Sorry this is taking a while, I've just moved to live in another country so things are a little mad! Hope you enjoy it, please read and review.

Riker and Talya danced like they'd never danced before. Talya, who had seemed almost shy to Riker, was an entirely different person when she was being watched by an audience. Riker was almost overcome with nerves and it wasn't a feeling he was used to. But Talya made him feel remarkably at ease, even in front of the crowds and judges, and they did their routine.

"That was great!" Talya praised him. "Honestly, that couldn't have gone better."

"I didn't do the lock step properly right at the start."

"Well that's ok, I only did a double pirouette rather than a triple, the nerves got the better of me and those lights were enough to send anyone off balance. Believe me, Will, that was excellent. Give yourself some credit."

He nodded, remembering that three days ago he'd never done more than a rudimentary waltz, now here he was pretending to be professional. And Talya, she wasn't even a ballroom dancer! On asking her how long she'd been dancing for she'd given the same answer as Jenni.

"Oh, since I was three," she'd said.

"That explains why you're so at home in these shoes," Riker had replied.

"Oh no Commander, I meant I've done ballet since I was three, I've never actually had ballroom training before."

He'd looked at her dumbfounded and she'd laughed.

"The key is to be able to turn your hand to anything," she'd said. "And I think I just have."

Riker shook his head slightly as he sat next to her, watching the other dancers. He had to admit, some of them were terrible, but equally some were amazing.

"Are you sure…"

"Please, Will… we're ok," Talya said to him. He wasn't sure if they'd done enough to secure a place in the next round or not, but Talya seemed quietly confident. Riker couldn't keep still though, if anything his nerves were worse now than they had been before.

However, he shouldn't have worried, as he and Talya finished in fifth place, which meant they were well clear of the bottom of the table and as such, they'd made it to the next round. They were both relieved and they went back to their shuttle.

"I'd recommend a good long bath," Talya said to him, "you'll ache in the morning."

"I've been aching every morning for three days," he answered. "Besides, the shuttle doesn't have a bath."

"I was wondering about using the sauna and spa facilities over in that hotel complex. It's free for the dancers."

"Sounds great," Riker admitted. They both changed out of their elaborate costumes and into casuals, then they went together and hit the steam room.

"You need to stretch out your muscles," Talya warned him. "Otherwise you'll just be stiff tomorrow."

They both stretched and pulled, then they swam a little and sat in the Jacuzzi for a while.

"Come on, we should get some sleep. It's going to be another long day tomorrow."

X

Riker's muscles screamed as he rolled over in bed. He hadn't felt this sore for a while, that was for sure, and the thought of taking even more lessons from Talya made his heart sink a bit. He really wasn't this kind of dancer, and the whole situation still seemed ridiculous. There should have been another way to achieve the same aim which didn't mean he had to get out of his uniform. He shook his head, was this old age? At one time he'd have turned his hand to anything…

He looked over to where Talya was sleeping on the opposite bunk. He couldn't see her at first, as she'd buried herself under the covers, completely covering even her head so no part of her was showing. She was obviously still asleep, but Riker was working off Enterprise time, so he forced himself out of bed and into the sonic shower. By the time he'd dressed and got back to the make-shift bedroom, Talya had woken up but she was staring at the ceiling, her eyes shining as though she was close to crying. She didn't seem to notice him until he was next to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, as though snapping out of her daydream. She brushed the tears from her eyes and sat up. She forced a smile.

"You look upset," he said to her.

"I'm sorry," she answered. "I'm useless in a morning. I just need a cup of English Breakfast Tea."

Riker went to the replicator and replicated her some tea and a strong coffee for himself.

"Thank you," Talya said, sipping on the tea. Colour started to come back into her cheeks and she seemed happier. Riker had been a little disconcerted by the presence of a crying girl; he didn't expect it from her, she'd not shown anything other than strength in all the time he'd known her and he didn't know why on earth she should be crying now.

She got out of bed and went to use the sonic shower too, and when she came back she was back to her usual self.

"I guess we should get started," she said to him.

"I guess so," he answered.

"I know this isn't your thing Will, but we only have to get through one more stage. We're nearly there."

"You're right. Come on then, let's go."

They headed towards the practise area where they had a room booked. Talya changed her shoes, even though her feet were screaming at her to remain in her flats, and she and Will went through the sketchy outline of a dance that Jenni had put together for them just before they left. They did well, and they perfected this dance much quicker than they had the last one.

They took a break for lunch, although Talya only ate salad and drank copious amounts of tea.

"So why were you upset this morning?" Will asked her as he dug into his sandwich. She forked a tomato.

"Oh… no reason," she replied.

"Of course there was a reason," he countered. "If there's a problem I'd like to know about it."

"With respect, you're not my commanding officer."

"It doesn't mean I can't help you," he replied gently. She sighed.

