In the village square, Riker squinted against the bright sun as he watched the Ba'ku make their way down from the mountains. It was a charming pastoral scene, abruptly made all the lovelier by the sudden appearance of Deanna Troi amongst the crowd as they returned to their homes. Riker scarcely saw the others. Despite the stern presence of Worf beside him, Will reciprocated Deanna's excited wave in his direction. It felt as if he and Deanna had been separated years rather than days. 'Like a lovesick cadet,' he told himself sheepishly. It was the radiation, just the damned radiation making him act this way. His lips curved upward in a grin broad to the point of foolishness, yet he no longer cared, even though Worf cleared his throat nervously. No point in trying to hide his feelings from the Klingon, Riker decided–or from anyone else, for that matter.
Still holding Deanna's gaze with his own, he asked Worf, "You think when we get away from this metaphysic radiation, it'll change the way we feel?"
The Klingon replied with uncharacteristic gentleness, "Your feelings about her haven't changed since the day I met you, Commander. This place just let them out for a little fresh air." Surprised by his friend's insightfulness, Riker tuned toward him with a now-curious grin, but Worf was already moving away toward the approaching group, which included the Captain. He watched as the Klingon voluntarily helped an older woman with the load she was carrying. Maybe the metaphasic radiation hadn't changed the way he felt about Deanna, but it sure seemed to be doing a number on Worf.
Silently chuckling at the thought, he turned back to Deanna only to find her hugging a small child good-bye. Apparently she had made some friends on their little excursion through the Ba'ku mountains. It didn't surprise him in the least; Deanna had always been good with children, particularly in times of distress. In fact, it was a supreme gift of hers that she had with everyone. It was no wonder every man who came into contact with her practically fell in love.
The child let go of her new-found friend and rejoined her parents who were waiting by the road side. Riker instantly felt a twinge of sympathy for the people. Their beautiful, near perfect home had almost been taken away from them so quickly. It was a feeling of dread that he now shared. Only a few short hours ago, he had been faced with losing something very precious to him as well. It was the first time he'd felt that strongly about it ever since he could remember. The thought intrigued him a bit.
Suddenly heard the sound of something clanking to the ground beside him. Deanna's phaser rifle was now leaning against a tree stump, the tall grass swaying in the breeze surrounding it. She was casually brushing some of the accumulated dirt from her clothes. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of it. It wasn't often Deanna let her usually immaculate appearance go for the sake of duty. Not that she had the chance all that often either.
"You didn't use that thing, did you?" Riker teased her. He knew her disdain for violence, even though she understood it was necessary occasionally. Deanna shot him a look of tolerance while still brushing the sleeves of her jacket.
"I'll be glad to be rid of it. And yes, I did have to use it–although, not on a person. For that I am grateful." She gave one final brush to her sleeve and then straightened up. "There, better?" she asked him.
"Beautiful as ever," Riker said, smiling. Deanna didn't respond, only mirroring his smile. In that instant, a soft breeze floated between them, and time seemed to slow down. She watched mesmerized at a lock of Will's hair as it was swept off his forehead by the gentle winds. It reminded her of a moment a long time ago when they had both stood like this for the first time - staring at each other, neither one knowing what exactly to say. The first time they had been coy, dancing around each other in a show of passionate disinterest. But not this time, thought Deanna.
The sound of children playing in the distance brought her focus back to the present. Will's eyes shifted toward the commotion, but only briefly. "Where's the Captain?" she asked him, noticing that Picard was no longer in sight. Riker shrugged and started walking in the direction of a small lake near by. She picked up her rifle and fell into step beside him.
"He had a few loose ends to tie up. Getting the Son'a and the Ba'ku together again isn't going to be an easy process." Deanna nodded at his words.
"At least they know the truth now," she said.
"The truth will set you free?" Riker posed.
She laughed softly, "Something like that." The rifle was beginning to be a burden for her–not that it was heavy, she had just been carrying it for several days straight and her arms were tired.
