Note: The timeline for Season 6, episode 6, 'Rascals' is loose enough that I am certain there's at least one overnight with the de-aged characters before the Ferengi show up.
Chapter Six: The Road to Hell
It was the middle of the night and Will was still awake.
He felt like his center of gravity had been compromised. The worst part was that he didn't think he could repair it until he'd fully examined what had caused the damage, and he didn't want to. With the captain going on shore leave, though, Will knew he would be in charge, and that meant he should be well rested. Unfortunately, 'well rested' was on the other side of an examination of the events of Data's party.
Lilly had stood up to him, spirited and determined and angry. If Deanna hadn't been worried about his volatility before, she surely would be now, because he'd felt his heart respond to Lilly at multiple points. He'd always been drawn to assertive women, even though more times than not, they'd been too confident, too demanding, too determined to have their way. Lilly's journals and his knowledge of her historical behavior told him that she wasn't one of those kinds of women, and her attitude the night before had borne that out.
Worf's compromise about asking nicely had been something Will knew he should have considered before; he was ashamed of himself in that regard. He didn't feel diminished by the softened language, but he did feel that he had a blind spot when it came to her. He should have thought of it himself.
Furthering his stress level was the fact that, in agreeing to his requests, she'd used the same phrasing as she would when accepting her future husband's proposal! 'Then, I accept.' Will had nearly gone speechless. Her teasing capitulation had been endearing and attractive. He loved that she wasn't overly stubborn, and he liked that she was bold enough to challenge him in a room full of people. His problem was that if he was truthful with himself, he wanted far, far more than that.
He'd retreated from her to speak to Deanna, eventually agreeing to meet with her at some point during the captain's shore leave. He knew her concern was warranted, but he'd wished in that moment that the Enterprise had a fully human, non-Betazoid ship's counselor. After a few minutes, Deanna had overheard part of Lilly's conversation and moved closer. His own curiosity had been too much to overcome, and he'd heard Lilly confess to disliking jazz.
The Lilly he 'knew' loved jazz. It was part of the reason he'd been intrigued by her journals in the first place.
There was a conclusion to be made about this development, and Will realized it was that deduction which kept him awake. How else could he explain the discrepancy except that he was the common link? The steps to that conclusion were so obvious that anyone with the same information he had would be driven to agree.
Somehow, despite his determination to distance himself from her-he, the reigning lover of jazz on the ship-Will was going to persuade Lilly to like it at some point before she left. He groaned and rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes. With evidence like this, from her own lips, what was the point of keeping away?
Unless Q managed to influence her in some twisted revenge for Will daring to interfere?
Will got up, throwing his light blanket to the side in a crumpled heap. That last thought was both too much to bear thinking about and a sign that his mind was leaping to greater and greater extremes.
He splashed water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was in disarray and his eyes were bloodshot.
"You definitely look handsome enough for a princess," he said sardonically to his reflection. As soon as he said it, though, he made a dismissive noise. He knew her. Lilly only cared about her status when it came to her own independence. Seeing that in person was just more encouragement that he didn't need.
Will picked his blanket up from the floor and sighed. Sleep seemed far away.
"Computer, play an album of a musical from the 21st century called Hadestown?" he said impulsively.
"Playing Hadestown, Original Broadway Cast Recording: Road to Hell."
Immediately, the brassy, confident sound of a trombone playing a jazz riff filled the room.
Will sat down on his bed, utterly stunned. A chorus of voices hummed in harmony. When the singer started, his voice was full of personality, and the song expanded with enthusiasm and musicality, everything he loved about jazz itself. He listened to the song without really hearing the lyrics, loving the song's backbone of trombone and the singular quality of the male singer's voice. The computer didn't tell him the name of the next song, but he knew he could ask if he wanted. Instead, he listened to the sultry harmony of voices and the young lead singer, feeling both soothed and bewildered. Lilly had said she loved this, and he could see why. He did, too, so far. The more he listened, the more the fact that the first instrument in the whole thing was a trombone seemed too coincidental to be real.
Almost like it was fate.
Will felt his body start to loosen up and he lay back to listen, falling asleep before he heard the beginning of the fifth song on the album.
8888888888
The Enterprise ferried a contingent of diplomats from one system to another while the captain was on shore leave, and Lilly spent that time in her quarters. She had a few brief visits from Beverly, and Deanna had also dropped by in her official capacity to check up on her. After that visit, Lilly understood more about why Deanna seemed to be pulling away from her a bit- she had decided that her close friendship with Riker meant she would have a conflict if she acted as Lilly's counselor.
