make love again until
tonight, I've been looking forward to this evening." She
took another sip, emptying her glass.

Will took her glass along with his and set them aside. Then
he drew Laren into his arms and kissed her tenderly. She
slipped her arms around him and allowed him pull her
down on the rug. His hands moved up and down her back
as he kissed her. Slowly, one hand slid down her arm and
guided her hand to the tie on his robe.

She pulled the tie loose and slid the robe off his shoulders.
He lay there next to her clad only in jockey shorts.

He slid her gown up and she lifted her body so he could
remove it. Then he pulled her to him, his hands caressing
her body. She completely surrendered to him.......

Later, they lay close together basking in the afterglow of
passionate love making. She had never dreamed she could
be this content. Will smiled at her and gently stroked her
cheek before kissing her softly.

"Well, Ensign Riker, how does it feel to be a married
woman."

"I love it, Will. The best part is having a wonderful, loving
husband." She lifted her lips and kissed him tenderly.

***********


In the days that followed, Laren and Will's life settled into a
happy routine. Between work and being a family they were
always busy. As Will had promised, it had gotten easier to
leave Raulsta in the child care facility while they were both
working.

Several weeks after the wedding, they were eating lunch in
their quarters. Will was in a playful mood and kept
touching Laren under the table as they ate.

"You're in a good mood today," remarked Laren. "Too bad
we have that Senior Staff meeting today at 1300 hours. I
can think of something else I rather be doing. How about
you?"

Will grinned, "Would it have anything to do with the way
I'm touching you now?" He slid his hand up the inside of
her thigh.

"You'd better believe it," she said as she leaned over and
kissed him passionately. Then she stood up and began to
clear the dishes from the table. As she passed him, he
playfully swatted her on the bottom. He watched her walk
over to the replicator to recycle the dirty dishes. She had a
wonderful body. He knew every inch of it intimately.
Since their marriage, the bed in their quarters had seen
action every night and other times too. The same was true
for other parts of their quarters. He wished he had time to
make love to her before the meeting, but there was only ten
minutes left. All the touching he'd done during lunch had
stirred up his desire for her.

They walked to the turbo lift together. As they waited,
Will put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back
against him, enjoying the feel of her body against his. She
fidgeted with embarrassment and hope no one would see
them. She loved Will dearly, but was shy about him
touching her in the more public areas of the ship. Quiet
corners of ten forward and the holodeck were different.
When the turbo lift doors opened, Will released her and
they stepped inside.

In the conference room, the Captain was outlining the
routine diagnostics that would be ran on all systems the
next day. Laren and Will sat side by side listening. Will's
mind drifted to the way they had spent lunch in the
quarters.. It had been fun and exciting to touch her under
the table. It would be more exciting to touch her during
the meeting. It would be a private secret they could laugh
about later. He casually put a hand down on her thigh.
Laren was startled and shifted position abruptly.

"Is something wrong, Ensign Riker?" asked Captain
Picard.

Laren blushed, there was no way she was going to explain
what just happened. "No sir." she replied.

The Captain gave both of them a strange look and
continued with the meeting. Laren glared up at Will, who
just gave her a good natured smile. A few seconds later,
Will reached down and began caressing her thigh again.
This time, she sat rigidly still. She also noticed that the
Captain was staring at them again, but continuing with the
meeting as if nothing were wrong. She quickly moved
Will's hand off her thigh as soon as the Captain glanced to
the other side of the room. Will smiled at her, ignoring the
warning that was flashing in her eyes. No sooner than she
had folded her hands on the table, did Will reach down and
start caressing her thigh again.

She was determined not to move and disrupt the Captain's
meeting again. When this shift was over, Will would find
out just how angry she was.

The meeting finally ended. They all went to their stations.
Laren sat atthe Con seething. How could Will have done
something like that to her? In their quarters, in the
holodeck deck, or a quiet corner of Ten Forward was fine,
but to touch her in such an intimate way during a meeting
of the senior staff was inexcusable, as well as inconsiderate
of her feelings. She worked silently, keeping her eyes fixed
in front of her. She could not begin to imagine what had
come over Will.

Towards the end of her shift, the child care facility called
and informed them that Raulsta had been crying for
forty-five minutes and they had been unable to soothe him.
The Ensign in charge of infants felt he was probably
hungry. Raulsta didn't have any bottles of breast milk left.
The Captain immediately excused Laren to go see to her
son. As she left the bridge, Will flashed her a smile, and
told her to take good care of him. She merely gave him a
cold stare as she left the bridge.

Raulsta was crying very hard when she got there. She
gathered him inher arms and held him close. Recognizing
his mother, he stopped crying and just whimpered as he
rooted against her shoulder. She was now absolutely
certain that he was hungry. She hurried with him to their
quarters so she could nurse him.

Once they were inside, she lay him on the bed, quickly
stripped off her uniform and put on her robe. All the while,
Raulsta cried and wailed. She scooped him up into her
arms and settled in a chair. She opened the top of the robe,
unfastened a cup on her bra and drew his face to her breast.
He immediately latched onto the nipple and began to nurse,
his tears and whimpers dissolving into contented sounds.

"There, there, now," she murmured in a soothing voice. It's
okay. Mom's here," She decided it was time to start him on
cereal. The breast milk was not keeping him satisfied
anymore. She and Dr. Crusher had discussed it earlier this
week, and the Doctor had given her a list of several cereals
available from the replicator that were appropriate for him.
She would have to update his records at the child care
center so they would be able to feed him cereal there too.

For now though, she just let him nurse. His eyes stared up
at her as he nursed. Eyes that looked so much like his
father's eyes.

She closed her eyes and made great effort to keep her anger
in check. Tension and anger would only slow the flow of
milk. Right now, Raulsta needed her full attention. Later
on, she would have plenty of time to give Will a piece of
her mind. After about fifteen minutes of nursing, he feel
into a contented sleep. She stood slowly, walked to the
crib and eased him down.

She readjusted her bra and robe, then sat down at the desk
to work on the computer. She wanted to review the
diagnostic procedures for the con station. She was in the
middle of the review when Will walked in.

He stared at her with a playful leer, remembering how
much fun they had had at lunch. Then he walked over to
where she was sitting, intending to continue the game. He
put his hands down on her shoulders and bent down to kiss
her.

Abruptly she stood up and pushed him away.

"Hey, what wrong?" asked Will.

Laren's eyes flashed with anger. "After the way you were
pawing me in the staff meeting, what do you expect? You
embarrassed me in front everyone." As angry as she was,
she made an extreme effort to keep her voice down so
Raulsta would not wake up.

"Oh come on, Laren, you loved it." said Will in surprise.

"You weren't listening to what I said. A meeting of the
senior staff is hardly the place for you to paw my thighs,
even if we are married. The Captain certainly noticed what
was going on. I have never been so embarrassed in my life.
There are times and places to touch each other, but a staff
meeting certainly isn't one of them." She gave him an icy
glare.

"No one would have noticed if you'd played it cool. It was
meant to be a secret between the two of us. A little bit of
fun. A private secret we could laugh about later." stormed
Will.

"You don't seem to care that you've embarrassed me. All
you have on your mind is sex. Marriage is more that sex.
It's also treating each other with mutual respect. You
certainly didn't treat me with respect at that meeting," she
snapped.

Will walked to the door. As it slid open, he turned to her.
"I'll be back later. When you cool down, you'll see how
silly you're being about this. Then we'll both laugh about
it."

She glared and made an extreme effort not to yell. "Don't
bet on it."

As he walked out the door, she sat back down. They had
not had a fight since they had been married. She wondered
if this would mean the end their marriage. Will was so
angry, and he had walked out........She cleared her mind and
forced herself to focus on the data filled computer screen.

Will wandered aimlessly through the ship. What on earth
had gone wrong. They had had such a passionate lunch.
When he had touched her on the sly in the staff meeting, he
was sure she would enjoyed the secret continuation of the
sensual game they had started at lunch. He'd returned to
their quarters after his shift ended expecting a romantic,
sensual, passionate evening with Laren. He certainly hadn't
expected to get into a fight. As he rounded a curve near his
office, he saw Captain Picard. Will wondered if Laren was
right, and if the Captain had been aware of what he had
being doing.

"Number One," began the Captain. I'd like to speak to you
in private.
"Yes sir." said Will softly. "My office is just two doors
down. Would you like to talk in there."

The Captain nodded, and they went into Will's office and
sat down.

"Will, I try to stay out of the crew's private lives, but when
private lives interfere with their job performance, I have no
choice but to intervene."

Will sat quietly, certain that the Captain was going to
discuss his behavior in the staff meeting.

"Today, during the staff meeting your behavior towards
Laren was inappropriate and unprofessionally," continued
the Captain.

