Chapter 20

Julian Bashir walked into the replimat. O'Brien and Ezri waved for him to join them, but he
ignored them and headed straight for the replicator. He ordered a ratakjino. Then, he
joined his friends.

"Good morning," O'Brien said, his usual cheery self.

Julian held up a hand and then drank half of his ratakjino. He closed his eyes, took a deep
breath, opened his eyes again and then said, "Good morning," although the sentiment
wasn't really there.

"What's the matter with you?" O'Brien asked.

"Tired," Julian muttered.

"Can you speak in full sentences?" Ezri teased.

"No," Julian replied, shaking his head.

"Up late working last night?" O'Brien asked.

Julian shook his head. "No, didn't sleep well."

O'Brien laughed at Julian's lack of sentences and took a drink of his own coffee.

Ezri frowned. "Why not?"

Julian blinked and then shook his head as if to clear it. "What?" he asked, staring blankly at
her.

Ezri sighed and replied, "Why didn't you sleep well?"

Julian mumbled something under his breath.

"What? Speak up, Julian. I can't hear you."

"Nightmares."

Ezri's frown deepened and Julian swore Jadzia was sitting across from him.

"Julian-"

As his anger grew, so did the adrenaline rushing through his veins, which increased his
alertness. "Look, I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it! I'm a grown
man, Ezri and I can take care of myself. I don't need you to patronize me!"

"I'm not trying to patronize you, I'm just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need your help! I'm fine! Just because I had a nightmare doesn't mean I need
your psychotherapy. What I need is Vicki Ann, here with me, but that's not going to
happen, so stop worrying about it! Just let me deal with it the way I want to deal with it!"
He stood and stormed off to the infirmary.

O'Brien looked over at Ezri, who looked ready to cry. "Don't take it personally," he said,
patting her shoulder comfortingly. "He fought me the other night over darts. He's at the
end of his rope. He doesn't know how to deal with this. Especially after losing Jadzia. He's
afraid he's going to lose Vicki Ann, too."

"He's not the only one," Ezri replied.

` Vicki Ann woke up and for a moment she forgot where she was. When she saw Riker
sleeping beside her, she remembered. What have I sunk to? Vicki Ann thought to
herself. Remember, you're doing this for Julian. She sat up and was about to get up, when
she felt Riker's hand on her arm.

"Where are you going?"

Vicki Ann was at a loss for words. "Nowhere."

"Stay here, where I can keep an eye on you."

Vicki Ann made a face and laid back down and prayed that sleep would claim her so that
she could escape this hell in her dreams.

The next time Vicki Ann awoke, she was in her room, fully dressed in that horrible uniform.
On the dresser was a plate of food and a note, which said,

"Make sure you eat enough. We wouldn't want you to get sick because then you wouldn't
be able to earn your keep. And if you should change your mind, I can always arrange for
the doctor to have a little 'accident."

Vicki Ann felt nauseous. She ran into the bathroom and threw up. She sat down on the
bed and began to cry. "What have I done?"

"How is your little friend? Is she all that you expected?"
Troi asked Riker, smiling.

"She's determined and stubborn. But it didn't take much to make her see things my way.
Just a few threats about killing your alternate, my alternate, and most importantly, her
beloved Bashir."

"So, I take it you're having fun with her?"

"Yes. She's much more fun than you."

Here

Before he went to bed that night, Julian read over the note Vicki Ann had left on his desk
the day she left. It was written on actual paper. Despite the fact that paper wasn't used
very much anymore, Vicki Ann's penmanship was beautiful. Of course.

"Dear Julian,
By the time you read this, I'll have probably already come by the infirmary and said
goodbye. But, I thought I'd leave you a note anyway.

