A/N- Reviews are fun. I will need them if you want me to finish. What possessed me to start this now with so much going on in my life is beyond me. I'm nuts.
Chapter 2
The next morning, Will headed back to the transporter room, ready for round two with his father. It was unlike the Captain to meddle, but assigning his first officer to meet the delegates from Earth, well, it certainly felt like meddling to Will.
The doors opened and he felt a smile come across is face at the sight of her pacing nervously. "He got you too?" he asked with a laugh.
"Better me than him, I guess," Deanna said with a defeated smile. "Better than my mother treating the two of you like her bellboys. Are you meeting the Earth delegation?" she asked surprised.
Will nodded. "Wonder how he'll avoid me this time."
Deanna walked over to him and put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Oh, Will. I'm so sorry. I don't know why he did what he did last night."
"Why does he ever do what he does, Deanna?" he asked, then shrugged his shoulders as if he could rid himself of the burden of it. "I've just got to get through it." He looked back at the woman next to him, looking at him with such genuine concern. "He was at least nice to you, right?" he asked her.
Deanna pointed at herself as if it were a question. "I didn't talk to him last night."
"I thought your mother made sure you talked to anyone with a pulse," he teased.
"I would say that your father avoided me as if I had some sort of plague," she told him. "He avoided the whole group of us, now that I think about it," she added, more puzzled the more she thought about it. "You don't think there's a problem, do you? I didn't see him or my mother anywhere near each other."
"So?"
"So, they're supposed to be negotiating this energy treaty together. What if there's something going on that we should…"
"Deanna," Will interrupted her, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. "We already have our parents do deal with. Let's not manufacture more things to worry about. Okay?"
"I'm just saying…"
"And so am I," he said flatly, just as the door opened behind them and the Captain came into the transporter room.
"Good morning, Sir," Will greeted him.
"Any word from the planet?"
"Not yet, Sir." Will answered.
"As I understand it, the Sorronians are insisting they beam aboard first, and they don't wish to see the other delegates until tomorrow. So once they are aboard, I will escort them to their quarters, which they have also insisted are on decks above the other delegations." The Captain sighed slightly.
"Not exactly overly friendly, are they Sir?" Will asked with a smirk.
"They aren't known for their hospitable natures, no," he admitted. "Once we are out of the room, Number One, the delegates from Earth should be next aboard. And then once they are on their way, Counselor, you can signal for the Betazoid delegation."
"I notice that conveniently makes the two of you preoccupied upon my mother's arrival," said Deanna.
The two men glanced at each other and back to the ship's counselor with their best innocent expressions. "She barely acknowledged me last night, Counselor. She was much more interested in seeing her daughter," the Captain justified.
"Come to think of it, she didn't say more than two word to me either. Have I gotten surly in the past few years or something?" Will asked.
Deanna only smiled at him. "Terribly surly," she said, when the transporter pad beeped.
"Ready or not, here we go," Will muttered.
The Sorronians arrived with an overt sense of solemnity. They seemed to dread being aboard the Star Fleet vessel, and with the pride and affection the Captain felt for his ship, their clear disdain was off putting. But he performed his duty with dignity as he led them from the room.
Once the room was clear, Will glanced over to the transporter pad.
"You're next," Deanna said as if she were teasing, but Will saw that little furrow of her brow, that furrow that said she was sorting through your emotions for you.
"It's fine Deanna. Stop digging through my psyche, would you please?"
"I'm just-" she began almost sadly defensive.
"I know you are. And I love you for it. But I'm fine. I promise." He reached over and punched a few keys, letting the planet know they were ready for the next transport. The consol beeped in response and a moment later the room filled with light.
There was a group of two men, and a younger woman. Kyle Riker stood at the head of the group and glanced from Will to Deanna uneasily.
"Welcome aboard," Will offered, as warmly as he could muster. "Please excuse the Captain. He is escorting the Sorronian delegates to their quarters."
"Poor man," Kyle sighed. "Jonathan, Deborah, this is my son, Will," he said casually.