"Captain, I was...."

"This is not a discussion, Number One," interrupted the
Captain. "Staff meetings are hardly the place for
indiscriminate touching of others. It makes no difference
what type of relationship you have with that person. You
embarrassed Laren today in front of her fellow officers."
He shook his head. "I've never seen you act in such a
manner. If there are any recurrences, there will be an
official reprimand placed in your record. I suggest you
apologize to Laren, immediately."

"Yes sir," replied Will. "I behaved badly during the
meeting, sir, and I apologize. It won't happen again. I'll go
and apologize to Laren right now,"

Will walked back to their quarters. He'd certainly made a
mess of things. He could only hope she would accept his
apology. If she was too hurt and angry, and decided she
couldn't trust him anymore, then left him.......He blocked
that thought out of his mind.. He had to believe she would
accept the apology.

He walked in the door, and she looked up from the
computer where she was working. When he saw her tear
stained face, Will felt even worse than he had when he left
Captain Picard. He had clearly hurt the woman who meant
the world to him.

He walked over to where she sat. Being careful not to
touch her uninvited, he began. "Laren, I'm sorry. I.....I....I
treated you very badly. I never meant to hurt you or
embarrass you."

She stood up, her eyes filling with more tears and took a
step towards him. He reached out and drew her into his
arms.

"I am so sorry, Laren." He held her close.

She looked up at him. "When you walked out during the
fight, I was afraid. You were so angry. I thought you were
leaving for good. I love you, and I don't want to lose
you."

His arms tightened around her. "Laren, I love you. I would
never leave you. From now on, when we fight, let's
promise never to walk out. No matter how angry we are.
We'll stay in the room until the fight is over, or until we
mutually agree postpone the fight for a cooling off period.
Agreed?"

She nodded her head against his chest. He lifted her face
with one hand and began to wipe the tears away.

"Captain Picard chewed me out for the way I treated you. I
deserved the lecture he gave me too." said Will softly.

"He gave you a reprimand for this." she whispered
sorrowfully.

Will shook his head, touched by her concern. "No, not this
time. He did make me see how wrong I though. He pulled
her closer and kissed her tenderly. She melted in his arms,
feeling the warm security of his love.

"You know, Laren, when married couples have a fight,
afterwards, they make up." He gave her a welcoming
smile. "Will you let me make up with you now?"

She looked at him with a knowing gleam in her eyes. "Just
what do we do to make up."

"Well, I would take you to our bed and make passionate
love to you." said Will huskily.

She nodded her head. "That sounds perfect."

He bent down and kissed her passionately. She responded
to his kiss with equal passion, feeling loved and secure.
Will lifted her into his strong arms and carried her to their
bed....


Later that evening, Laren lay nestled in Will's arms.
Passion had consumed them in a way that it never had
before. Now they lay close together in each others arms.

"Laren," began Will gently. "I noticed in the corridor today
while we were waiting for the turbo lift that you seemed
uncomfortable when I pulled you against me. Were
you?"

"Yes, I was," she admitted. "I love it when you touch me in
the privacy of our quarters, on the holodeck deck, and even
in the quiet corners of Ten Forward. But in the more
public parts of the ship....." She trailed off for a few
moments, as if searching for the right words. "It's just that I
worry what other people think when they see us. I know
that since we're married that there's nothing wrong with it
when we're not working.....I don't why I get embarrassed so
easily. I'll try to get used to it, because I know you're doing
to show me love."

"Laren, I don't want to embarrass you. What touches would
you feel the most comfortable with in public areas." asked
Will in an understanding voice.

She thought for a few moments. "Well, I would enjoy
holding hands, and I think you to putting your arm around
my waist would be a good start."

Will smiled at her. "Okay, then that's what I'll do." He
drew her closer and kissed her softly. "Now, I think we
should get something to eat. Don't you?"

She smiled. "I agree. I am hungry." She sat up and
reached for her robe which was on the floor by the bed.
She put it on and walked over to the replicator. Will put on
his robe and followed her. As she ordered the dinners, he
put his arms around her, holding her close. When the food
appeared, she picked up the trays. Will released her and
took his tray. They walked to the table and sat down to eat.

"I'm going to start Raulsta on cereal. Dr. Crusher and I
discussed it earlier this week, and she thinks it's a good
idea. The breast milk just doesn't seem to be enough for
him anymore," said Laren.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'm so glad you decided to breast
feed him. I can't believe how big he's gotten. Your milk
has made him so strong and healthy."

She smiled at him. "I couldn't do it without your support.
Some men would really object to their wives nursing a
baby." She reached over and touched his hand. "I also
realize that since Raulsta is breast fed you've missed out on
feeding him. Would you like to feed him the cereal before
I nurse him."

Will beamed at her. "I would love that. I've missed
feeding him, but I wouldn't want him on a bottle when your
breast milk is the best thing for him."

"Is giving him a bottle the only thing you miss since I'm
breast feeding him?" she asked with a sly, sexy smile.

"No, but when he's weaned, I'll make up for lost time," said
Will lustfully.

Just as they finished eating, Raulsta began crying in his
crib. Laren smiled at Will, "Go to the replicator and order
up Infant Cereal #351." She walked over to the crib and
changed Raulsta's diaper. Then she returned to the table
where Will was waiting with the cereal and placed their
son in his arms.

"Hey Raulsta," he began softly. "I have a special treat for
you tonight." He spooned some cereal into his mouth.
Raulsta got a surprised expression on his face and
swallowed. Then he opened his mouth for more.

"Well, what do you know? He likes it." said Will
cheerfully.

"Good, maybe he'll go longer between feedings now." said
Laren gratefully.

When Raulsta finished his cereal, Will handed him to
Laren so she could nurse him. He nursed for about ten
minutes, then drifted off to sleep. She quietly carried him
to his crib and lay him down.

As she turned away from the crib, she saw that Will had
followed her. She looked up into his eyes, then stepped
closer to him and slid her arms around him.

He bent his head down and kissed her with a blazing
passion. He guided her over to their bed, and they sank
down on it together.

********



The next morning the chiming of their alarm woke them
up. Will gave her a warm good morning kiss as she lay
sleepily in his arms.

"Good morning, sleepy head. I love you." he whispered
tenderly.

She looked into his eyes and murmured, "I love you too."

"We're going to have to hurry, Laren," began Will. "We
both need to shower, and Raulsta needs to be fed, bathed
and dressed too."

She nodded slowly. "We're going to be late if we don't
hurry." She pulled out of Will's arms and sat up. Looking
over at the crib, she saw that Raulsta was laying on his
stomach playing with an activity board on the side of the
crib. When he saw his parents up, he began cooing and
smiling at them.

Will walked over to the crib. "I have a suggestion, Laren.
You go shower while I change Raulsta's diaper and feed
him his cereal. Then, while I shower you can nurse him.
After I get out of the shower and get dressed, I'll bathe
Raulsta and dress him while you finish getting ready. Then
you and I can grab breakfast bars on the way out."

"Sounds great," said Laren. She looked around the room,
and finally spotted her robe on the floor near the bed where
Will had tossed it last night. She grabbed it and headed for
the shower.

As warm water coursed over her body, she let her mind
wander back to the last time she and Will had showered
together. Showering together was always a fantastically
sensual experience. She wanted to shower with him now,
there just wasn't time. Maybe tonight, she thought happily.
She cut off the water and stepped out of the shower. She
briskly dried herself off and put a towel around her wet
hair. Then she slid her robe on.

When she came out of the bathroom, Will handed Raulsta
to her and went to take his shower. While he showered,
she sat in a chair and nursed Raulsta. It was hard to believe
he was already five months old. In seven months, it would
be time to wean him. Then she'd get a birth control
injection. As much as she loved Raulsta, she wasn't ready t
have another baby so soon.

Will came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped
around his waist. He pulled his uniform out of the closet
and began to dress.

"As soon as I'm ready, I'll take him so you can finish getting
ready," said Will.

When he was dressed, he took Raulsta to the bathroom and
quickly bathed and dressed him. At the same time, Laren
hurried to finish getting ready.

Finally they were all ready to go. Laren gave Will a soft
smile. "I think I need a kiss before we go." She slid her
hands up his chest and put her arms around his neck. He
bent down and gave her a long, sensuous kiss.

As he pulled back, he smiled down at her. "Feeling better
now?" he asked.

"Always after a kiss from you." she sighed.


************


Captain Picard looked up as the turbo lift doors slid open.
He saw Laren and Will step out. From the expressions on
their faces, he know Will had made things right. They both
took their stations.