"I'm fine. Like I said I'm terrible in a morning."

"Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Talya didn't know how to explain it to him.

"No. Sometimes I just wake up and want to cry. I have no good reason to, it's just sometimes. Usually when I'm tired and stressed. Will, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to Jenni when we get back. I don't want to worry her, and it really is just a one-off."

"It's nothing to do with me Tally, you're over eighteen, you told me that in confidence."

"Thank you."

She went back to picking at her salad.

"We gonna kick some ass tomorrow?" she asked him with a smile.

"We sure are."

X

Riker had no idea how, but they'd pulled together the dance and he felt less nervous than the first time. He put it all down to Talya, who was just amazing. Sure her knowledge of a shuttle's basic systems was severely lacking (she thought she'd set the computer's alarm when really she'd nearly managed to overload the console), but where dance was concerned she was fantastic.

Once more they prepared their hair and make-up and costumes, and they danced away. Riker almost dared to say he enjoyed himself, but the more important task of the night was coming close. After the show there would be a reception with the leader of Infa II, and that was where Riker had to ask her what was going on.

It no longer mattered whether they got through to the next round of the competition, but as it happened they did just about scrape through. Both of them thought that was a miracle, given that Talya had tripped over and Riker had then stood on her foot. However, they'd managed to make it look so casual that no one was sure whether they were genuine mistakes or part of their rather tongue-in-cheek dance.

"I'm going to go get ready for the reception," Talya said backstage.

"Sure, meet you there in half an hour," Riker answered.

"Fine."

They parted ways and Talya took another sonic shower, allowing it to scrub the heavy make-up from her face. She got out and put on a beautiful dress. It was a deep green to match her eyes, with a long skirt and a beaded V-neck top. It was decent, not one part of her was showing except her slender arms, but she looked divine. She was just piling her hair into a knot at the back of her head when there was a knock on the door.

"I thought I was meeting you there?" she yelled, assuming it was Riker coming to pick her up. No reply came, just another urgent knock. She went over to the door and opened it.

Suddenly, a hand clamped itself over her mouth. She tried to scream but it was impossible as she was pushed, back into the changing room by a large figure. She struggled against him but she was brought further into his grip, her back against his stomach. She dug her elbow into the flesh behind and she heard him groan, but he gripped her wrist so tightly that she thought it would break. He forced her onto the floor and sat on top of her, forcing something into her mouth and cuffing her hands behind her. She continued to struggle nevertheless and she managed to kick him in the groin as he got off her and she got to her feet in the small time it took him to recover. Her effort was rewarded with a hard kick to her stomach and another one to her face which knocked her straight off her feet again and she landed, hard on the floor. She wished she could make some loud noise, but there wasn't even anything in the room except her clothes.

The man came towards her and kicked her again, making her curl into a ball and completely stealing her breath. He covered her eyes with something so she couldn't see, then she felt him lift her up and sling her over his shoulder. She didn't dare move she was sure he didn't have a very good grip on her. Her head was spinning, now some of the adrenaline had worn off she could feel the pain from where he'd kicked her. She felt cold air hit her and she knew they were outside.

Very soon, she felt herself being put down on some kind of stone floor, but they were still in the open air. She heard strange sounds, machines of some sort. Then she was picked up again and flung inside something. After a few moments, it juddered and rose into the air. She guessed it was a shuttle of some kind, and that filled her with dread. Would Riker be missing her by now? She wasn't sure he would, it had all happened so quickly. And if she was being moved somewhere, it would make it harder for him to find her.

Suddenly, someone was touching her face. Her instincts made her shy away from them, but there wasn't anywhere to go.

"Easy," a man's voice said, "I'm just checking to see if you're hurt."

Great, she thought. Of course she was hurt; whoever had grabbed her had been rough! She thought of the kick she'd managed to give him and it gave her some satisfaction. The man's hands pushed her to lying down and she heard a rip as he tore part of her dress so he could see her stomach, but as she couldn't see it made her panic and dart upright, moaning in protest.

"Shhh! Calm down, I'm looking at you. You're a fighty one all right!"

She was pushed back again and she lay still. She felt fingers on her abdomen and they pressed hard. She groaned in pain until they released and moved onto the next area.

"You'll live," the voice declared. "Now you can cool off here for tonight, we'll talk to you tomorrow when you've calmed down."

There were a million questions that Talya wanted to ask, but as he didn't remove her gag or restraints she couldn't get any answers. She felt something sharp in her arm.

"It's just to make you sleep, you'll wake up tomorrow."

She shook her head desperately.

"Shhh..."

He was stroking her hair, which creeped her out completely and she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. She fought the overwhelming urge to sleep.

"Shhh… stop fighting it, it hurts more if you fight it. Just let yourself go."

Her head was pounding and her whole body ached… then she had to succumb to the darkness with a frustrated cry.