Careful not to touch the safety, she shifted it in her arms for a more comfortable position.
"Here," Riker leaned over and took the weapon from her, slinging it's strap over his shoulder. "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't carry the lady's phaser rifle for her?" Deanna rolled her eyes at the statement, but smiled nonetheless. Without the slight cargo to worry about anymore, she let her arms drop and rest for a bit. Riker didn't fail to notice that her entire body seemed ready to drop. With his free arm, he wrapped it around her waist, offering what little support he could provide at the moment. He felt her lean into him and rest her weight on his strong frame. She really was tired.
For the next several minutes, neither of them said anything. They continued on the path Will had begun towards the lake. The lake provided a secondary source of irrigation for the Ba'ku, their main source was the much larger lake which had been hiding an uncovered holodeck of sorts. This lake was like a small oasis for the village. Trees of all different kinds surrounded it, wildlife seemed abundant, including some rather large fish. 'If only I had a fishing pole right now,' thought Riker.
They stopped at a small clearing near the edge of the water. Behind them was a row of large rocks–large enough to sit on, of which Deanna took full advantage. In the distance, Riker could see the children still playing while the rest of the village was at the task of getting everything back to normal. 'This is what it's all about,' he mused. The Dominion War had dampened all of their spirits considerably the last couple of years, but being here on this planet put it all into perspective for him again.
"It's a damn shame that we're stuck onboard the Enterprise so much that we sometimes forget why we are stuck up there," he said to himself as much as he did to his companion. Deanna turned to see what he was looking at. Immediately she understood what he meant. It was hard not to see life in a new way after being in the midst of the Ba'ku for any length of time. She felt a peace and contentment that she hadn't felt for a long time. Remarkably, those feelings seemed to intensify the ones she felt for Will. It was a sense of belonging. Of home. It was a very primal feeling that transcended whatever situation they found themselves in. She smiled at that. There was no way she'd ever let Will know of any 'primal' feelings she experienced. But he would have no basis to blame her for them, because she knew that he felt them too.
Suddenly, she looked at him watching the children in the distance, and felt the transformation of the man he was with the man he was becoming. Riker took a deep breath of fresh air and pulled the rifle from his shoulder, setting it down on the ground. He saw his counterpart still resting on one of the rocks, looking at him very peculiarly. Just as he was about to ask her why, something stopped him. Instead, he let her watch him, figuring that she needed to for some reason.
The breeze off of the lake was cooling and extremely refreshing. It invited him closer to the water, where he all at once seemed to remember something from his childhood. Stooping down, he picked out a few small rocks from the ground around him and bounced them in his hand, feeling their weight. Curious as to what he was doing, Deanna got up from her rock and joined him by the water. He took one step away from her, gripped one of the rocks, and launched it sideways across the surface of the lake. She watched as the rock skipped along the top of the water, leaving small rings behind at each point where it made contact.
Riker smiled in satisfaction that he could still skip rocks as well as he could when he was a kid living in Alaska. In fact, he couldn't remember a time since then that he had done so. Deciding to see if he could outdo his first attempt, he let another stone fly, this one giving him one more bounce than the one before.
"What's the purpose of this game?" Deanna asked, a slight amusement in her voice.
"Nothing much, really," Riker said as he threw another rock. "You just try to see how many skips you can get across the water ," he said turning to her. "Haven't you ever skipped rocks before?"
Deanna shook her head, "On Betazed–"
"You go for more intellectual activities. I know," Riker cut her off with a playful roll of his eyes. "You sure don't have as much fun, though." Another rock skipped across the water, this time bouncing eight times. "Hah! A new record for William Riker–eight skips."
Deanna smiled at his self-satisfaction. "I'm sorry I don't have a trophy to commemorate this moment, Mr. Riker," she teased him.