When the relief crew came on for the lunch break, Laren
and Will checked with the child care facility and
discovered Raulsta was down for a nap. Since he was
napping, they decided to go to Ten Forward for lunch.
They made their selections and found a quiet corner. Both
of them put down their trays and sat close together. In the
dimly lit booth, Will gave her a quick kiss. Then, she
surprised him by pulling him back for a longer, more
passionate kiss.

"You're sure in a good mood today." commented Will
happily.

She smiled at him. "Yes, I am."

As they began eating, she slipped her hand down to caress
Wills thigh. He sighed softly and slid his hand along the
inside of her thigh.

She leaned close and whispered in his ear. "You know, this
morning while I was showering, I got to thinking how
much fun it is to shower together. It been a long time since
we've done that. I really want to do it again, very soon."
She gave him a seductive look, and she let her hand brush
against his crotch.

"I'll take you up on that invitation tonight," he said
playfully. "As soon as Raulsta is asleep tonight, you and I
can get into the shower."

All too soon it was time to return to the bridge. Will took
her hand as they walked out of Ten Forward and towards
the Turbo Lift. She pulled him closer and he slid his arm
around her waist. She smiled up at him, a part of her
wanted to kiss him, but she was just too inhibited to do it in
the corridor. She hoped she would lose these inhibitions
soon. She was making progress. Here they were in a
public area of the ship and she was letting him put his arm
around her waist.

It seemed as if the shift would never end. It had been an
uneventful four hours. Nothing of interest, just more
diagnostics, but it was finally over. Once they were in their
quarters, Will fed Raulsta some cereal while Laren changed
out of her uniform. It was too awkward to nurse Raulsta in
her uniform.

She took him from Will and settled down on the couch to
nurse him. Will sat down beside her and put his arm
around her shoulders. He was anticipating the rest of the
evening. Raulsta usually fell asleep as he nursed. Soon,
they would be in the shower together. They'd been so busy,
too busy in fact. He vowed to make more time to do things
with Laren and Raulsta.

As soon as Raulsta was asleep, Laren put him in his crib.
At the same time, Will called up a simple menu from the
replicator for their supper. They both sat down to eat, each
very aware of the other. As they ate, their hands frequently
explored each other's bodies. When dinner was finished,
they quickly cleaned up the dirty dishes. Laren made one
more quick check on Raulsta, and then she allowed Will to
lead her into the bathroom. They undressed each other
slowly, wanting to prolong the experience. Once they were
undressed, Will turned on the water, and they both stepped
inside.......

Afterwards, they lay together in bed completely spent. Will
had dozed off to sleep. Laren reflected on how their lives
had changed since she first told Will she was pregnant with
his child. Their relationship had progressed from fellow
officers, to friends, to falling in love, to getting married.
She looked at Will sleeping beside her, his arms still
wrapped around her. He was a loving husband and father.
He doted on Will. He treated her lovingly. The one fight
they'd had since their wedding was quickly made up. Will
was also a fantastic lover. Every since their wedding night,
there had not been a day that they had not made love at
least once. She considered herself lucky to have a man like
Will. He really loved her. She had no doubt about that.

Sleepiness was beginning to overtake her, so she nestled her head
against Will's shoulder and fell asleep.


********



The day had finally come. Will and Laren were at Risa for
their long awaited honeymoon. Since Laren was nursing,
they had to take Raulsta with them. That would not pose a
problem though, as Risa had an excellent child care
industry to cater to visiting parents. They planned to spend
four wonderful days together.

On their next to last day, Will and Laren were walking on
the beach. They had had such a wonderful time so far.
They were in a quiet secluded area of the beach. Will
stopped and pulled her into a close embrace. He kissed her
passionately, and wondered how she was going to respond
to his suggestion that they go "Skinny dipping." They were
all alone on the beach, so no one would see or know.

"Laren," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go for a swim."

"Will, our suits are back in the room." answered Laren.

"We could go swimming without them. Skinny dipping is
fun." Will held her close and looked into her eyes.

"You really want us to swim in the nude, don't you?" she
asked quietly. She glanced around, they were totally alone,
and it would clearly meant a lot to Will. "Okay,I'll do it."
she answered in an uncertain voice. It could be fun she
thought as she began to undress.

They swam and splashed in the warm water. Before long,
Laren was nolonger inhibited by the fact she was naked,
and was really enjoying herself. It was so good to just relax
and not have to worry about what other people might think.
Will had disappeared from view. As she wondered where
he had gone, two arms slipped around her waist, and a
familiar voice whispered in her ear. "Are you having a
good time?" She turned to face Will, and he pulled her
close, kissing her as he ran his hands up and down her
back. She responded to his kisses with an eager intensity.
His kisses grew even more demanding, his hands more
provocative as he moved her toward the shore and pulled
her down onto the damp sand. She was so aroused, she
didn't care where they were. They made love there on the
damp sand with the surf pounding just below their feet.

Later that evening in their suite, they were enjoying dinner
by candle light. Raulsta was asleep for the night.

"I had fun today, Will. The time we spent on the beach was
so romantic."

Will slid his arm around her shoulders. "I wish we didn't
have to go homet omorrow. I've really enjoyed the time
we've spent here,"

He glanced over at the bed and saw the Horga'hn he had
bought for her sitting on the bed.

She smiled when she saw he had noticed it.

He turned to look at her. "Is that an invitation, Laren?" he
asked teasingly.

For an answer, she pulled his face close to hers and gave
him a deep,searching kiss. His arms pulled her closer as he
returned the kiss.

Suddenly, she pulled back and darted out of her chair. Will
looked at her in confusion, wondering what was wrong.
She reached out and tapped his shoulder. "You're it." she
said in a teasing voice. Then she scampered playfully
across the room.

It sunk in instantly, and Will jumped up in pursuit. He was
fast, but she was more agile and kept out maneuvering him.
They were both enjoying the game. He continued to chase
her as she darted around the room. It was wonderful to see
her so playful and relaxed. She turned around and walked
backwards as he continued to pursue her. She
miscalculated her course and fell into a chair. Seeing his
chance, Will pounced and pulled her into his arms. The
game had aroused his passion and desire to unbelievable
levels. He kissed her as he pulled her to their bed. She
laughed with delight, never had she dreamed married life
could be so fun. In the past two months, she had managed
to lose some of her inhibitions, and now here on Risa it
seemed she was losing even more of them.

The next morning Laren woke with a stinging sensation on
the parts of her body that had been covered with clothes
before they went skinny dipping. She sat up and saw she
had a very bad case of sunburn.

"Ouch, you're really burned bad," said Will with sympathy.

"I'll have fun explaining to Dr. Crusher why I'm sunburned
in such unusual places," said Laren ruefully.

"Hey, I'm sure she's been skinny dipping before too.
There's no reason for you to be embarrassed or ashamed,"
he said comfortingly. He leaned over and kissed her, being
careful not to bump her sunburned skin.

Later that day in sick bay, Laren waited nervously for Dr.
Crusher.

"What seems to be the problem, Laren?" asked Dr. Crusher
as she walked into the examination room.

"Well," began Laren in an embarrassed voice. "Will and I
went skinny dipping on Risa yesterday, and I got a really
bad sunburn." She pulled the sick bay gown down and
revealed dark red skin.

Dr. Crusher smiled. "I understand. The same thing
happened to me the first time Jack and I went skinny
dipping. You're going to have to spend some time under a
dermal regeneration unit. Ten minutes on each side should
do it. Follow me."

"Will didn't get sunburned at all. He just got a fantastic
tan," remarked Laren.

"You've got much fairer skin that he does, Laren. From
now on, always make sure you use plenty of sun screen,"
said Dr. Crusher. "You'll need to lie here on the table. I'll
set the unit for ten minutes. Then I'll reset it for your
back."

Once the machine started, Dr. Crusher left. The healing rays caused a
pleasant tingling sensation. Before she knew it, the ten minutes
were up, and she was laying on her stomach completing the treatment.


********


Later that afternoon, Laren was rocking Raulsta when Will
entered their quarters. He smiled at them. "Well, it looks
as if Dr. Crusher took care of your sunburn." He walked
over and bent down to give her a kiss. Then he gently
stroked Raulsta's head. "Doesn't he usually take a nap
about this time?"

"Yes, but he's been really fussy this afternoon. It may be
the time change that has him upset. Risa time and ship's
time don't match."

"You're probably right," said Will. "It looks like he's
almost asleep now,"

"I'm going to hold him for a few more minutes. Just to be
sure. The last time I laid him down, he woke up crying
Immediately."

Will sat on the bed by her chair watching his wife and son.
His life was great. He had a loving wife and a wonderful
son. It was amazing how much fatherhood had changed
him. He smiled as Laren stood up and gently eased Raulsta
into his crib. This time he stayed asleep.