"Commander," the man to his father's left greeted him and shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you."
"And you. This is Deanna Troi, our ship's counselor." Will gestured to where Deanna stood just beside him.
"Of course, Lwaxana's daughter. Remarkable to have both of your children here," he said to Kyle, but Kyle Riker only huffed and smiled uncomfortably.
"Well, I'm sure they're waiting to come aboard, we should be on our way, yes?" he asked Will.
"Right this way," Will gesture and the group followed after him almost silently.
The doors closed behind them and Deanna let out a long breath. The tension between Will and his father was almost tangible. And he still had barely acknowledged Deanna. She let that wisp of a feeling that something was off come over her, before she realized Will was right. Her mother was enough to keep Deanna's hands full without Deanna worrying about things she had no idea about. Time would tell she supposed. She took another deep breath, almost bracing herself against the onslaught to her senses that was her mother, before keying the ready commands to the planet's surface and the room suddenly filling with what felt like the chaos that was her mother's swirling mind.
"Hello Mother," Deanna said as her mother tried to over exaggeratedly regain her balance.
"Oh, you know how I hate that," she told her. "Hello little one." She glanced around the room. "They've left you alone to greet us?" she asked sharply.
"Please excuse the Captain and Commander Riker. They are escorting the other delegates to their quarters." Deanna turned to the six people behind her mother, Mr. Homm being one of them. "Welcome aboard the Enterprise," she told them.
"Oh, honestly Deanna. How menial these tasks that they give you," her mother belittled as she strolled forward out of the room and the other delegates followed silently behind. "It's as if they don't realize the honor it is to have you here."
Deanna followed along as well, walking next to her mother dejectedly. "Honestly Mother, do we have to do this again? Here, now?"
Her mother stopped in the hall and studied her for a moment, before smiling kindly. "Of course not. We can discuss your future another time."
Deanna fought to keep her thought of 'lucky me' to herself, but her mother's frown let her know she had been heard.
"I have missed you my dear. Why don't we drop my collogues off and you and I talk for a while. I want to hear everything," she said, starting to walk again to the lift. "So tell me, what did you think of Roland Tar last night? He was clearly very taken with you."
Deanna closed her eyes for a moment and took another deep breath. It was going to be a long couple of weeks, she realized as she followed after her mother.
Will Riker walked slowly next to his father. He had shown the other delegates their quarters and now he was alone with his father for the first time in years. They would occasionally glance at each other, but neither of them had said a thing. Will glanced up the corridor. Eight more doors to his father's quarters.
"I hope your quarters will be suitable for the trip," he finally said, just to fill the silence.
"Fine, I'm sure," his father answered as they continued their awkward walk.
"Everything going well?"
Kyle only nodded stiffly.
"Well," Will said with a sigh of relief as they neared the door. "These are your quarters. You have a replicator there," he said motioning to the wall. "Desk, bedroom…" he said lingering in the doorway.
"I think I can find my way around," his father said dismissively. "Are the other delegates aboard?"
Will looked back over his shoulder to the hall. "I assume so."
"So we'll be leaving soon?"
Will tugged harshly on his uniform. "Yes."
"Then I'm sure you have things you need to be doing."
"Fine," was all Will could manage. His jaw was clenched as he turned to leave. But in the hall behind him he saw a young woman, her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail high on her head and cascading over her shoulder.
She smiled simply at him. "Oh, excuse me. You must be Commander Riker. I'm Shanna Zerrah with the Betaziod delegation." She looked past Will to his father. "Kyle, hello," she said with a small laugh. "We're practically neighbors."
Will watched his father awkwardly. "How delightful," he said to her kindly, more kindly than he had spoken to Will, perhaps in his whole life.
"You haven't been around much the last few days. I became accustomed to seeing you more regularly."
"I…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "There has been much to do."