"Honestly, being able to sense the conflict between you makes me feel compelled to mediate it. Neither one of you is reading the other's reactions properly, but that's not my business," Deanna had said, trailing off the end of her statement in obvious frustration at herself.
The day before they were due to pick up the three vacationing ship members, Data invited Lilly over for dinner with himself and the chief engineer of the ship, who she hadn't met yet. He even came by to escort her.
"The doctor tells me you have been staying in your quarters almost exclusively," he said to her as they walked along the corridor.
"Yes, well, to be honest, with all the access to books, movies, and music that I have even just from my own time, I have been keeping busy. Thank you for including textbooks and recordings of video classes. I've been learning meteorology!" Lilly told Data.
"I am confused. Did you not have access to those things during your own time?"
"I did, yes, but they cost money," Lilly said, biting her lip. He wouldn't remove her access retroactively, would he? "I also was busy with various other things at the time, like my job."
They'd arrived at Data's quarters, and he gestured for her to enter in front of him. When she walked in, a man wearing the gold uniform of a Lieutenant (or Lieutenant Commander, perhaps) stood up from where he'd been sitting at the small table. It was the same man she'd noticed at the art gathering, the one with the metal contraption affixed to his face.
From the way he smiled and nodded at her in greeting, Lilly decided it must be related to his vision. He could clearly see her just fine.
"Lilly, this is my friend Geordi LaForge. Geordi, this is Lilly," Data said formally. Lilly grinned at Data and shook Geordi's hand. Before either of them could speak, though, Data spoke again. "Is it rude for me not to include your false surname? Geordi is privy to the truth of your situation, so I chose not to refer to you that way."
"Not rude at all," Lilly said. "Hello Geordi, I'm glad to finally meet you! I hope you've recovered from the excitement that kept you busy when I first arrived?"
"Thank you for remembering," Geordi said, staying standing until Lilly had seated herself at the table with Data's assistance with her chair. "I won't go into details about it, but I pulled some long shifts that whole week. It took a while to get everyone back in their regular places at their regular hours, that's for sure."
Geordi's chuckle was friendly, and Lilly decided she liked him a lot. He told Lilly about an amusing personnel issue and somehow managed to completely avoid giving her any information she shouldn't know about the ship's technology. After that story, Geordi rolled the spaghetti noodles onto his fork using his spoon while telling her the kinds of things his VISOR let him see beyond regular human ability. The juxtaposition was comforting in a way-despite being on a huge ship with so much more living space than she'd ever imagined would be allowed on an actual starship, humans were still as human as they ever were.
Data didn't say much except to support Geordi's stories with interesting (and sometimes unexpected) facts. By the time they were eating the delicate fruit tart he'd replicated for their dessert, Lilly decided that the android was enjoying himself. She got the distinct impression that he'd almost 'shown off' Geordi for her, and perhaps vice versa.
"Data tells me that you have access to the Holodeck?" Geordi asked her, setting his fork down. "I will spend the next ten minutes scraping up the rest of this sauce if I don't have you take my plate, Data!" he added. "Thanks."
"Access, yes," Lilly said. "I haven't gone yet, mostly because I feel like that would cross over past the line of 'within reason' your first officer put in place."
"He sounded pretty adamant. The two of you are like oil and water, it seems to me," Geordi observed.
"I don't know why, but I love that you still use that phrase!" Lilly said. "So many idioms I use are out of the vernacular. I'm encouraged that one is still recognizable."
"I've done my fair share of working in garages. On a couple of different planets, even," Geordi said, shaking his head and chuckling. "I have to say I prefer this ship's engine room over all of them, though."
"For good reason. I don't know much, but from what I do know, this is one of the best ships out there," Lilly said. "Don't tell the Commander I said that, though. I might get restricted to replicated water and bread."
"You are referring to the punishment of prisoners in ancient times, are you not?" Data asked, sounding interested. "There would be no purpose in punishing behavior by restricting a person's diet to something unhealthy."
"I imagine part of using that as punishment was the cost of supplying good food to people who were either your enemies or had damaged society by their behavior," Lilly pointed out. "I wonder how much history has been casually misinterpreted by the way society moves on and advances, centuries later."
"While that would be a fascinating phenomenon to study, there are many reasons why you should not be the person to conduct that kind of examination," Data told her.
"Changing the subject back to the Holodeck for a moment," Geordi said with amusement in his voice, "You should really try it out. Data's computer restrictions should cover any objections, and it's standard for Starfleet to recommend regular visits to those who are newly assigned to a starship."