Despite my horrible behavior, I had a wonderful time staying with you.
It's too bad it can't be more permanent. (Breathe, Julian) It was a joke. I can't wait until
your next shore leave. (Mine won't be for a while. I've taken too many already!!) Well, if I
don't leave soon, they'll leave without me. I love you. I'll miss you. Love,
Vicki Ann"

He had just about memorized the entire note. In the back of his mind, he thought that
maybe, just maybe, if he read it enough, he might convince himself that she was safe and
sound on the Enterprise. But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, it just
wasn't true. Why is it that in every relationship you get into, Julian, something always
goes wrong? If it's not irreconcilable differences, it's the fact that you're girlfriend is at
high-risk for kidnaping. Well, I guess it's true what they say: No pain, no gain.

Commander Riker walked onto the bridge. He sat down and stared at the seat in front of
him, Vicki Ann's usual seat. Ensign Alvarez was currently operating the conn. Thank
goodness orbits don't require swift maneuvering, Riker thought to himself.

Picard noticed that Riker seemed preoccupied. "Are you all right, Number One?"

Riker shook his head. "I had some strange dreams, that's all. I'm fine, though."

"Perhaps you should speak to Deanna about it?"

"Perhaps," Riker replied. But that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Riker sat in his quarters after his shift, thinking. He couldn't forget the strange dreams he
had had the night before. Deanna had asked him about them, but he had shrugged it off
and said he didn't remember them. She had accepted his answer and didn't question him
again.

He had dreamt about Vicki Ann. Throughout the entire dream, he didn't hear one word of
their conversations, but it was apparent that they were upset with each other. In the
beginning, they were arguing. At one point, her held a knife to her throat and then he
pushed her. She flew across the room and hit the wall. He had left her there, bleeding and
unconscious.

When he had returned, they argued again and Riker was again physically rough with her.
He said something that upset her, but the next minute she was all over him and flirting
aggressively, almost as if she was trying to act interested, but really wasn't. They ended
up in bed together. Vicki Ann seemed to be very unhappy underneath and Riker seemed to
have some kind of power over her. Riker couldn't forget the expression he had seen on his
face when Vicki Ann had tried to leave and he had pulled her back. It was a sort of evil
delight that made Riker sick to his stomach.

He was afraid to tell Deanna about it, for fear she might read something into it. What
really bothered Riker was the strange feeling that the dream had actually happened
somewhere, at some time.

There

When Riker returned to his quarters, he went into Vicki Ann's room. She was sitting
cross-legged on the floor, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest. He looked to the
dresser to see if she had eaten. The food was untouched. "I thought I told you to eat."

"I wasn't hungry," she replied.

"Eat it now."

"I'm not hungry."

"Eat it!"

She remained silent, but her expression clearly said that she didn't plan to eat one morsel.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He pointed to the tray of food and said, "You will
eat this right now."

"No."

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

"You will not say no to me!"

"Yes, I will," she screamed back, picking up the tray and throwing it across the room.

Riker raised his arm and smacked her across the face. She flew across the room and hit
her head on the night table. He pulled her away from the table and said, "You will fix any
injuries with the med kit. Is that clear?"

She nodded slowly.

"And clean up this mess!" he screamed as he left the room.

Vicki Ann cried as she healed her injuries. Deja-vu, she thought to herself. Only this time
you have experienced it before.

Here

Commander Riker stared at the viewscreen, hoping that it would give him some insight on
what they should tell Starfleet Command when questioned about why the entire ship
disobeyed orders and violated the quarantine of Time Planet. So far, they had managed to
stall for time, but they couldn't keep it up for long.

Suddenly, Riker had a blinding headache. He had to shut his eyes for moment. The minute
he shut his eyes, a flood of images flew at him. Some were from his dream the night before
and some he had never seen before. The first image was of Vicki Ann wearing some sort of
strange costume. It was a two piece outfit, the top was sleeveless, low-cut and left the
midriff exposed. The skirt was very short, only going about six inches below the hips and
was slit partway up the side.

She also wore high-cut black boots that went to the knee. Riker thought he recognized
the costume, but couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

The next image was very similar to his dream in the respect that he and Vicki Ann were
arguing and he couldn't hear what they were saying. It appeared as if Riker was trying to
get Vicki Ann to eat some food off of a tray and she refused by throwing the tray across
the room.