"Yes," she agreed simply. "The next few weeks should prove less demanding. The entire Betazoid delegation is on this same deck, so if you need anything…"
"Thank you so much, my dear," he told her. The two of them nodded and Will watched her walk away. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five. Will just shook his head. Maybe he did understand his father better than he would care to admit.
"I'll be going," Will told his father bitterly.
For a moment, his father almost looked like he was going to say something, but then his face fell and he turned away. With a shrug he wished was sincere indifference, Will walked off into the corridor, listening to the door close behind him. He shook his head to himself as he walked. In what? Judgement? He wondered as he walked. "Chasing some twenty something…" he mumbled.
"What was that?"
Will looked around him and found Deanna Troi slipping into the turbo lift next to him. He hadn't been paying attention to anything around him but a smile came to his face at the sight of her. "Hey! You survived your mother?"
"I'd say I was better off than you," she said scrunching her face, that way she did.
"Remember when I said he might have just been chasing after some twenty something member of the Betazoid delegation?" Deanna nodded slightly. "Well, I think I get my father more than I give myself credit for sometimes."
"Shanna?" Deanna asked. She was the youngest member of her mother's group.
"You know her?" Will asked, almost hoping she didn't. It would make it less embarrassing if she didn't.
"She's Chandra's cousin," Deanna told him and Will moaned.
"She's what? Twenty-five?"
Deanna thought for a moment. "About that."
"Younger than me," he said disapprovingly.
"Younger than me," Deanna answered. "Why do you think that's what's going on?"
"I just do. I know that look on my father's face, like he's almost going to explain something and then decides it's none of my business."
"Maybe it isn't any of your business. You're a grown man, Will. He doesn't need to explain to you who he's dating."
"She's a good ten years younger than me."
"I know."
"A little sticky sweet, honestly. Not really his type."
"Sticky sweet?" Deanna asked.
"I don't know. A little naive, maybe. Optimistic to the point of annoying?" he asked if she was getting the picture. "Chandra was a little that way ten years ago too, honestly."
"What? Nice? Oh no. My friend was nice to you. What a shame!"
"That's not what I meant," Will sighed. "I just don't want him to… I don't know. Just forget it, okay?" he asked. "Main Bridge," he called to the computer.
"Okay," Deanna said warily. For a moment the turbo lift was silent. "I'm worried about you," she said quietly.
"You're mother is trying to marry you off to every man she sees and you're worried about me?" he asked.
"Stop it," she ordered.
"Engaged yet?"
"Stop it!"
"Two weeks till we get to Betazed. Plenty of time for your mom to plan a wedding."
"Will!" she barked, until she saw that terrible smile. She was being teased. "You're horrible," she told him, almost laughing at the way he could rile her up.
"I made you smile," he said softly.
The turbo lift rose to the Bridge and the two of them took the small moment to unwind from the morning of family togetherness before heading onto the bridge.
"Their Sorronian brains work so slowly, they actually give me a headache." Lwaxana Troi told her daughter as the walked towards 10- Forward together for lunch.
It had been four days since her mother came aboard and Deanna realized this was perhaps the first conversation that had not been completely dominated by talk of men and Deanna's future. "They certainly have proven interesting travel guests," Deanna agreed.
The truth was the Sorronian delegates had been down right troublesome. Every time they left their quarters, they had additional demands from the crew. They were insulting and arrogant to the point of frustrating large amounts of the crew. Between her own mother, and Will and his father and the Sorronian's, Deanna's days had been full.
"Yes, I know. I am sorry, dear," Lwaxana said remorsefully as they walked through the doors of 10- Forward. The room was crowded with people standing around. "What has happened here?"
Deanna sighed as she made her way into the packed room. "Most of the tables have been removed for the concert tonight." She should have realized it would be like this at the peak of lunch hour, but her mother had said she needed to get out of her own quarters and Deanna had been so busy that her own were not as tidy as she would have liked and the last thing she needed was a lecture about her home from her mother. So 10- Forward it was.
"Oh, yes. I suppose I'll be expected to be there as well," Lwaxana sighed.