His concern was touching, and Lilly realized that Deanna had mentioned something along those lines a few weeks ago. Their conversation turned to the various programs that Data and Geordi enjoyed most in the Holodeck until it was time to leave. She thanked Geordi and Data for the food and company, and Data walked her back to her room.
"Geordi wanted me to tell you that he can access Holodeck records, and plans to create a program which would be… frustrating for you to experience, should he not see your name among the list of recent users," Data told her when the two of them reached Lilly's door.
"It sounds way more ominous than it probably was meant to be, in your unique phrasing," Lilly told him, laughing.
"I told him it did not sound persuasive. He asked me what I would come up with instead, and I said that I could offer to take up the subject with the captain when he returns in a few hours, if you did not promise to change your mind," Data said.
"I don't know if I want to encourage either of your options!" Lilly said, still laughing. "How about I say I'll go if you both promise not to make threats?"
"That will be sufficient," Data said. "Thank you for your visit. Sleep well."
Lilly walked into her rooms with a smile on her face. It had been a lovely evening, she'd definitely made a new friend and gained new insight into Data, and she had read King Lear in preparation for talking with the captain about it once he returned. It had been a good week, even though she had spent most of it in isolation.
8888888888
One thing Lilly was still struggling to get used to in this new century was the idea that you let people right into your quarters within seconds of them requesting entry. It wasn't that she was a messy person, but she wasn't always mentally prepared for an instant visitor! So when she responded to the chime with 'Come in?' and no one entered, Lilly was surprised. She found that the surprise itself was an indicator of how settled she was in her new life.
She opened the door herself to find a teenage boy dressed in a command uniform.
"I didn't feel comfortable entering your quarters without letting you know what is going on," the boy said. He spoke in a British accent, and his demeanor was far more self-assured than any teenaged boy Lilly had ever met. Right as she made that assessment, however, his confidence faltered a bit. "I believe it would be easier to explain if I weren't in the corridor, however."
"Come in, then," Lilly said. There was a familiarity in the child's attitude that told her something was going on, and for no demonstrable reason, she trusted that familiarity.
"There was a transporter accident following a shuttle incident on my return from shore leave, yesterday. I am Jean-Luc Picard, all appearances to the contrary, of course," the boy said. His juvenile tone managed the wry humor quite well, for all that it lacked the adult timbre that would have been there if he'd been his adult self.
"Well, I'm glad you seem physically well, all things considered," Lilly said immediately, swallowing her shock as best she could. "Do you want to sit down and tell me about it?"
"I've had to relieve myself of command," Picard said, settling into the chair stiffly. "The looks even my close friends gave me when I was issuing orders had me feeling quite affronted."
"As if they couldn't see past the package the orders came from?" Lilly asked from her position next to the replicator. "Tea, Earl Grey, hot," she commanded the computer.
"Oh, thank you. Comforting," Picard said. Lilly tried not to miss the resonance of his regular voice. He seemed irritated at needing to step back from his position, rather than frantic about the catastrophe of losing his status. That told her he saw this as temporary. "Perhaps it's in your blood; tea in a crisis."
Lilly handed him the saucer. His body was that of an early teen, and she didn't have the instinct to watch him with the hot liquid in case he might hurt himself, not like she probably would have had he appeared younger. If he'd ordered her around, though, she wasn't sure she would be able to prevent herself from reacting to the image that presented, despite really knowing it was him inside there.
"You're fortunate that Earl Grey is something available in the 21st century," she told him. "I expect that my replicator is also restricted to 21st century and beforehand. I asked Data if there was a protocol for certain dishes and drinks in the replicator so that if any of the higher-ups vist a room, the person they're visiting can always replicate their favorites."
"I'd never thought of it that way, but I imagine there is one," the captain said. "The good news is, Doctor Crusher thinks she can reverse this," he gestured at his body. "She's working on it, anyway. But Counselor Troi suggested that I think of my options."
"That sounds like her," Lilly said.
"I like my job. I love my job. I'm not going to give it up without a fight, but I can't lead like this," Picard said in irritation.
"Do you think Deanna was using reverse psychology? Get you thinking about what you could do in the worst case scenario, so you're less likely to hate the here and now?"
Picard crossed his leg, then frowned. "This feels very wrong, as if my leg is the wrong shape."
"Well, it is!"
He made a disgruntled noise. Then, he sighed.
"She was being genuine. I could hear it in her voice. As much as I'd like to think she was trying to encourage me to find reasons to still hope, her suggestions had merit," the captain said in a weary tone. "Would she have done that if there was any chance of fixing this, that's the question." Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked toward the starfield visible through the windows. "We'll be coming up on the planet sometime in the next few hours. I do not like feeling disconnected from events like this."
