Chapt. 19

With a loud groan Will rolled to the edge of his bed, swinging his legs over the edge just before it was too late. He stumbled into the living area, not really watching where he was going until suddenly he saw the floor not two inches away from him.

The pain the fall invoked didn't hit him until a couple of seconds later.

With another groan --this time from pain-- Riker crawled back onto his feet and searched for the obstacle that had not only bruised his elbows and knees, but his ego as well. He bent at the waist to pick the two silver items up and placed them on the table. Replicating a piece of paper and a pen he quickly wrote down a couple of sentences, placed the note on the item at the left and disappeared into the bathroom to dress.

When he headed out his quarters he made a detour and left the silver items he'd tripped over earlier outside one of the orange doors connected to the corridor.

Inside her own quarters Deanna Troi awoke after her first peaceful sleep in months. Although her date with Riker had turned into a disaster the night before her mind was cleared of grief, doubt and fear. With a lingering smile she hopped out her bed and into the shower.

Some forty-five minutes later she was ready to head out to her officer and start her day. When , however, she opened her doors she found herself staring at two silver shoes…-her- shoes.

Confusion settled in for a moment, only to be quickly overwritten by clarity; she'd kicked her shoes off at Will's place, as she always did when they had dinner there. Quickly she picked the pumps of and carried them inside. Once she put them down again her eye fell on a piece of paper tucked under a strap. Carefully, as if she were picking up a fragile Rshi-flower, she pulled the paper out and unrolled it.

"Deanna, I thought you might want these back, so I dropped them of on my way to Sickbay. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with me, I just tripped." You needn't be a genius to figure out what had caused him to trip and Deanna turned bright red as she realized just that. "I'm sorry if I pushed you last night, but I couldn't help myself, you looked so beautiful." A slight smile curved around her lips. Typically Will, taking the blame even if he never did something wrong. It was after all –she- who had come onto him. "I have patience Deanna; I'll wait as long as I have to."

And she knew he would.

For the rest of the day she couldn't wipe the happy grin that seemed to have settled on her features permanently off, not knowing that only decks away Will Riker was summoning all his power of will not to start pacing.

He had meant what he'd told her; he'd wait forever if necessary. Yet the waiting was becoming more and more difficult and never had it been as tortuous as the previous night. The sparkle in her onyx eyes, her dress –what little of it there was-…he'd been ready to rip it off her and when she started flirting with him his heart had started beating so loudly he could hardly hear her words.

And then there was the kiss.

With all his might he suppressed the moan that struggled for release as he remembered their kiss so vividly he almost thought it was happening again. Only it wasn't.

Would they ever come to a point where they could trust and love each other without fear or reservations? Where they would live together as friends, lovers, husband and wife and parents? Only since Worf's disappearance he'd dared to wish such wishes again.

Wishes of sharing unrestricted, unconditional love with the only woman that had ever mattered to him on so many levels. Would, one day, those wishes come true? 

God he hoped so.