"Yes, Mother," Deanna chastised. "It should be lovely."
"And will someone be accompanying you this evening?" her mother asked.
Deanna sighed. It had been nice while it lasted. "I know. Why don't we go together," she offered. It was far preferable to her mother trying to fix her up on a date. "I'd love the opportunity to spend more time with you."
"I'm sure the Sorronian's will do their best to suck any life or joy from the room," her mother answered. "I would have thought you would have been tagging along behind Commander Riker, making sure his ego was in tact the whole evening," her mother's words bit, even as she glanced around the room for a place to sit, as if she'd said nothing at all.
"Mother," Deanna rebuked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing at all dear. Other than the tension between William and his father is beginning to make everyone on the ship tense, though most of them don't even know why. Forget everyone else, I'm not sure the two of them know why. What is their dilemma anyway?"
Deanna thought for a moment. "I'm not sure I really know. Ancient history, I suppose," she said, as she looked for a table in vane.
"Well, people who live in the past ruin their futures," Lwaxana decreed. "Tell Commander Riker to grow up."
"Mother!" Deanna chastised her again. "It's none of your business.'
"Of course it's my business. When half your day is following behind him asking him if his father has hurt his feelings, it seems like someone ought to make it their business," she said her voice full of almost indifference.
"Mother, that's enough. Will is my friend. Of course I am concerned for him." But her mother shook her head as if it annoyed her.
"Counselor," Deanna heard someone call and looked around the room to where Geordi LaForge was waving at her from a table in the back of the room, beckoning her towards him. "Here, take our table, we were just leaving," Geordi told her as he and three of his engineering supervisors stood from their seats.
"Thank you, Geordi," Deanna said greeting her friend warmly.
"Oh, how lovely of you, Commander! You've rescued us!" Lwaxana exclaimed.
Geordi and Deanna looked at one another wearily.
"You must stay and join us, Commander. Tell me more about yourself."
Deanna dug her nails a little firmly into Geordi's forearm where her hand had rested, hoping he would get the unspoken message to run. "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Troi, but I'm afraid I am needed in engineering. If you'd excuse me," he said. Deanna patted his arm lightly and said goodbye before sinking into the chair across from her mother and ordering her lunch. She watched her mother for a moment, the swirl of activity in her mind, and that slight sense she had felt from the first moment she saw her mother, that while she was pulling her close physically, there was something emotionally that was keeping her at a distance. More than just privacy. It was so small, and yet, irritating.
"Mother, what do you know about Will and his father?" she finally asked as the server brought them their lunches.
The look on Lwaxana's face froze, but only for an instant. "What would make you think I know anything about it?" she asked.
"Well, you've been working with his father for several weeks…"
"Language of treaties hardly lends itself to discussions of ones parenting, dear. I was simply observing. Now," she said grandly, sweeping the former subject aside. "Tell me more about Commander LaForge. He is a delightful man, don't you think?"
Her mother had that sparkle to her eye again. Certainly she didn't really intend to start fixing her up with her co-workers. "Mother."
"What? I was simply saying that I thought he was charming. He's not handsome in that traditional sense, but he's got strong features. He could be a good match for you. "
"Mother, certainly not."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so. Because he is my friend. A very dear friend, and I don't take that lightly."
"And no doubt, a good friend to Commander Riker," her mother muttered.
Deanna dropped her fork back to her plate. "Alright. That's enough, Mother. What is going on with you? Why the sudden… panic to see me paired off with someone?"
"I want you to be happy."
"I am happy!"
"I want you happier!"
"And I can't be happy without a husband?"
"You can't be happy in your future if one eye is always on the past!"
Deanna took a deep breath trying to calm herself and lower her voice in the crowded room. "Are we really having this conversation about Will Riker? Again? Why your sudden irksome disapproval? I thought you just wanted me to be happy."
"He's holding you back," Lwaxana said coldly.
"Is he?" Deanna asked startled by her mother's blatant honesty.