He turned back to her, a devilish glint in his eye. "You think this is funny? Why don't you give it a try?" He held out the remainder of his rocks to her. She looked at his hand for a moment and then back to his face. "What's the matter?" he asked, "afraid you can't do it?" Deanna knew he was baiting her into his own game, but she couldn't flat out refuse him. Slowly, she reached out and took the rocks from his waiting hand. Just as he had done, she tossed them around in her hand to get the feel of their heaviness. As she took her stance facing the lake, Riker inched a little closer to her. "You want to throw it sideways–"
"I know," she told him, only glancing back at his form behind her. After all, she had just seen him do it several times. Riker shrugged, a bemused expression on his face. If she didn't want his help, he wouldn't give it. However, he was certain that her first throw would land directly in the water. It always did.
Deanna took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily as if blocking everything around her out. Her eyes opened again and her arm cocked back. The next thing they both saw was the rock hitting the water with a splash and sinking to the bottom of the lake. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she let out a frustrated breath. Riker did his best not to let her see his smug grin, though he knew she could feel it. He cleared his throat, "Um, you want to throw it a little more sideways than that."
The look she shot him gave him a chill down his spine, but he knew it was all in good fun. "Thanks," she said. Determined to give it another try, Deanna brought her arm back once more, skipping any attempts to center herself before hand.
"Wait," Will said. He took a few steps toward her and gently grabbed the arm she held in the air. He moved it down slightly, "See, it has to be more level with the water, or else the angle is too sharp." Deanna suddenly found it hard to concentrate as Will held her arm. His other hand had unconsciously found it's way to her shoulder, stroking it tenderly. Thoughts of their brief romantic interlude in the hot tub a few days earlier flashed in her mind, followed by intimate memories of their first time together...well over a decade ago. Will's touch was impossible to forget, and it had always been a distraction. A good distraction, she thought with a slight smirk. Not that they had kept their hands off of each other as friends either, but now such gestures held a new meaning...
Deanna Troi knew what he was up to. He was playing an entirely different game from the one moments ago. She felt the hand on her shoulder make its way slowly down her back, until it rested just above her waste. Will nudged her towards him until she was leaning against his frame, then he turned them both slightly away from the water. "You want to twist a little sideways too so that you have momentum when you throw," he said softly in her ear.
Deanna tilted her face towards his in acknowledgement, and it brushed ever so slightly against his cheek. Will didn't hesitate to plant a kiss on her jawline, feeling the need to be close to her after their abrupt separation due to the mission. It had been a long three days. Their eyes locked, black on blue, and she felt her head swimming closer to his. Before she knew what was happening, their lips touched ever so lightly. They separated only for a second before they both needed the intimate contact again. They kissed, gently nipping at each other's lips over and over. A short sound of contentment came from Will's throat and Deanna smiled against his lips, echoing his incoherent sentiment. An indeterminable amount of time later, they both pulled apart, hearts racing.
Will looked back out at the lake, taking in a deep breath, while his eyes regained their focus. He realized that he was still holding Deanna's arm. Looking back down at her, he have her his characteristic tongue-in-cheek smile. "Want to try it again?" he asked.
Deanna raised an eyebrow, "What? The throwing or the kissing?"
Riker took a step back and let go of her arm. "As much as I'd like to kiss you again right now…and for the rest of my life for that matter," Deanna regarded him drolly, "I think it would be best if we continue with the throwing, given our current circumstance," he finished, indicating that they were still on duty and probably being watched by some nosy children.
Deanna dropped her arms and sighed. "Okay," she said with an air of determination. Riker stepped back out of her way as she brought up her arm in the position he had showed her. Careful not to let her arm out of that position, she reared it back and let go of the rock. To her amazement, it skipped across the surface of the lake two times before giving in to the depths below.
Without warning, Deanna hopped into the air, a squeal of delight coming from her small frame. "I did it!" she exclaimed like a little girl.
