Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own. I would like to, but I don't.

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Lisa walked into the brig, preparing to meet up with the man that she considered to be one of the meanest that she had ever met. Michael O'Lara seemed to be waiting for her, as he was sitting on the bunk, his hands firmly in his lap. He glared up at her as she walked over to his cell.

"Ms. Riker," he spat out.

Lisa returned the glare with one of her own. "O'Lara," she returned. Her voice was hard, had an edge to it.

"I hope that you're happy," he went on as she got as close as she could. She looked him right in the eye, "For what?" she asked. "To be the only one in my pathetic son's life to actually …."

Lisa cut him off, she had heard enough, "I'm the one that saved your family's lives," she pointed out. The man that was starring at her seemed to be little concerned about what she was saying. He got up and walked up to the edge of the force field.
"And what do you think you were saving them from?" he asked in a smug tone.

Lisa didn't back down, she met his gaze with one of her own. "From a pathetic low life how gets his kicks from beating up the ones that he claims to care about," she said.

O'Lara glared at her, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"You don't have any proof of that," he said dissimissivly.

"I have all the proof that I need in Sickbay," she told him, turning and heading for the door.

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Commander William T. Riker was sitting in the main living area when his daughter stepped through the double doors. He could tell by the look on her face that she was mad about something. And that she was going to need to talk about. "What happened with Collin's father?" he asked as she plunkered down next to him.

"I never thought that I would meet someone who hated his own family," she told him. Riker looked at her in confusion.

"He blames me for 'being the only one who cares about his pathetic son'," she told him finally. She looked up at her father with pleading eyes.

"Dad, I know Collin and he is not 'Pathetic'!" she defended.
Riker nodded, "I know that," he responded. "I've seen how he cares about you and his family".

"I wish that I could say the same for his father though," he added a moment later. Lisa looked up at him. Riker took note of her look and went on. "You're mother and I knew him and his wife for a long time," he explained. "You're mother noticed that Caroline would come to work late, sometimes not at all, and she even tried to do what you did," he went on.

"Which is?" Lisa asked, she knew that her mother would have defended a friend even to her last breath.

"She tried to get security to take him away, as you can see, they didn't," her father told her.

She looked at him, "when did this happen?" she asked. She had never known Collin or his family until they got to the Enterprise.

Her father thought for a moment.

"Back when you were very young, three or four years old. You used to play with Collin all of the time, until we had to move".

"Why didn't you try to do something if you knew what he was capable of?" she asked a moment later.

"I tried, but again, security wouldn't take him, he had too many friends there," He explained. Lisa couldn't believe what she was hearing, "where was this?" she asked.

"Back when your mother was stationed on Earth," he told her. Lisa looked at him, confused. "Mom never said anything about it," she said.

"Mom knew that if she didn't stop him, that someone would eventually, I think that she would been proud that it was you," Riker told her. "You know, you keep reminding me of you mother," he added as an after thought. Lisa blushed when he said that. Then her expression turned sad, as if he had brought up some long forgotten memory.

"I miss mom," she said in a low, sad voice. Riker nodded his agreement, his voice was heavy when he next spoke, "I know, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss her myself".

Their sad revelry was interrupted by a shuffling of tiny feet. "Hello Theresa," Riker smiled as he wiped away a stray tear that was beginning to fall from his cheeks. The younger Riker shuffled over to her sister and father, dragging Frank and her favorite blankie behind her.

She climbed up and sat in his lap. "Why Daddy crying?" she asked, concerned. "Daddy's sad, that's why he's crying," Lisa told her.

"Why is Daddy sad?" the younger Riker asked, looking up at both of them. "Daddy is thinking about Mommy," he told her.

"And that's why you're sad, Daddy?" she asked. Riker let out a soft chuckle, "Yes, that's why I'm sad," he told her. Theresa turned and looked at Lisa. "Is Sissy sad too?" she asked. Lisa nodded, "Yes, I'm sad, right now," she admitted.