"Surely you can see it. No good man on this ship would ever step on Commander Riker's toes to be with you, and you seem determined to doom yourself on this ship to a life of loneliness."
"I'm not lonely, Mother. Nor am I dwelling on the past. Commander Riker is my friend, as are so many other med on this ship. And I think you're wrong. If it meant that I was happy, Will would never stand in my way."
"So you're telling me that you're over him? Completely?"
"Ahh," Deanna almost growled in frustration. "Mother, what Will and I had is over. Yes. Why are you doing this?"
Her mother held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Fine. I apologize. We won't speak of it again."
"Thank you," Deanna said determinedly.
"Let us just enjoy our lunch in peace."
"Fine."
"Fine," her mother echoed.
"So I've made both of our parents angry? How did I manage that?" Will asked that evening as they left the bridge together.
"I don't know. I really don't know what is going on with her, Will. Something's not right. It's like she's keeping something from me." Deanna thought for a moment, trying to put what she sensed from her mother into words. "There is something desperate, frantic almost, about wanting me to be involved with someone."
"But not me."
"Anyone but you," she said sadly. "I'm so sorry. I'm at a complete loss."
"And I was just getting used to her sort of shoving us back together."
"The irony of it, really," Deanna thought, and Will nodded his agreement.
"Maybe I should just steer clear of you for a while, make your mother happy. Too bad. I was hoping you'd go with me to this concert tonight."
"Oh, I think that would be a very bad idea. Besides, I already convinced my mother to go with me."
"So she wouldn't fix you up with someone else?"
"Precisely," Deanna admitted, stepping out of the lift.
"You're a clever woman, Deanna Troi," he told her before heading to his own quarters to grab something to eat and to change for the concert that evening.
Deanna changed her clothes and made her way to her mother's quarters. As she rounded the bend she found the door to her mother's quarters were open and her mother and Kyle Riker stood together, apparently deep in conversation.
"Little One!" her mother called out to her cheerily, and Deanna noticed that Kyle Riker seemed startled, taking several steps away.
"Hello Deanna," he said, his nervousness coming off him in waves.
"Mr. Riker. I've hardly had a chance to see you in the past few days. How are you?" Deanna asked warmly. Certainly, if he thought she was angry with him, simply because she was Will's friend, she wanted to relieve him of that worry. Perhaps she could even help the situation.
"Fine, thank you. If you'd excuse me," he said and quickly, he was gone.
Her mother stepped from her quarters and took her daughter by the arm, leading her off in the opposite direction.
"What was that about?" Deanna asked.
"The treaty. What else?"
"He seemed terribly nervous."
"I've come to realize that Kyle Riker can be a very nervous man," her mother answer almost brushed her questions aside. "You're earlier than I expected. We should walk for a bit, don't you agree?"
Her mother had her in tow. Deanna wasn't sure she had much of a choice. They walked the ship while her mother jabbered on about anything that came to her mind. She'd never heard her mother talk as much. It was almost dizzying. Certainly, it left her unsettled.
At the concert, twice Deanna found Kyle Riker watching her and her mother intently, though he quickly looked away. What was it? Had he told her mother something he hoped she would keep in confidence? The idea of her mother and Will Riker's father having some sort of a confidence between them was oddly unnerving. She looked over and tried to catch Will's eye several times, but he was skillfully avoiding her. The last thing he wanted to be accused of was standing in the way of Deanna's happiness. "Hmm," Deanna said with a sigh. There was something she was missing.
After the concert was over, Deanna realized that she didn't see the one thing that she had expected. Kyle Riker and Chandra's young cousin hadn't been sitting together, and while she did see them chatting once, it was hardly flirtatious or remotely romantic. If Kyle Riker was perusing her like Will thought, he was doing it rather badly, from what she could tell.
She did watch the painful interaction or lack thereof, with Will and his father. Like two passing ships, they managed to be near each other without actually interacting at all. Why, she couldn't help but wonder. What had Will done to deserve this prolonged cold shoulder from his own father?