Will laughed out loud at her excitement, "I wish I had a trophy to commemorate this moment, Miss Troi," he said to her. Deanna admonished him with a tolerant look, though the smile never left her face. "Think I can do better?" she asked him, getting ready to throw another stone.
"I thought Betazoids didn't play games like this," Riker said. He bent down to gather more rocks for himself.
"Think I can do better than you?" Deanna said, challenging him with her words and her stare. Will could never back down from a challenge. It was one of the first things she'd learned about him when they met. She'd also quickly learned to use it to her advantage when she needed. Often, it was the only way she could get her points across to him. But that wasn't the reason for her challenge today. This challenge was more of a friendly one. Perhaps it was the youthfulness she felt from the planet's radiation that had inspired her playfulness.
Riker shifted his feet, glanced at the lake, and then back at her. "You think you can skip your stones more times than I can?"
Deanna shrugged nonchalantly, "If you're afraid…" she trailed off, making her intention clear. Will stood there, considering his options. Obviously, he was more practiced and would beat her at the game. He didn't want to see the sparkle of accomplishment disappear from her eyes. However, his pride wouldn't let him back down.
"Fine. But just remember, you asked for it," he said.
Deanna nodded satisfactorily and took up position again. Riker stepped up beside her and started to ask who should go first, but her eyes were closed again and her breathing was even. He sighed and looked sidelong at the lake. "Deanna?" he said cautiously.
"Shhh," she kept her eyes closed but put up a hand to silence him. She was the picture of the girl he remembered years ago, centering herself while hanging from a tree limb. Her breathing slowed and her hand softly glided back to her side. Riker rolled his eyes and stood by a bit impatiently.
Before she could get too deeply entranced, he decided to speak up, "You can't turn this into the same thing as hanging from trees. It's throwing rocks for crying out loud. It won't work."
Deanna exhaled sharply, and threw him an annoyed look. Riker promptly chastised himself for interrupting her. "Did you not get the reason for disciplining your mind back then? Did you think we were only doing it because we were hanging from a tree?" Her voice had taken on a slightly stern tone.
"No," Riker said quickly. "It was just a joke, Deanna."
"Centering your mind isn't a joke, Will," she added, her eyes narrowing slightly. She was regarding him rather seriously at the moment.
"I know," Riker swallowed. "I know, I just haven't ever considered throwing rocks as qualifying I suppose." He shifted his weight uncomfortably. Suddenly he felt as if he were a lieutenant again, and she an insistent psychology student.
Deanna watched him a few seconds longer and then vaguely nodded her head. He brought his eyes back to hers and held them there. "Well," she said still looking at him, though a hint of a smile began to form, "I have no idea if it will work or not, but I intend to find out." She smirked at him and turned back to her mission at hand.
Will's eyes widened at her apathetic admission and snickered. "Don't tell me you were bluffing all these years?" he said, disbelief in his voice.
"Of course not," Deanna said over her shoulder, "I've just never tried it with rocks before." Riker shook his head and watched her go silent again. It was times like these when he realized just how much of him had rubbed off on her over the years. If this had been on Betazed during their first romance, she would never have lowered her aristocratic philosophy to the ranks of humor. "Heard that," her voice jolted him from his revere.
"I thought you were centering yourself, or meditating, or something," he said.
Deanna took a deep breath, "Yes, well it's kind of hard with your thoughts hovering over me."
"Will you just throw the rock already?" he said with mock petulance.
"I was just about ready to when you called me aristocratic," she said, her eyes remaining closed.
Riker looked at her in astonishment, "How did you know that?"
"I felt it," she said simply.
"Right," he said. Opting to let her have her way, he shuffled to one of the large rocks Deanna had been occupying earlier, and sat down. She would throw the rock when she was ready. He almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. After all, how complicated was it to throw a rock?