She motioned Will to follow her out of the bedroom. "Let's
have some coffee," she whispered as she walked to the
replicator. She continued to speak softly. "Computer, two
decaf coffees with sugar." After a soft hum, two cups of
steaming coffee appeared. She took one and handed the
other to Will. Then she walked over to the couch and he
followed her. They sat down and began to drink their
coffee.

"I had fun while we were on Risa." she whispered softly.
She gazed affectionately at Will, "I'm glad we went."

"You certainly loosened up while we were there." began
Will. "I was surprised when you agreed to go skinny
dipping with me,"

"I enjoyed it. I think we could repeat the experience on the
holodeck deck," she gazed at him speculatively, gauging
his reaction to her suggestion.

"Sounds like fun. We'll just have to make sure you have on
plenty of sun screen. You don't want to be sun burned
again." said Will as he eased an arm around her shoulders.
He drew her close, and she cuddled her head into his
shoulder.

She thought about how different her life had become. In
her wildest dreams, she had never imagined that her life
would turn out this way. She had a husband who loved her,
and they had a son who was a great joy to them. She lifted
her head and kissed Will tenderly. He put both arms
around her and kissed her in return. It was a lingering kiss
of sweet passion. She felt flames of desire stirring deep
within her. She wanted to make love with Will. She
wanted to feel his hands gliding over her body.

She nuzzled his ear with warm, eager lips. "Will, I want
you. Let's make love here on the couch so we won't wake
up Raulsta."

He drew her closer, pulling her down to lie against his
chest and slid her loose dress up and pulled it over her
head. Her hands began to feverishly remove his shirt.
Their passion for each other took over....


Over supper that evening, they continued talking about
their trip. Will was pleased to see Laren so animated. She
had come so far since she had first told him of her
pregnancy. No longer was she the tense withdrawn young
woman she had been. She had blossomed in the warmth of
his love.

"I wish we could have spent longer on Risa." she said with
a smile. "We had so much fun. I really did relax and enjoy
myself."

"I hope you continue to relax and loosen up. You really
came alive while we were there. Frankly, no one would
have believed you had any inhibitions."

"I'm trying to be less inhibited. I know if I can keep the
habits I started on Risa, that it will be an improvement,"
she said softly.

"I'll like that," said Will. "You have no idea how much I
enjoy touching you. Human men express themselves with
touch more than with words."

"I know," she began softly. "I've also noticed that other
crew members who are married don't seem to have any
problems with touching in the more public areas of the
ship. I'm ready to try it too."

Will smiled at his wife. "We'll take it slow and easy. If I
ever make you feel uncomfortable, please let me know. I
love you and I don't want to hurt you."

She took his hands in hers. Will saw the desire in her eyes,
and answered it with the same look in his eyes....

The next morning, they woke up to the sounds of Raulsta
crying in great distress. Laren jumped out of bed not
bothering with her robe. She picked him up and said,
"Will, he's burning up. We need to take him to sickbay
now."

Her concerned expression spurred Will into action. He
quickly dressed as Laren comforted Raulsta. Once he was
dressed, he took the baby while she dressed. Raulsta
continued crying in spite of all his efforts to comfort him.

"Will, you don't suppose he contracted some illness while
we were on Risa, do you?" she asked as she clutched
Raulsta to her chest. They were hurrying down the corridor
to sickbay.

"It's possible. The best thing we can do is get him to
sickbay and let Dr. Crusher check him out." answered
Will.

It seemed like an eternity before they got to sickbay. Will
had notified Dr. Crusher, and she was waiting for them.
She took Raulsta from Laren and laid him on an
examination table. She picked up the Tricorder and began
scanning. After a few moments, she snapped it shut.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" asked Laren
breathlessly. She clutched Will's hand convulsively, as fear
for her son gripped her heart.

"He's running fever because he's cutting a tooth. That
happens sometimes, but his fever is high. We need to get it
down. I'll give him somebaby anacephalin. It's a fever
reduction medication for infants." She picked up a hypo
spray and gave him an injection. "We also need to get him
into a lukewarm bath. His fever is dangerously high."
"How high is ?" asked Will as they followed the doctor to
the sink where she was running water for Raulsta.

"It's 103.8 F. That's very high for a baby. Laren, come here
and undress Raulsta and put him in this water."

Raulsta had ceased crying, and listlessly allowed his
mother to strip him. She lowered him in the lukewarm
water. Will came to stand beside her. They both took turns
holding him and pouring water across his body.

Finally, the fever broke. Laren felt tears of relief roll down
her cheeks. She lifted Raulsta out of the sink and dried
him off. Then she quickly dressed him so he wouldn't get
chilled. Will stood close by her helping all he could.

Dr. Crusher smiled at them. "I believe he'll be fine now.
I'm sending a hypo of the medicine along with this fever
sensor. If his temperature starts to go up, give him a dose.
It's pre-measured, so all you have to do is give him the
injection. He can have a dose every four hours. The sensor
is very easy to operate. Attach the patch to the back of his
neck. Then turn the unit on. It will give you a constant
read out of his temperature. If his temperature goes above
101, bring him back to sickbay immediately. Since you
two go back on duty tomorrow, I'd like you to leave Raulsta
in sickbay instead of the child care center. That way, we
can monitor him. If he spikes another temperature, we'll be
able to care for him here,"

"Thank you, Dr. Crusher," said Will gratefully.

"Yes, thank you so much," said Laren. "I was so
frightened. He's so little and he's never been sick before."

Laren and Will both walked out of sickbay. Laren held
Raulsta close, relieved that his fever had caused by teething
and not illness. Many babies had died of various diseases
in the Bajoran resettlement camps.

Will carried a case of supplies from sick bay the doctor had
given them to care for Raulsta with one hand. His other
arm was placed around Laren, giving her reassurance and
comfort.

Once they were in their quarters, Will opened the case, and
they began to set up the monitor. He very quickly attached
the patch on the back of Raulsta's neck. The medicine was
making him very drowsy. Laren sat down and began to
rock him, keeping her eyes glued to the read out on the
temperature sensor. His temperature had broken while they
were in sickbay. It still read within normal limits. Will sat
on the bed near the chair. Soon, Raulsta was sleeping.

"Laren, why don't you put him in his crib now," began Will
gently. "He'll rest more comfortably there."

She looked at him and nodded slowly. "You're right,"
With great reluctance she put Raulsta back in the crib.

Will could see how stressed she was. He pulled her into his
arms to comfort her. "He's going to be just fine. I know
just what you need. I'm going to run you a hot bath. I want
you to soak for a while. It will help you relax. Afterwards,
I'll give you a back rub." He released her and walked into
the bathroom. She sat in the rocking chair and listened to
the running water. Will was being so considerate. She
knew he was just as worried as she was, and he was putting
her needs ahead of himself.

Will walked into the bedroom with a smile. "There, it's all
ready. You go soak for a while. I'll be here to look after
Raulsta." He took her hand and guided her to the
bathroom. "When you're through, I'll give you a back rub.
That ought to loosen up those tight muscles."

As she walked into the bathroom, a familiar aroma took her
by surprise. Will had put her favorite bath oil in the water.
He'd even hung her robe nearby for her to put on after her
bath. She undressed and stepped into the tub. The warm
water felt so good. She closed her eyes and let the warm
water slowly relax her. As she relaxed, she thought about
Will. He was so caring. She had never seen this side of
him before she had gotten pregnant. Her fears of how they
would manage to get along had never materialized. They
had only had one fight. Will was a very special person.
She sighed and let her mind drift over the past months
since she had told him she was pregnant with his child.

After soaking for thirty minutes, she got out and dried off.
Then she slid into her robe and walked into the bedroom.
During her soak, she had come to the conclusion that she
didn't want a back rub to relieve her stress. She had an idea
that would relieve stress for both of them.

Will looked up at her as she walked around to her side of
the bed. He had already turned the covers down so she
could lie in bed for her back rub. She smiled, anticipating
his response to what she was going to do.

"Ready for your back rub?" he asked.

She slid off her robe and got into bed with a smile. As she
lay on her side, she gave him a sultry look. I thought of
something that would relax both of us, and it's not a back
rub." She patted the bed. "Interested?" Will sat on the
edge of the bed, and began removing his boots.

Later on, just before noon, Raulsta began crying. Laren
and Will both quickly checked the sensor read out. His
temperature was still normal. They both breathed a sigh of
relief.

"I bet he's hungry. He's hasn't eaten today." said Laren as
she began to change his diaper. "Will, why don't you go get
his cereal from the replicator. Get number 489. That one
has fruit in it."

Will walked over to the replicator in the other room. Laren
finished changing Raulsta's diaper, then she took him to
their bed and sat down in the bed as Will came walking in
with the cereal. He sat in the chair by the bed and took
Raulsta.