"Good morning, Commander," Deanna greeted Will in 10- Forward the next morning. The room had been returned to its previous state and was far from crowded, as she approached the table where Will sat, reading reports and sipping on his coffee.
"Am I allowed to talk to you, yet?"
Deanna swatted him lightly on the shoulder and he feigned injury. "You're lucky that's all you get for ignoring me last night."
"What can I say? I learned from the best," he said, taking another drink of his coffee.
"Oh, Will," Deanna sighed. "How long are you going to wait for your father to be in a talking mood? He's been aboard for five days."
"It's fine," he said indifferently, but Deanna took the PADD from his hand and pushed his coffee away from him.
"It's not fine," she said simply, taking his hand. "It's not fine with you. You need to give yourself permission to be angry about the way that you're being treated."
"Why?" he asked coldly. "What good will that do?"
"How many more chances do you think you get to fix this, Will? Do you think life is infinite?"
"Maybe it doesn't need to be fixed."
Deanna looked at him sadly for a moment. "You could say that to the rest of the crew and they would probably believe you, but I can feel it," she said, reaching out and placing her hand over his heart. "That ache right here that you wish wasn't there. Talk to him, Will. On your terms, not his."
Will almost snorted with laughter. "And how would you like me to do that? If I walk into a room, he walks out."
"You're not fifteen, Will! You are the first officer of the flagship of the federation. This is YOUR ship, for God's sake! Start acting like it!"
Deanna watched his face go from shocked to thoughtful to almost determined as they sat in silence. "Maybe…"
"You should," she assured him.
"I should?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, trouble maker," he said with a laugh. "Maybe tonight-"
"Not tonight," she interrupted. "Right now!" she urged, before he lost the desire.
Will looked around the room as if she might have forgotten where they were. "I have a job…" he told her.
But Deanna didn't buy it. "You have a staff meeting in about an hour. You don't think you could get a decent start in an hour?"
"I usually meet with the Captain-"
"I'll tell the Captain you're talking to your father. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."
"You have a plan for everything, don't you?" he teased.
"I do try," she said casually.
"So I just track him down and…"
"Yes."
"And if he…"
"You give people orders all the time. Stop treating him with this paternal deference."
"What about political deference?"
Deanna reached out and took Will's hand. "You need to do this, Will. Get it out, whatever it is."
"Right now?"
"Right now!" she said, urging him out of his chair. "Computer, locate ambassador Riker."
"Ambassador Riker is in his quarters."
Deanna smiled. "There you go," she told Will. He stood looking at her, uncertain. "Go on!" she told him. "Shoo!"
Will started to walk away, then turned back to her smiling. "You are very good at your job. Did you know that?"
Deanna smiled and picked up the PADD Will had left on the desk, glancing over it casually. "Thank you, Commander." She watched him with a heart full of pride as he walked so determined out of 10 –Forward. She hoped they would be able to resolve some things.
Will Riker strode down the corridor, trying to remind himself who he was. This was HIS ship for God's sake. He would talk to him when Will told him to talk to him, not whenever he felt like it, or not. Who did he think he was? This was Will's territory, not his fathers. He practiced how he would begin in his mind, over and over as he got closer and closer to his father's door, and rang the chime. He didn't know how long he waited, still practicing what he would say, before he realized his father had not answered. He rang the chime again. After several seconds, he paged the computer. "Computer, is Ambassador Riker still in his quarters?"
"Affirmative."
Will stared at the closed door, anger welling up in his chest again. He rang the chime one last time. And what if he simply ignores me? He wanted to ask Deanna. What then? He finally stepped away from the door and began to walk away, anger pounding in his ears. "Computer," he asked after several steps. "Did the Ambassador ask for the identity of the person at his door?"
"Affirmative."
"Son of a…" Will muttered. "No. This is MY ship! This is getting done MY way!" he said turning around and storming back to his father's door. "You don't just get to ignore me," he demanded as he keyed in his security override and the door opened obediently in front of him.
TBC