Something pulled his attention away from her and he looked back toward the village. The children were no longer playing, and there was a larger gathering of Ba'ku near the fountain. He briefly saw the Captain talking to Anij and shaking hands with one of the other men at her side. They were leaving soon. He turned back to Deanna, about to call their game off when she lifted her arm and threw her rock towards the lake. It was the perfect angle and it skidded across the water, bouncing a total of nine times.
Riker got up and slowly walked to her, his eyes never leaving the trail just made in the water. Nine times. "It worked," he heard her say quietly. "It worked," she said a little louder, looking up at him.
"Either that, or it's beginner's luck," he said.
Deanna seemed to contemplate his words for a moment, and tilted her head. "You should try it." She held out her last remaining rock. He glanced back at the village and saw that Geordi and Beverly were joining back up with he group. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Deanna follow his gaze.
"We're leaving," she almost whispered, clearly disappointed. Will nodded silently, but took the rock from her hand. "We should go, the Captain will be looking for us," she said as she watched him play with the stone.
Will nodded again. "You go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."
Deanna looked up at him, a confused expression on her face. But then she realized what he wanted to do. Bending down, she collected her phaser rifle and gave one last look at the lake. "Good luck," she said turning back to him. She reached up and brushed her palm over the side of his face as she was so fond of doing. He offered a small smile as her hand trailed down over his chin before she let it fall. A moment later, he watched the back of her retreating form. As she neared the village, she caught the eye of the Captain who stopped talking briefly to acknowledge her.
Riker turned back to the lake. The Captain could wait a few more minutes. After all, time moved more slowly on this planet. He stood there, his eyes focusing on the surface of the water, his breathing becoming more even. His eyes slid shut on their own accord and he let the breeze from the lake lull him into a peaceful state. Concentrating on nothing but the blackness of his consciousness, he shut out all thoughts, all sounds until he could not even hear the birds perched in the trees above. Eventually, he let himself visualize the stone skidding across the water until it reached the other side of the lake. He tried to feel his arm make the perfect motion and then let go.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the stone glide across as if the water was solid. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten….ten times he counted. "It worked," he said on a breath. "I'll be damned, it worked." He began to laugh, and he couldn't stop. He felt like shouting at the top of his lungs, but chose not to for the sake of a first officer's dignity. Instead, he leapt over the row of rocks and took off, running across the field toward his fellow officers. He slowed as he reached the edge of the village and saw that the Captain was beginning to get a head count on his crew.
Riker's attention went to the sound of someone yelling. "Data!" Beverly called out, watching as a small boy and an android poked their heads from the middle of a haystack. "It's time to go!" she added, trying not to laugh at the sight. It was all he could do not to laugh as his friend said good-bye to the boy as if he were a school kid. Data extricated himself from the hay and began to walk toward the entourage of Starfleet officers.
Yes, this is what it was all about. Friends, family, and home. Without those things, life would be an empty existence. He knew that now. It was what gave him the courage to reach down and take Deanna's hand in front of an entire village…in front of his closest and dearest friends. They were together now - her and him. She took his hand firmly and smiled up at him with a look that communicated her understanding of his success. Of course, she would have felt it. He smiled down at her with a look that told her he finally understood. But there was so much more to it, he knew. They would both find that out together over time. For now, though, they would enjoy just being in love.
Will looked toward Captain Picard, who had left Anij's side to stand with his officers. The captain pressed the commbadge on his chest and said, "Picard to Enterprise, seven to beam up. Energize."
Just before the transporter beam claimed them, Deanna heard Will's voice in her head, "By the way, you won." She didn't look at him, but she knew what he meant. As they felt the familiar
tingle of the transporter, they let go of each other's hand. "No, Imzadi," she answered back, "I won a long time ago." He didn't see her smirk as they were taken away from their temporary paradise.
In the village square, the Ba'ku stared at the now empty places where the Federation officers had just been. Anij turned to face her beloved people, "Come, let's enjoy what we have." The sights and sounds of the village resumed, and the children played.
~Finis