Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek TNG or any of its original characters.

Epilogue

Will heard Deanna's pattering feet making their way across the kitchen heading to the back door. It was the middle of summer, but at this early hour he was sure they would still be cold. He grabbed the quilt that lay across the trunk at the foot of the bed and walked out onto the back porch.

Deanna sat rocking peacefully in the swing, pulling the blanket tighter against the baby's body as he nursed at her breast.

"Here," Will said wrapping the quilt around the two of them. "Good morning."

"Good morning, nothing. He's been up since four."

Will kissed his wife softly and then pulled the blanket back to look at his son's face. He rubbed his finger down the side of his small cheek as he continued to feed. "Hey little man, how about we take it easy on Mommy. She's on vacation too."

"I think the sun is really throwing him off his pattern. He's not used to being planet side."

Will sat on the swing with her and pulled her into his arms. "What do you mean? He was born planet side," Will told her.

"Well, in the last two months, I think he got used to the stars," Deanna told him.

"No Bob?" Will asked looking around at the trees.

"No Bob," Deanna replied. "He hasn't been here for two mornings in a row now. I'm a little worried about him."

"He is a wild animal, you realize," Will reminded her.

"I know."

"Would you like me to call Sarah and see if Bob has been around or what she knows?"

"I would love that," Deanna said and then she yawned.

"Tell you what," Will said kissing her head. "When he is done eating, I will burp him and change him and you can go back to bed for a bit."

"Oh, honey. That's sweet, but I have someplace I want to go this morning," Deanna told him.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Not we, me. I want to go."

Will looked at her with a little frown. "Did I do something?" he asked.

"No, I just want to do this by myself."

"Do I get to know what it is?" he asked her.

"No."

The baby pulled away from Deanna's breast and she pulled her shirt down and the blanket up quickly to keep the cold away from her skin. Will reached for his three-month-old son and propped him on his shoulder, patting him on the back.

"Come on. I know you've got it in you," Will talked to the baby.

"I'm going to get dressed," Deanna told him, standing and walking back into the house.

Will followed her. "You know I like this every other year thing that we have going," he told her.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied still burping the baby. "One year Betazed the next year here. It works."

"Except this year we went to Betazed to have a baby and then came here to decompress from being on Betazed having a baby," Deanna told him. "We've killed the pattern."

"And with all that time away, the ship is fine," he told her. "It's the privilege of being a fantastic captain. Your ship runs so smoothly that they don't even notice when you're gone."

"That and having a fantastic first officer," Deanna added.

"I do have a fantastic first officer," Will agreed. "I chose well."

"You didn't choose at all. He was assigned to you."

"Okay, so I got lucky. Besides, it's only fair. In another six months when Jenny has the baby, they'll take some family time and we'll make up for all the time we've been away."

"It's a boy," she sang from the bedroom.

"I know. We got you a built in buddy, little man. And you two will run around and you are going to drive Sammy crazy!"

"Are you kidding? Who do you think is going to be showing them all the trouble? She is just as bad."

"I thought John and I got to show them how to get into trouble." Will heard Deanna moan from the bedroom and he laughed to himself.

"Well, if we are coming back in two years, you are going to have to get over not wanting to be in your fathers old room. I am not putting Daniel up there and us down here, or the other way around and I am not having our two year old in our room."

Will looked up at the ceiling thinking. "I'll tackle that phobia in two years," he told her as she came back out of the room dressed, and pulling on her boots.

"Come on," he pried. "Where are you going?"

"Will."

"Okay, how long will it take you?" Will tried again. "Should we wait to eat?"

"How about you give me half an hour and meet me at Miss Rosemary's for breakfast."

"That's a plan," he told her.

Deanna grabbed her coat and leaned in and kissed Will and then the top of the baby's head. "I love you," she told them both. "Be good for your daddy," and she was out the door.

Deanna walked up the hill that she had found so soothing when she spent those weeks in Turner almost two years before. She picked some of the wild flowers along the path and then turned and headed into the cemetery. She made her way past the tall oak tree and found the graves of Will's parents. Slowly she knelt and cleared away some cut grass and placed her flowers, first for Will's father and then his mother.

"I rocked your grandson on your swing this morning," she spoke out loud to the empty air. "Just like you rocked Will. We named him Daniel James, and he's perfect. I just wanted you to know. I didn't give up. And we're happy. We're really truly happy. I'll bring him up here when he's older and I'll tell him about you. He has blue eyes like yours and Wills. It's funny how when we were ready he just appeared in our lives without any complications or intervention. Just like we always wanted it." Deanna looked around over the bay. The whales were out in the water and the eagles swooped overhead.

"They're waiting for me, at Miss Rosemary's to have breakfast. I just wanted to come tell you that we are happy. And that I will take good care of them, your son and mine." Deanna wiped at her eyes and stood back up, brushing off her knees. She took a few deep breaths and looked down again at the headstones of her family, before heading back in to town.

"Alright," Will said packing the baby's bag. "Diapers, wipes, pacifier, spitty cloth, spare outfit and blanket incase you poop all over what you are wearing," Will said looking down as the baby rolled side to side on a blanket at his feet. "Come on, Man. You and I both know you have a little problem with that." He looked back at the bag and then he leaned down and scooped up his son. "You and me, kid, we got to have a talk about packing lighter. This is just not fitting a Star Fleet officer to have to haul around a bag bigger than you just to go have breakfast." Will tucked the baby's blanket in around him and put the bag on his shoulder and headed out the door.

"Come on, little man. Let's go meet your mommy. This will be the first time you get to taste Miss Rosemary's cooking." He told him as they walked. "She cooks almost as good as mommy does. Mommy will tell you all about how Miss Rosemary helped her learn to cook. Of course you'll be getting this food second hand, so I don't know if it makes breast milk taste any better. I'll ask you after your next feeding and you can tell me all about it." Will walked into town and as he approached the café, he spotted Deanna walking down the hill.

She was simply the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. His mind flashed back for a moment to when he almost lost her, but he shook his head. This was them, they were here. Will, his wife and his son, and they were happy. Deanna waved as she got closer and Will waved back and then unwrapped Daniel's little arm and waved it for him. "Say, Hi Beautiful Mommy," he said as Deanna kissed him and they walked into the café together.

The End

For all of you wonderful people who managed to read over 100,000 words, not to mention countless typos and still give me great feedback. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!