Raulsta ate slowly, spitting out every other spoonful. It
took nearly twenty minutes to feed him his cereal. When
he was finished, Will passed him back to Laren so she
could nurse him. She opened her robe and brought his face
to her breast. As soon as he felt his mother's skin against
his cheek, he began rooting for the nipple. He found it and
began to nurse contentedly.

Laren smiled down at her son. "Is my boy feeling better
now?" she whispered softly as he continued to nurse.
They sat quietly and waited on him to finish. When he had
fallen asleep, Will took him from Laren's arms and put him
in his crib.

"Well, he's sleeping again." said Laren. She glanced at the
monitor his temperature was up slightly. It had been four
hours, so she took the hypo and gave him another shot. He
stirred a little, but did not wake up.

"I hope his temperature doesn't shoot back up." She gave
Will a worried glance.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Laren," said Will reassuringly.
"Now, I suggest we get ourselves some lunch too."
She followed him to the outer room.

Leaving Raulsta in sick bay the next morning was difficult.
His temperature had gone up again last night. It had gotten
to 100.7. They gave him more medicine and bathed him in
lukewarm water for thirty minutes before his fever broke.

As she glanced behind her looking the doors to sickbay,
Will slid his arm around her.

"He'll be okay. Dr. Crusher will take good care of him." he
said.

Laren looked up at Will. "I know. I just hate to leave him
when he doesn't feel well. Dr. Crusher says his tooth will
probably be in today or tomorrow. Then he shouldn't run
anymore fever. I asked her if this would happen every time
he got a new tooth. She said she didn't know. Sometimes a
babies run a fever when they cut a new tooth. Other times
they don't She shook her head. "Being a parent isn't
easy."

"No, it isn't. Raulsta is lucky to have you for a mother, and
I very lucky to have you for a wife." He drew her into his
arms and kissed her as they waited for the turbo lift. She
offered no resistance, instead she responded tenderly.

"I guess you liked that touch." he said with a smile as they
broke apart when the lift doors opened.

"Yes, I did." she whispered.

When they picked up Raulsta at the end of their shift, he
was cooing happily. His tooth had come through late that
afternoon. They took him with them to Ten Forward for
supper. He babbled and cooed as he sat on Will's lap eating
his cereal. Laren laughed when cereal fell with a splat on
Will's uniform as Raulsta babbled at his father.

"Here," she said. "Let me help you wipe that off. You've
got your hands full." She took a napkin and cleaned the
cereal off of Will's uniform. They smiled at each other.
Their son was truly unpredictable. Raulsta looked at his
mother, then pushed away the spoon and reached for his
mother.

"I guess he doesn't want those last few bites of cereal,
Will." She took Raulsta in her arms and he began to root
against the front of her uniform.

"I think we'd better go, he knows exactly what he wants."
chuckled Will.

Laren smiled. This was not the first time that Raulsta had
rooted against her in public, nor would it be the last. She
walked to the door, following Will.

In their quarters, she sat on the couch nursing Raulsta.
Will was working at his desk, finishing up a report. "He
certainly was the center of attention in Ten Forward.
Sometimes having the youngest child on board is definitely
a disadvantage."

"Oh, I don't know about that, Laren. I think the attention is
good for him. He is a very sociable child. He loves being
around other people. Look at how much fun he has at the
child care center. OUCH!! Raulsta, don't bite." She
looked up at Will. "He just bit me. That's something Dr.
Crusher warned me about. She said when it happens to
pull him away from my breast for a few seconds."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Especially since you've
got six more months to go before you wean him. You're
still planning to nurse him until he's a year old aren't you."
asked Will as he walked from the desk to the couch where
she sat nursing Raulsta.

"Yes, he needs the breast milk for about a year. At one
year, he can be weaned and put on formula. Right now,
he's getting important nutrients and building up his immune
system by getting breast milk."

"I know," said Will as he sat beside her. "I wanted you to
breast feed him. I never said anything to you about it
before you told me that was what you were going to do. I
didn't want you to feel pressured."

"After breast feeding him for six months, I still can't
imagine making any other choice. It creates a special bond
between a mother and child."

"I don't know of a mother who's closer to her child than
you." said Will.

"It's the same with you and Raulsta, Will. You love him as
much as I do. He loves you too. I enjoy watching you feed
him his cereal. The way he looks at you with those big
brown eyes of his leaves no doubt in my mind that he loves
you very much. Just like I do." she said tenderly.

Will tightened his arm around her shoulder. "I love you so
much, Laren. I never thought of myself as a family man
before, but now I can't imagine my life without the two of
you."

Raulsta stopped nursing and pulled back from her breast.
Laren fastened the nursing cup on her bra. "I guess he's
full." She pulled her shirt down and stood up. Well
Raulsta let's get some toys and play. She got his activity
quilt and spread it out on the floor. Then she sat beside the
quilt watching him.

Will joined them. "He certainly does love that quilt," said
Will as he watched his son explore the various objects.

"Yes, he does. It's also an excellent learning tool,"
answered Laren. She looked at Will. "Before we know it,
he'll be walking. Then we'll have to baby proof our
quarters. That way, he'll have freedom to explore."

Will nodded. "When we finish setting up his room the way
we've planned, it'll be a wonderful place for him to play."

"I know. You've been working very hard," said Laren.
"The only thing I'm not really looking forward to is moving
his crib into his room when I stop nursing."

"It will be hard on all of us. But we'll adjust," said Will.
They both smiled at each other and continued to watch
their son play.


**********


It seemed as if the months had flown by. Raulsta had
turned a year old. Dr. Crusher gave him a checkup. "He's
doing just fine, Laren. You've said that you were going to
stop nursing him at one year. The formula we started him
on last week seems to be agreeing with him. I can give you
a shot to dry up your milk if your ready."

Laren nodded. "I'm ready. I enjoyed nursing, but it's time
to stop now."

"You realize once I give you the shot it will take a few days
to take effect. "You'll also need to use birth control now. I
can't give you the birth control injection until you've had
your first fertility cycle. That will begin while the
percastile is dring up your milk. You and Will will have to
use condoms for the time being. If you got pregnant while
the percastile is drying up your milk, you could have a
seriously handicapped child. The same is true for the birth
control injection. It will take six weeks to take effect."
She pressed the hypo against her neck. It hissed and the
medication entered Laren's body. The doctor handed her a
box of condoms. "Here, when you need more come and
see me."

"Thank you, Dr. Crusher. I've seen babies who were
affected by these drugs. I won't take any chances." She
turned and walked out of sickbay. What worried her, was
how Will would take this.

Raulsta was taking his nap when Will entered their
quarters. He walked over to where Laren was working on
the computer and slid his arms around her. She stood up
returning his embrace and kissing him softly.

"Did Raulsta's checkup go okay?" he asked.

"Everything's fine. Dr. Crusher gave me an injection of
percastile to dry up my milk. It should take effect in a few
days. Then, she'll give me a contraceptive injection. That
takes six weeks to take effect." She paused, not sure how
Will was going to react to the rest of the news. "We're
going to have to use condoms until the contraceptive
injection takes effect."

Will pulled back and stared at her. "Use condoms. I don't
think so. I'm not wearing a condom."

"You have to. I don't want to get pregnant right now. The
percastile injection dries up the breast milk, but when that
happens, the fertility cycle starts immediately." She had to
make him understand. She refused to take the risk of
becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child that would
probably die.

"It doesn't matter if you get pregnant again, I'm not
wearing them." Will's face was a mask of stubborn pride.

Painful memories began to crowd in her mind. "I said I
don't want to get pregnant. You have to wear a condom."

Will picked up the box of condoms and threw it across the
room. "I'm not wearing them." His voice was filled with
anger.

Laren could not take anymore. She turned and hurried out
of their quarters. She heard Will call her name as she
walked out, but she didn't care. She wandered into Ten
Forward. Since it was early, it was almost deserted. She
walked over the bar and sat down to talk with Guinan.

Guinan could tell something was wrong. Laren looked very
upset. She handed Laren a glass of juice.

"What's wrong, Laren?"

"The doctor gave me a shot of percastile to dry up my milk.
In Bajorans, when the breast milk dries up, the fertility
cycle starts up immediately. Percastile causes severe birth
defects. They're usually fatal. Will refuses to wear a
condom until It's safe." She looked down at her clenched
hands.

"Did you explain to Will about the ?" asked Guinan.

Laren shook her head slowly. "I didn't tell him."

"Then he's the one you need to talk to. Usually I listen, but
in this case I'm making an exception. It's Will who you
need to talk to, not me." said Guinan firmly.

Laren rose reluctantly from the stool. "You're right. I also
did something we promised each other not to do. I walked
out on an argument."