"Whatever happens, I'm sure Doctor Crusher will work hard to fix it, no matter how much time that takes," Lilly said, feeling helpless.
"Thank you. I don't want to distress you, I just felt you ought to be brought up to speed. I'll go, now."
Lilly walked with him to her door. "Want an escort? I'll walk behind you and glare at anyone who stares at you. They can wonder which one of us is really the kid."
"I appreciate the sacrifice," he said, managing to sound at least a little sardonic. "I'll manage."
As Lilly watched him leave, she had a thought. She tidied up his cup, walked over to the windows and stared out of them for a long time, mulling over her options. Then, she spun on her heel and marched over to the computer, quickly bringing up the message system and firing off a short, explosive message to Data. He was already at his own console, it seemed, because she got her response less than ten minutes later.
Message to: LPicard
Message from: Data
Message body:
Thanks to some help from Geordi, the appointment is made. I will be on the bridge at the time to help if the Commander becomes upset.
Data
8888888888
Riker's schedule showed a meeting with one of LaForge's highest subordinates in Engineering. It had been added at the last minute. Will assumed that it would be a short meeting, given that they were scheduled to arrive at Ligos VII within the hour. He excused himself from Sick Bay after hearing an abbreviated version of what Doctor Crusher was planning to do for the four adults trapped in children's bodies, and stepped into the captain's ready room with minutes to spare.
The door chimed, and he called out for the woman to come- only, it was Lilly who walked in, stopping just shy of the door as it shut behind her.
Will stood. "I don't know if the captain told you, but he has stepped down for now, until his condition improves," he said, being careful with his phrasing. Picard had told him that he planned to inform Lilly about what happened in person, but Will couldn't think of any other reason why she would come to the ready room. He lifted his chin and looked at her sternly. "I have a meeting scheduled at this time, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Her face twisted into a wince. "I'm your meeting," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She stepped forward and clasped her hands in front of her. "I apologize, but I made this appointment out of false pretences."
"I beg your pardon?" Will stared at her.
"I wanted to speak with you about Captain Picard's condition, I knew you would be searching for the missing Starfleet crew soon, and made a calculated risk that you wouldn't throw me out."
Something deep inside him stirred with admiration at her audacity. He ignored it and leaned over, bracing himself with his fingertips spread wide on Picard's desk. "What insight could you possibly offer into this situation that is so time critical?"
She didn't flinch, even though he'd used a very harsh tone. Her eyes flashed with determination, and she walked quickly up to stand in front of the desk. Her eyes were beseeching, but her tone was not.
"Give me five minutes."
"Fine," he said, straightening to his full height. He was tempted to ask the computer to keep time, but knew that if she did have something compelling to say, a countdown would at best diminish his authority. He nodded to her, still standing. She hesitated, then sat in one of the chairs set up facing Picard's desk.
Then, with icy politeness, she lined up her gaze about where his eyes would be had he sat down, and opened her mouth to speak. Will felt a rush of affection for her obstinacy in the face of his resistance, because even before he heard what she was about to say, he somehow knew it would be related to doing something kind for Picard.
"The captain said there's a strong possibility he might be stuck in this younger body. If so, he may choose to pursue a hobby like archaeology in the interim, as he ages. I want to offer myself as, well, an adult guardian figure," Lilly said, faltering a bit as she reached the meat of what she was suggesting. She rushed on, keeping her gaze fixed on the back of Picard's desk chair, instead of where Will was standing. "The reason this is time sensitive is that I don't fully understand 24th century economics, but I have to assume that I would need a cover profession, possibly a menial one. I'll need to prepare, but of course, because of the agreement that I keep from learning things after my own time period, I don't have access to that kind of information. The only person who could authorize that right now is you. I know you'd probably listen to the captain if he asked you to expand my access, but I didn't want to let him know about my plans just yet."
Because she wasn't looking at his face, Will had the chance to study her expression while she was speaking with the knowledge that she couldn't see the effect her words had on him. He was surprised at her request, but above all else he was deeply touched that, for a third time in barely over a month, she was willing to completely throw her entire life into chaos yet again. He saw the way her shoulders trembled, noted that her hands were twisted together in her lap, planted there as if anchoring her somehow. Will had no doubt that she meant what she said, as astonishing as her offer was. She was charming, beautiful, and completely infuriating.
"'Menial?'" he asked, unsure whether the word had a different meaning in her century.