Riker responded by hitting across the face, which sent her flying into the night table,
causing even more injuries.

The rest of the scenes were from his dream, except this time, he heard what they were
saying.

"I think it looks rather nice. It rather emphasizes your shapely figure."

"Let me go!"

"Sorry, my dear, but until Q decides what you're worth, you're mine. As a matter of fact, I
do believe that Q will have you executed, but I'm prepared to bargain for you life."

"What's in it for you?"

"The company of a very beautiful woman."

"Really? That sounds rather. . . . . repulsive!"

"I wouldn't try anything like that again or you might find yourself staring at the barrel of a
disruptor."

"I would rather die than-."

"Would you? Alright then. Accept my proposition or I'll slit your throat."

"Keep it. You'll probably need it again."

"I already told you that I would rather die than accept your proposition."

"Instead of slitting your throat, how about your sister's? Or your best friend, my alternate?
Or better yet, what about your beloved doctor? One Julian Bashir."

"No."

"No? And what will you do in return for me sparing the doctor's life?"

"I'll do anything you want."

"Stay here, where I can keep an eye on you."
"I thought I told you to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You will eat this right now."

"I said no."

"You will not say no to me!"

Suddenly, Riker understood. Of course, he passed out from the strain of it all, but he
understood.

Picard and Deanna stood over Riker. "Will, are you all right?"
Picard asked.

"Can you hear us?" Deanna asked.

No reply.

"Medical emergency! Dr. Crusher report to the bridge immediately!" Picard said, tapping his
comm badge.

"Diagnosis?" Picard asked.

Beverly Crusher scanned Riker. "Psychic trauma."

"Psychic trauma?" Deanna asked. "How?"

Beverly shook her head. "I don't know. There's a lot of activity in the visual cortex. It
appears as if he was dreaming."

"While he was awake? Like daydreaming?" Deanna asked.

"No. More like he was seeing something that was happening elsewhere, which is very
strange because Will has never shown any psychic ability before," Beverly replied.

Riker stirred.

Beverly went over to him. "He's waking up. Will, can you hear me? It's Beverly."

He forced a smiled. "I'll bet your glad to finally have me here."

Beverly returned the smile. "Yes, I can finally finish your physical." She winked at Riker.
"Just kidding. How are you feeling?"

"A little groggy, but I'm okay," he replied, sitting up.

"Take it easy, Will," Picard said.

"With all of you here, it seems like my funeral," Riker said.

Beverly smiled. "Will, do you remember what happened before you collapsed?"

Riker thought for a second. His face shifted to a look of pain.
"I saw Vicki Ann. I saw where she was and what was happening to her."

"Where is she?" Deanna asked.

"In the alternate timeline we encountered a few years ago,"
Riker told her.

"Which one?" Picard asked.

"The one with the Imperial Starship Enterprise. It seems that they saw her in the Guardian
and when she emerged, they kidnaped her."

"Why?" Deanna asked.

"Your alternate drilled her for information about us. When Vicki Ann refused, they used the
agonizer to try and get her to talk, but she remained silent. Your alternate felt she was
useless and gave her to my alternate as a prisoner. Apparently, it's a pastime of his to
keep physically attractive women as his prisoners. She is his equivalent of 'the captain's
woman,' only against her will."

"Is she alright?" Picard asked.

"No. She fights him and each time she does, he abuses her. Apparently, it's normal for him.
He even gave her a med kit to heal her injuries. If a girl he fancies rejects him, he keeps
her prisoner and threatens her until she complies. According to him, many have either
forced him to kill them or opted for suicide."

"Did he threaten to kill her and that's why she's with him?"
Deanna asked.

"He did, but that didn't change her mind. She refused him until he threatened me, Deanna
and most importantly, Julian."

"What we do for love," Picard muttered. "What we do for love."