She headed for the door resolved to somehow find the
courage to tell Will, since it meant digging up painful
memories.

Will glared coldly at her as she walked into their quarters.
"Why did you walk out. We promised each other that we'd
never do that again during a fight."

She walked over to where he stood, tears trickling down
her cheeks. "I know, and I'm sorry. I....I was just upset."
She took his hand and led him to the computer console on
the desk. He followed her sensing there was much more to
this than he had originally thought.

"Computer, show cases of Bajoran babies born to mothers
who received percastile to dry up breast milk and became
pregnant. Also show cases of Bajoran babies of mothers
who became pregnant before their lophamor contraceptive
shot took effect." said Laren in a tearful voice. Picture
after picture of terribly disfigured babies began flashing
across the screen along with their case histories. One
caught Will's attention. Ro Beryl, who died at three days
old. Will looked at Laren's tearstained face.

"Was he your brother?" he asked softly.

She nodded sadly. "I was five years old at the time.
You've seen the babies. Do you see why I can't risk getting
pregnant?"

He pulled her to her feet and drew her into a comforting
embrace. "I didn't know. Why didn't you explain it to
me."

"I didn't want to dredge up old hurts," she whispered as she
buried her face against his chest.

"Now that I know how important it is, I'll wear them as
long as necessary," said Will. The infants that continued to
flash on the screen were the most horribly disfigured babies
he had ever seen. "Computer, stop," ordered Will, wanting
to spare both of them. He lifted her face to look at him.
"We seem to have had a fight. I think we need to make up,
don't you?" There was tender expression on his face.

She smiled up at him. "I agree."

He led her over to where the box of condoms still lay.

"We need to put these in the bedroom." They walked
slowly into their room.

Later as they lay in each other's arms, Will asked, "Feel
better now?"

"Making love with you always makes me feel better.
You're a fantastic lover, but I did miss the feel of your skin
inside me, and the hot burst of semen flooding my insides."
She looked at him with a tender smile. "In about seven
weeks we should be able to forget all about condoms."

He pulled her closer. "Only if the doctor says it's safe. We
won't take any chances." He thought for a few moments.
"You said your breast milk should be dried up in a few
days. That means soon I get to start making up for lost
time." He gave her a leering grin.

"That's right," she began. "Now that I'm not nursing
anymore, you'll be able to do what you've been wanting to
do for a long time. What I've missed you doing." Her eyes
glowed as she remembered the pleasurable things he had
done during their brief affair that had resulted in her
becoming pregnant with Raulsta. She moved her lips to
softly brush against his. It felt so good to be in his arms.

They heard Raulsta babbling. "I guess I'd better go get
him." said Laren. Before she got out of bed she kissed
Will passionately. As she slid on her robe, she thought
about how surprised Will would be to see how her fertility
cycle starting would affect her sexual desire. It had been
during a fertility cycle when they had their affair.

She walked out of their room and into Raulsta's. He sat in
his crib smiling and babbling. She picked him up and
carried him back to the table. Will was waiting for them.
Once he was in his high chair, Raulsta began to bang on the
tray.

"I think he's telling us that he's hungry," chuckled Will.
Laren stood by the replicator as it processed his food.

"Here you go, Raulsta," she sat down beside him and
began feeding him. He ate with a hearty appetite. Laren
looked up at Will. "You know, Will, I'm worried. He's
turned a year old, and he's not even pulling up yet. You
don't think there's anything wrong do you?"

"Well, Dr. Crusher has never found anything amiss in his
checkups. But, if it would make you feel better, you can
always talk to her about it. I suspect nothing is wrong, that
he's just not at that developmental level yet. Babies walk at
different ages."

"You're probably right, but I think I'll still may ask Dr.
Crusher about it. Just to make sure."

Three days later, Laren's milk had dried up. She knew it
had from the look and feel of her breasts. She also knew,
because it was obvious that her fertility was in full swing.
She was in a very amorous mood. Will was still asleep
in bed beside her. They had rotated off duty for two days.
She lay by him, waiting for him to wake up. It took quite a
bit of self control not to wake him up. She wanted to make
love with him so much. Still it wasn't often they were
afforded an opportunity to sleep in, and she wanted him to
get some well deserved rest. As she lay there, memories
of the months that had passed since she'd gotten pregnant
with Raulsta. She was still reflecting on theses memories
when Will stirred in bed beside her. She looked over and
saw his eyes resting upon her.

"Good morning, Will," she whispered softly as she moved
to kiss him. He returned her kiss with warmth and
tenderness.

"Good morning, bright eyes. You're certainly up early for
our day off," he whispered teasingly.

"There's a good reason for that. My milk has dried up now.
My fertility cycle is in full swing." Her eyes sparkled at
him. "I've had other things on my mind besides sleep."
She put her arms around him and pulled him closer, kissing
him passionately. As he responded to her passion, her
hands began exploring his body eagerly. Will felt his own
passions being ignited.

After a time, pulled back a little and smiled at her. "I think
I'd better get a condom, before it's too late."

She smiled and reached over him to get one from the
box....

Much later, they sat down to breakfast with Raulsta. The
passion of the morning had them both glowing. Raulsta,
sensing his parents' happy mood was also in a good mood.

"We need to stop by sick bay and pick up some more
condoms." commented Will. "That box is almost gone."

"I think Dr. Crusher expected them to last us a little
longer." chuckled Laren. "After all, we've been married
for almost a year now."

"But our passion for each other is still as strong as it ever
was." said Will happily. He reached over and tenderly
stroked her cheek. "Maybe she'd better give us a larger box
this time. That way, we don't have to come back so soon
for more."

"That's good idea. Because for at least the next three days, my
fertility cycle is going to make my desire even stronger. I'll get
my lophmar shot in a few days, but it won't end this cycle.
It should take six weeks to stop them." She gave Will a
smile. "Then it's back to the good old fashioned way of making
love." She slid her hand alongthe inside of his thigh. "I
can't wait."

********


Laren and Will sat close beside each other at a candle lit
table. It was their first anniversary. Will had planned a
spectacular evening for them. The holodeck program had
taken quite a bit of time to develop. He had started over
numerous time to make sure everything was perfect. He
finally settled on an evening in Paris. Laren looked so
lovely in the gown he had selected for her, he could
scarcely keep his eyes off of her.

"Do you like my surprise?" he whispered softly.

"It's wonderful, Will," she murmured, drawing him into a
kiss. They pulled apart as a waiter approached with a tray
of food. He quickly served them and left.

"Will, this looks delicious," began Laren. She picked up a
fork and began eating.

"I am glad you like it, Laren. I worked very hard to make
this night very special for us. I want it to be an evening
we'll never forget."

"I know it will be," said Laren in a soft voice.

When they finished dinner, they strolled along quiet streets
arms around each other. Laren was so content. She knew
she didn't deserve such happiness, yet somehow fate had
brought it to her. Will stopped her and drew her into his
arms for a long passionate kiss. She clung to him
responding with all her heart. His love flooded her senses
so completely that she was almost overwhelmed.

"Let's go back to the hotel," whispered Will tenderly. She
nodded, burying her face against his broad chest. She
wanted to be alone with him so much. Will had refused to
tell her anything about the evening, insisting it all be a
surprise as it happened. She could hardly wait to see what
would happen next. They entered a fancy hotel lobby and
walked over to the elevator. As they rode up to the top
floor, Will held her in his arms. When the elevator
stopped, he led her to a door. As he opened it, she saw a
luxurious suite. He lifted her in his arms and carried her
across the threshold. Once inside, he lowered her to her
feet and closed the door behind them. He smiled as she
gazed in wonder at the room.

"How do you like it?" he asked softly.

"It's beautiful, Will," she answered.

He picked up a beautifully wrapped package. This is for
you. Go ahead and open it."

There was an eager excitement in his eyes. She loosened
the ribbon and bow and then began pulling on the tape.
The shiny paper came off easily. She opened the box and
found a lacy white gown with a matching robe.

"Oh, Will, it's beautiful." She stood and kissed him
lovingly.

"Go into the bathroom and put it on," he whispered
huskily.

When she came out, Will met her at the door and tenderly
embraced her. His warm lips pressed firmly against hers.
Then he lifted her and carried her to the bed.

********



Their anniversary celebration was all Will had hoped for
and more. He smiled at Laren who was sitting at the desk
in their quarters. She was trying to finish the Flight
Handling Assessment Report the Captain requested. The
ship was long overdue for a maintenance stop over, and
their were some minor fluctuations in the conn station she
had to plan compensations for. They were scheduled for a
maintenance stopover in four weeks. Until then, she and
the other con officers were going to have to compensate.
Laren's experience as Senior Con officer made her the
logical one to do the work. She shook her head and rubbed
her neck with a small groan. Will walked over to where
she was sitting. "Rough time, with the report," he asked
sympathetically.