Theresa reached over and gave her sister a hug, "I'm sad too," she said in a low voice. "I need a hug".

Lisa reached over and returned the hug. Theresa then looked up at her father and hugged him, which he also returned. After the hug was broken, she looked up at the other two again.

"What did Mommy look like?" she asked. Lisa and Riker exchanged looks for a moment. Then Lisa got up and grabbed something off of her dresser. It was a round, thin disk that had a flat surface to it. She punched a button on it as she sat down, and a bright brown haired woman with brilliant brown eyes appeared on the top. She was holding a baby and waving at something that was off of the screen.

"That's Mommy," Riker said, holding the holo in front of Theresa. Theresa looked at it for a second, "She pretty," she said. Riker and Lisa exchanged looks again, "Yes," he told her finally, "she was very pretty".

"What she holding?" Theresa asked, looking at the bundle that was moving. Lisa broke into a board smile, "You, when you were a baby," she explained. Theresa shook her head, "I not little, I big!" she exclaimed happily. Lisa and Riker laughed at that.
"All of my children thus far have told me that they were never 'small'," he said in a light tone, "they've always been 'big'".

He returned his gaze to his younger daughter. "Believe me, you were a baby at one point," he informed her. Theresa shook her head, "No, I wasn't," she stated firmly.

"Well, then I guess that you were born a big girl," he told her. Therese nodded, "That's right," she said, clutching onto Frank. Lisa let out another small laugh and her father broke into a broad smile.

Theresa looked at him and shook her head, "weird," she said as she climbed off and headed back into her room. Riker gave her a look as he watched her leave that was part bemusement, and part confused.

Lisa leaned in, "What is it?" she asked. "That's what your mother used to say whenever she ran into anything that peeked her interest," Riker explained, looking at the holo again. He smiled for a moment before finally turning it off. He handed back to Lisa with a smile, "I had forgotten about that Holo," he said earnestly. The only holos that he had kept in his room were from their wedding, nearly twenty years before. Lisa and her brother had the others. Which was something that was decided among the two of them after their mother's services.

They had had to go through everything that had belonged to her, some of which they kept, like the holos and some of her jewelry, and some they gave away. It had been a hard job, but they knew that it had to be done. Lisa was grateful that her brother had waited for as long as he did to start off his year at the Academy. He had been instrumental in helping to make the transition from the Hood to the Enterprise as easy a one as possible by talking to them, via subspace, as soon as they left Far Point.

And pretty soon, his semester was going to be over. She had nearly jumped out of her seat when he told her that he was trying to get a deep space assignment on the Enterprise.

She was hopping that he would be able to get it. She was eager to hang out with him again, like they used to before he left.

She had so much to tell him, things that she couldn't say over subspace.

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Lisa was waiting outside of Sickbay a few days later. She was waiting for Collin. He was being realised and Lisa wanted to be the one that showed him to his quarters. She was beginning to pace when he finally stepped out. He had his right arm in a sling, the result of the injury that he had gotten on his arm.

"You ready?" she asked as they began towards a nearby turbolift. Collin nodded.

"I hope that you like it," Lisa said as they stepped inside, "I'm sure that I will," he laughed, stepping in behind her. Lisa smiled. "Deck Nine," she told the computer, and the two of them waited in silence as the lift moved.

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Lisa stepped into the crew quarters first, stepping aside as Collin made his way in. He looked around in awe of it. "I asked that it made easier for you to walk around in," Lisa said as he walked around. He stopped and looked at her. His mouth was open but no words were coming out. He seemed to be distracted by something.

Lisa walked over and touched him gently on his bum arm, "I'm glad that you like it," she said breathlessly.

"Like it?" He asked a moment later, "I LOVE IT!" he exclaimed happily. "This is one of the nicest things that someone has ever done for me, thank you," he said, reaching over and kissing her.

Lisa starred back at him for a moment, and then returned the kiss.

End of chapter.

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