She still didn't look at him. "Working with one's hands. It's low-income, low respect work," she answered quietly. "I certainly can't be a teacher anymore. Whatever I do, it will have to be entry level and unskilled, unless there's something I can study up on in the meantime."
"Which you would need my approval for," he said in a dour voice, wanting to see what she would say.
"Yes," Lilly said, lifting her head to look him directly in the eyes.
"Data to Commander Riker?"
"Riker here."
"We've reached Ligos VII. There's some sort of electromagnetic interference that is preventing our sensors from working properly. We've been scanning for the missing crew members since we entered the system."
"Understood. I'll be right there," Will said. He tapped off his communicator and looked at Lilly. "I'm not sure that was the full five minutes," he said, letting the edge of anger fall from his tone.
A slow smile crept onto her face, possibly unwillingly. "I can come back?"
Even her questions carried an air of command about them, he noted. She didn't say 'Can I?' Still, her offer had merit, and he wanted to talk to her about it some more.
"Stay here, I'll come back in and we can discuss options," Will told her. He opened his mouth to say more, but the blare of a red alert interrupted him.
He rushed out onto the bridge to see Data giving commands to Worf about shields and weapons systems, with two Klingon warbirds filling the viewscreen. When the android saw him, he relinquished command of the ship, and Will set about defending the Enterprise against a surprise attack.
8888888888
The bright red of the lights combined with the alarm sound was frightening enough, but somehow when the room stopped shaking and there was silence, Lilly was even more afraid. Riker hadn't come back, and she couldn't hear anything through the closed door to the bridge. She sat in the captain's desk chair with her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around them.
Suddenly, the door opened and in walked a short, swarthy man with a bulbous forehead, huge ears, and a uniform unlike anything Lilly had ever seen before. He was clearly alien, with a crinkled nose and a scarf that clung to his bald scalp. He saw her and scowled.
"Get out of there!" he snapped at her, pointing at her with a strange device that was clearly a weapon.
"Wait!" It was Riker's voice, and the urgency in his voice made her tremble. He didn't sound like he was in charge, he sounded upset and worried. In a normal situation, this strange little man would have no authority, and the fact that he did meant that something was very wrong.
Lilly stood, and the man's eyes widened as he looked at her.
"You're not in a uniform," he said.
She didn't want to come anywhere near him, but he gestured to her with the weapon. On the other side of the doorway, Lilly saw a cluster of Starfleet officers with a few of the alien men holding them at gunpoint. At the front of the group, Riker was arguing with one of them. That one didn't hold a weapon, and he seemed older and more grouchy than the others.
Lilly wanted to get to the group of humans, but the small alien and his weapon stood in her way, despite having told her to get out. He looked her up and down again.
"Not naked, either," he said.
"What?" Lilly managed.
"Stand aside!" a different alien man sneered, using his elbow to viciously shove the one threatening Lilly back out of the room.
The older one walked in, followed by Riker, who made a 'get behind me' gesture with his head as he passed her. She stepped behind him and paused when he paused. Every line of his body was in tension, she could tell that just by looking at his back.
"I hope your profit margin's pretty high for this little adventure, because you're risking war with the Federation," Riker said to the alien leader. Now he sounded more like himself, and Lilly allowed herself to feel reassured.
The guard still hovered in the doorway, his weapon pointed at Lilly and at Riker in front of her. His leader argued with Riker about who they were ('Ferengi Alliance' was a phrase she mentally jotted down) and why they were there. Riker leaned over and glared at the man when he told them they were using Starfleet crew members as slave labor. As soon as he did so, the leader noticed Lilly standing there.
"It's one thing to have females on your crew, but this one, alone, in your office, with clothing?"
Riker stood up swiftly and turned to look at her. Some of her fear must have shown on her face, because, completely unexpectedly, he reached out his arm and pulled her against his side. He was warm and solid; her heart rate picked up, and she was hyper aware of everywhere they were touching.
"I don't follow," Riker said coldly to the man.
"In our culture, females are seen and not heard. A few agitators claim they could be assets in business, pah!" the man spat in disgust. "A naked woman is too distracting for trade matters, and one in clothing would be even worse!"
Riker's arm tightened around her shoulders.
"Your expression is horrified, yet you had that one waiting in this room for you, did you not?" The man cackled lewdly. "She must have… talents. If she is not yours, perhaps I can explore the differences between-"
"She's my wife," Riker said in a voice like a whip crack. "We do not keep human women subservient, nor do we require them to be unclothed." Behind him, Lilly was frozen in place, her heart pounding.