She nodded at him with a rueful smile. "I have a terrible
crick in my neck. These compensatory routines I'm
developing are going to take a lot of time to program into
the navi-computer too. I wish the star base could take us
earlier. These sub-routines are going take forever to finish
writing."

"Well, I know if anyone can do it, you can. You're the one
who came up with the new routine to do Flight Handling
Assessments." His eyes twinkled at her. If I recall, we
discussed that change right before the Satarrans took over
the ship." He smiled as she blushed, remembering all that
had transpired. "The best thing that came out of that
takeover is that we are together now. I never would have
dreamed that you were attracted to me."

She smiled up at him. "Well, I don't think anyone would
have believed we would end up together. We're so
different."

"Well, you know the old saying, "Opposites attract,"
answered Will. He began to gently massage her neck.
"How does that feel?" His fingers firmly probed the tightly
knotted muscles in her neck. She leaned back and sighed
deeply. "That feels fantastic." He continued to massage
her neck. Slowly, the muscles began to loosen up. When
he could no longer feel the knots and her muscles had
relaxed he bent down and kissed her neck tenderly. "There,
a massage and a kiss to make it better."

"Thank you, Will. That does feel much better." She turned
and softly kissed his lips. Then she turned her attention
back to her work. It was very complicated. She estimated
that she had at least six to eight hours of work to finish
writing the routines and sub-routines.

"You need to stop and eat some something. I'll get us steak
dinners from the replicator. I fed Raulsta earlier while you
were still talking with the Captain. He was sleepy, so I put
him to bed early." He walked to the replicator.

She watched him with a smile. "I'm sorry, Will. I didn't
mean to leave all the work to you tonight. I was just so
involved in working this program that I didn't realize that
was happening."

He turned to her with a reassuring look. "Don't worry
about it. You've got orders from the Captain to get that
program ready to use. That's what you have to concentrate
on now." He carried a tray to the table. "Now, come over
here and eat your supper. Then you can work some more
on that program."

She walked over to the table and sat down. "Thank you,
Will. I didn't realize how hungry I was."

After they finished their meal, Will cleaned up while Laren
went back to work on the program. When he finished
cleaning up he walked over to the desk. "How's it
coming?" he asked.

"Well, it's taking a lot longer than I expected it to. Take a
look at this and tell me what you think."

He peered at the screen and nodded his head. "It looks like
you are definitely on the right track. These sub-routines
look good." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I think you
shouldn't work any longer than two hours more on this
tonight. You're tired, and you could make mistakes. Then
it will take you even longer to finish."

"I agree. I don't want to make any mistakes." Will went
over and sat of the sofa and left her to her work.

Two hours later, Laren shut off the computer and rose from
the desk chair. "I've made a lot of progress tonight. I may
even finish sooner than I expected.

Will smiled at her. I think you need a nice hot shower to
relax you before you go to bed."

"So do I," began Laren. "Why don't you join me." She held
her hand out to Will, and he took it and they walked to the
bathroom.

Late the next day, Laren ran a simulation of her program.
She watched as the sub-routines ran. If everything checked
out, she could present the program to the Captain for his
approval. It had taken most of the day. She would have
rather been at the con station on the bridge. Six more hours
of work had finally produced what she hoped would
provide the modifications needed until their scheduled
maintenance overhaul in four weeks. This was the third
time she'd tried to run the simulation. The first two times
problems had appeared in the program. This time she
hoped she had all the bugs worked out.

Finally, the program completed the simulation run. There
were no problems this run. She took the P.A.D.D. with the
program down loaded and headed for the bridge. She
walked onto the bridge, and strode over to the Captain.
"Here's the modifications for the con station sir. The final
simulation checked out with no problems." She handed
him the P.A.D.D.

He took it and said, "Let's go to my Ready Room and run
one more simulation. If the modifications meet my
approval, then you may down load the program into the con
station computer." They walked to the Ready Room and
went in. The Captain downloaded the modification
program into his computer. After running the Captain
turned to her. "This program is excellent, Ensign. You
may download the program into the con station
navi-computer. Congratulations on a job well done. I
know you spent quite a bit of time on it. After you down
load the program and make sure there are no problems, you
have the next forty-eight hours off."

She smiled, "Thank you, Captain. That will give me some
time to spend with Raulsta." She walked out of the ready
room and headed straight to the con station. It took about
forty-five minutes to down load the program and run the
necessary simulations. She turned to the Captain with a
smile. "It looks good, sir."

The Captain nodded. "Well done, Ensign. Unless any
problems develop, you're off for the next forty-eight hours."
With a broad smile to Will, she left the bridge and headed
to pick up Raulsta.

In the Child Care Center, Raulsta laughed with delight
when he saw his mother walk in. His arms reached up to
her. Laren smiled down at her son. He still wasn't walking
or standing yet. Since she had time off, she decided to take
Raulsta down to sickbay and have Dr. Crusher examine
him to see if there was a problem. She and Will had
discussed it before. She bent down and picked him up. He
wrapped his arms around her neck, and she hugged him
tightly.

Down in sickbay, Dr. Crusher snapped the Medical
Tricorder shut. "There aren't any problems, Laren.
Children start learning to walk a different ages. His legs
are strong. He'll walk when he's ready."

"Thank you, Dr. Crusher. I feel better knowing there's
nothing wrong," said Laren.

"Anytime you have a concern, feel free to come in.
Motherhood is not easy. First time mothers have a lot to
learn," said Dr. Crusher.

Later that evening, she and Raulsta were playing on the
floor when Will walked into their quarters. She stood up
and walked over to greet him with a warm kiss. He held
her close reveling in the warmth of her kiss. "You're
lucky," he whispered in her ear. "Forty-eight hours off."

She looked up at him in mock indignation. "I earned that
time off. That program was hard work. It took a lot of
concentration to make it work."

He kissed her again. "I know it did. You did a great job.
The con ran smoother than it has in weeks." He released
her and picked up Raulsta and swung him in the air.
Raulsta laughed delightedly. Laren smiled and walked
over the replicator. "I'll get dinner ready."

Soon they were all at the table. Raulsta babbled happily.
"I had Dr. Crusher give Raulsta a checkup today. I've been
concerned about him not walking or standing yet. She's
says there's no problem."

"That's good." said Will. "He'll walk and stand in his own
time." He reached over and ruffled Raulsta's curly hair.
"Isn't that right, pal?"

Raulsta chuckled and held his chubby arms out and said,
"Dada, dada up."

With a smile, Will picked up Raulsta from his high chair.
He chuckled as Will held him close. Laren smiled at the
two of them. "You're a wonderful father, Will." she said
lovingly. She stood and began to clear the table. "Will, I
wish we were both off. I would have enjoyed spending the
extra time with both you and Raulsta." Will smiled at her.
"I know, but We'll still have the evenings together, and with
you being off duty, you won't be tired. So we'll be able to
enjoy evenings together."

She smiled at him from across the room.

"I'm almost finished cleaning up. Do you want to bathe
Raulsta, or do you want me to do it."

Will stood up. I'll bathe him." He swung Raulsta up in the
air. "Come on, Raulsta, it's time for your bath."

Raulsta laughed and said, "Dada, baff."

Will laughed, "Yes, Raulsta, bath." He took Raulsta into
the bathroom. Laren smiled after them. Somehow, she had
never expected family life to be like this. Of course, her
family life in Bajoran resettlement camps had been so
abnormal, that she wasn't sure she knew what normal
family life should be like. Will had certainly proven
himself to be committed to family life. His love for his
family was unmistakable. She heard Raulsta's laughter ring
out as Will bathed him. She went into the bathroom and
watched as Will lifted Raulsta from the tub. His uniform
was soaked.

"Looks like Raulsta tried to give you a bath too." Her eyes
twinkled at him.

"He likes to splash," said Will with a chuckle. He dried
Raulsta off and put him in his sleepers.

Laren reached for him. "I'll rock him to sleep while you get
out of your wet clothes." She walked over to her rocking
chair and sat down with Raulsta nestled in her arms. He
gazed up at her with sleepy eyes. She rocked him quietly
reflecting on how her life had changed so dramatically over
the past two years. If anyone had told her life would turn
out this way back when she was still in the stockade, she
would have laughed in their face. Sometimes she thought
she might wake up and find it all a dream. At least her son
would never live through the horrors of a resettlement
camp. Nor would he see Cardassians torture his father to
death. She blinked back the tears in her eyes. It happened
a long time ago, she told herself firmly. Crying won't bring
him back. She gazed down at her son. He was sleeping
peacefully. She stood slowly and quietly and carried him
to his room. Very carefuly, she eased him into his crib.

Will walked in behind her. He slid his arms around her and
pulled her back against his chest. "It didn't take long for
him to fall asleep," commented Will. "No," answered
Laren. "We played a lot this afternoon. I think I wore him
out."

Will turned her to face him. "Want to try to wear me out
tonight."

She looked into his eyes and smiled. "I've always enjoyed a
challenge." She pulled out his arms and took his hand in
hers. They walked out of Raulsta's room and into their
own.

............Laren stared in horror at the Cardassian soldier. He
reached out to take her hand. She pulled back in fear. He
grabbed her hand and pulled her along. At the door of a
room, he pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket and
handed it to her. She looked at him suspiciously and
smelled it. Then she quickly popped it into her mouth.
The soldier opened the door and led her into a room. There
in the room was her father and another Cardassian. Her
father stared at her. She'd never seen him look like this
before. The other Cardassian picked up some type of
device. He pressed a button. Her father clutched at his
chest and screamed in pain. Laren tried to turn away, but
the soldier held her firmly in place. Each time the
Cardassian pressed a button, her father screamed. Soon,
Laren was screaming too....

Will awoke with a start. Laren was screaming, "Father,
father! No, please don't hurt my father." She kept
screaming it over and over.

Will shook her gently. "Laren," he called. "Laren, wake
up. You're having a nightmare." Suddenly, she sat upright
in bed. It took a few seconds for her to realize where she
was.

Will pulled her into his arms. "Are you all right? You
must have been having a terrible nightmare."

She nodded her head as she continued to sob against Will's
chest. Will realized that now was not the time to question
her about the nature of the nightmare. Right now, she
needed comforting. Finally, she stopped crying and
shaking.

"Are you okay, Laren. Do you want to talk about it." asked
Will gently.

She nodded slowly. Will lay down, pulling her down
beside him. He cuddled her in his arms protectively. "Tell
me what you were dreaming about."

"I was dreaming about the day the Cardassians killed my
father." She buried her face in his chest. "It seemed so
real. As real as the day it happened."

Will pulled her closer. "I'm so sorry, Laren. I wish I could
do something to help ease your pain."

She snuggled closer. "Just hold me." Will nodded and
tightened his arms around her. He realized she no longer
wanted to talk, so he simply held her. Before long, her
breathing told him that she was asleep. Only then did he
close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

The next morning, he quietly got out of bed. Laren was
still sleeping. He wanted to surprise her with breakfast in
bed. He wanted to do anything to help ease the pain the
horrible nightmare had caused her. He quickly walked into
the main room and made selections from the replicator for
their breakfast. A quick peek into Raulsta's room revealed
that he was still asleep. Will took the tray and carried it
into their bedroom. He sat the tray on a bedside table and
leaned down and kissed Laren tenderly. Her eyes opened
and she returned Will's kiss. She slid her arms around his
neck and continued kissing him. After a lengthy kiss, Will
pulled back and slid into bed beside her. He handed her a
bowl of strawberries.

"I thought you might enjoy breakfast in bed." he said with
a smile. He took one of the strawberries and held up to her
mouth. She bit into the strawberry as he held out to her.
The memory of the terrible nightmare begin to ease in the
comfort of Will's attentiveness.

********


A few weeks went by, and Laren's sleep had not been
disturbed by anymore recurrences of the nightmare about
her father. Will looked down at his sleeping wife. She
looked so peaceful and happy. The evening after her
horrific nightmare, she had told him the entire story. He
was shocked at the brutality she had been forced to witness
at such a young age.

She stirred and opened her eyes. "Good morning," said
Will as he bent down to kiss her. She smiled at him and
lifted her head to meet his lips. After a good morning kiss,
she put on her robe and went to check on Raulsta. He was
sitting in his crib. As she walked in, he grabbed the rail of
his crib and began pulling himself up.

Laren smiled. "Will," she called excitedly. "You've got to
come and see this." Will hurried into the room wondering
what had Laren so excited. By the time Will had arrived,
Raulsta was standing in his crib holding on to the rail.
"Look,, Will," began Laren. "He pulled himself up." She
walked over to the crib and picked him up. "Oh, Raulsta,
you stood up. Good boy!" She hugged him tightly to her.

"See, Laren, I told you that he would stand and walk in his
own good time."

She beamed at Will. "I know. I was just having New
mother anxiety."

Later, after breakfast, she and Will spent time playing with
Raulsta. They were both off duty, so they were enjoying
spending time with their son. Laren lifted him to his feet
and took his hands encouraging him to walk. To encourage
him even more, Will sat a few feet away holding his hands
out to Raulsta.

He took a few tentative steps and laughed. "Ra ra walk."
he babbled. "Come on, Raulsta. Come to daddy," Will
said encouragingly. He toddled on into his fathers arms.

Within a few days, Raulsta was walking on his own. He
toddled all over their quarters. Laren found herself moving
more and more things out of his reach. The "baby proof"
quarters were not quite as "baby proof" as she thought they
were. Everything within reach was examined and tasted.
At least he could not escape from his crib yet. She had
heard one mother bemoaning the fact that once her
daughter woke up she was out of her crib in a flash. She
was waiting on Will to get back from a meeting with Data.
Then,they were going to take Raulsta to the holodeck to
experience the beach. She chuckled remembering the
beach of Risa. There would be no skinny dipping today.
Not with Raulsta with them. They had been skinny dipping
several times on the holodeck, but wouldn't be doing it
today. The door slid open and Will walked in. Laren met
him halfway across the room. She greeted him with a hug
and kiss which he eagerly accepted.

Soon they were all three on a holographic beach. Raulsta
laughed with delight as he chased the waves. Laren smiled
at their son. He was having the time of his life. "he really
likes the beach," said Will as they watched him playing.
The afternoon flew by, and before they knew it, time was
up and they had to leave.

"We'll have to bring him back for the beach program
again," commented Laren as they exited the holodeck.

"I agree. He had fun. We did too. Next time though, I'd
like it to be just the two of us." He looked at Laren with
a leer. "We haven't been skinny dipping in a long time."
Laren laughed. "You're incorrigible, Will." She put her
arms around his neck and gave him a lengthy kiss as they waited
for the turbo lift. The lift doors opened and she pulled back.
They walked into the lift and she grinned at Will. "It's about
time for Raulsta's nap. While he takes his nap, why don't we
have a little fun ourselves." She ran her hand suggestively
down Will's chest. He shifted Raulsta to his other arm and
pulled her close to kiss her. I'll take you up on that offer
as soon as he is asleep."

********


Laren was working at her desk in their quarters when Will walked in with
Raulsta. Smiling, she stood to greet them.

"Well, how did it go?" she asked after Will had kissed her.

"Raulsta had a blast. It's too bad you couldn't go with us," said Will.

"I know, but this report had to be finished by tomorrow," answered Laren
resignedly. "What matters is you two got to spend some time together.
He really enjoys spending time with you."

Raulsta reached for his mother and Laren took him in her arms with a
smile. She could tell he was sleepy, so she took him to the rocking
chair and began rocking him.

Will sat on the sofa quietly watching as his wife rocked their son to
sleep. A few years ago, if anyone had told him that he would be married
to Ro Laren and raising a child with her, he would have laughed in their
face. He thought back to the day when she had very nervously told him
she was pregnant from the brief fling they had shared when the Sutterans
had blocked their memories. Because of his promise to help her in any
way he could, they had begun to spend time together. In time, he became
better aquatinted with Laren. He saw parts of her that others seldom
saw.

As their child grew within her womb, their relationship had blossomed
as well. The night she had agreed to marry him was the one of the
happiest ones of his life.

Laren rose and carried Raulsta to his room and gently laid him in his
crib. As she stood there watching him sleep, she thought how much her
life had changed. Yes, the troubles of her past were still with her and
always would be, but they were tempered with the joy that Will and
Raulsta brought to her life. Nightmares, whether from the incident at
Garron or her hellish life in the resettlement camps, were soothed by
Will's tender, comforting words and touches when they occurred.

Her son and husband had wrought tremendous changes in her life. She
loved them both dearly, and they gave her love in return. Her life had
changed dramatically because of them. She recalled the day she had to
tell Will that she was pregnant with his child. She had been certain he
would be furious with her and place all the blame on her. After all,
she had practically seduced him. His compassion had overwhelmed her.
Slowly, as he helped her cope with the unexpected pregnancy, they had
grown closer. Now, they were married and shared a deep and abiding love
for each other.

She quietly left Raulsta's room and walked into the living area. Will
smiled at her and drew her into his arms. She pressed her cheek against
his chest and wrapped her arms around his muscular body. This was where
she belonged. She was no longer a lonely, rejected outsider. An
unexpected pregnancy had brought the most unexpected outcome of her
entire life.