III

Love

¡§Galadriel his sister went not with him to Nargothrond, for in Doriath dwelt Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol, and there was a great love between them...¡¨[iii]

¡§So he¡¦s like your son, then.¡¨

Walking down the bare, dirtless, time-worn path of some nameless, ancient and miraculously still-standing park, Deanna and Will walked under the shadows which mingled with the sunlight and trees, talking all the while of subjects they could have never touched on if they were still in her office at Starfleet Medical.

¡§You could say that.¡¨ To Will, Andy had indeed, been his foster son for the eight years he was required to until he was of age. But as time had gone on, things had changed, and Andy had grown to be his own person, with nothing of Will¡¦s to influence the person he had become today. ¡§Andy¡¦s character is deeply rooted into what his parents taught him as a child. He still remembers them vividly, so me taking him in and taking care of him is exactly that. Nothing more, but nothing less.¡¨

If she didn¡¦t know any better... ¡§You seem a little bitter about that.¡¨

¡§I don¡¦t mean to,¡¨ When Deanna paused to answer, Will took the moment to do it for her. ¡§It¡¦s not really an issue, we¡¦re a lot like brothers. I¡¦m the older, bigger one, who occasionally overly-reprimands him for doing stupid things while he¡¦s the younger one, occasionally checking in with me to let me know that he¡¦s still alive and kicking.¡¨

It was a peculiar sort of bond; and something Deanna would¡¦ve never had expected. But of course, there was always an exception to everything. People would never cease to surprise her.

¡§What does he do? For a living, I mean.¡¨

Instinctively proud, Will happily proclaimed, ¡§He¡¦s studying at Starfleet Academy,¡¨ Deanna seemed to beam right along with him, not really knowing why, only happy that that was what Will was. ¡§He wants to be a doctor.¡¨

A commonality! ¡§Oh? Maybe I could give him a few pointers.¡¨

¡§Actually,¡¨ Will glanced at his chrono. ¡§He should be at home right now, would you like to meet him?¡¨

~

¡§I¡¦ll never understand why he wants to be a doctor.¡¨ True, Andy¡¦s mother had been one, but she wasn¡¦t exactly his favorite person in the world at times of self-doubt everyone had.

Will never really did trust doctors; they never really did anything for his own family¡¦s matriarch.

¡§Maybe he just wants to help people,¡¨ said Deanna, ¡§That was certainly one of my reasons for being one.¡¨

¡§He would be good at that.¡¨ Will spotted his apartment from where they were. It was rather old, which was obvious, with the antiquated architecture and the dark, historical colors, which, at the darkest hours of night, the occasional footstep or wind-haunting moan would chill and freeze Will in fright ¡Vwhich he would never admit to- and the hairs on the back of his neck.

Would it make sense for Deanna to say that Will was beautiful? He was well-dressed and smart ¡Veven wise- and with Deanna¡¦s empathic senses, the urge to comment on the subject was overwhelming. It seemed to be on the tip of tongue, reminded over and over again to control itself, that such a remark would be inappropriate, that it would probably wreck their friendship...

¡§I don¡¦t think you give yourself as much credit as you deserve for raising him.¡¨ She said instead. The Betazoid was stepping over a line, but it wouldn¡¦t be the first time she had considered it. ¡§Not many people would take a ten-year old boy with a cold in for the rest of his life like the way you did.¡¨

¡§Would you have?¡¨

¡§Maybe,¡¨ Deanna answered, truly contemplating it. ¡§It wouldn¡¦t have thrilled my mother though.¡¨

¡§Oh?¡¨

A million embarrassing memories surfaced to Deanna¡¦s cheeks, threatening to change a brighter color. ¡§To say the very least, she¡¦s a bit overwhelming. And loud. And stubborn. But-¡¨

¡§You still love her, like any other daughter would.¡¨

Deanna only nodded.

~

The sun was setting.

And the two of them were walking around in circles, not really going anywhere, just discussing whatever came to mind, both afraid of loosing what they had found.

¡§Well, kind of. Words are more heavily used when it comes from the view of a writer.¡¨ Deanna listened with great enthusiasm, never having thought of writing as an art of any sort, or at all, for that matter, but when Will told of it, she was a fish on a hook, stuck on his words, never wanting to let go, in fear of its result.

¡§What do you think of them?¡¨ Deanna could feel the subtle changes in feeling she had for Will begin to change again. It was like a light, turned on, but ignored, as the writer went on.

¡§I don¡¦t know. I have mixed feelings about them. I think people tend to use them too lightly, and I kind of resent that. Words are like puzzle pieces. You put them together and they make something, big or small, insignificant or great, they are still words, and I still try not to take them for granted like most people do.¡¨

¡§Words are every writers¡¦ treasure,¡¨ she simplified, ¡§so to speak. Once found, letting go is out of the question.¡¨

¡§Hey, good metaphor.¡¨ The counselor would make a good writer herself. ¡§But you¡¦re right. If I were to be captured by, say Klingons, then tortured and mutilated, I¡¦d still have words, the way I choose to put them together, and what I decided to do with them. They can¡¦t be taken away from me, you know?¡¨

Something then clicked.

That mental light switch that had turned on in the petite counselor had now sparked, popping and crackling and gassing; that light was now a star, burning bright and true.

Will was more than Deanna had asked for. When she was little, well, a little bit older than just little, when she was old enough to begin obsessing over which male was the most good-looking and the best-suiting for her; when she began what every woman and man went through, she often thought she would find someone good-looking. And that would be enough. Personality didn¡¦t matter, she was her mother¡¦s daughter, any man would should feel lucky enough to bend to her will.

But then the time went on, and that phase quickly passed. Suitor after suitor, Deanna grew bored, and stopped dating for quite awhile, up until David and the Enterprise came along. David had broken the walls she had put up for all those years, and then put them back up again, when he presented her with that ring.

And now, when Will, with his silent and gentle, arrogant yet compassionate, romantic and caring demeanor, trotted up with his white horse, Deanna found herself changing all her rules, making new ones quickly, urgently, trying to adapt, but finding herself more surprised than anyone had ever done so in her now realized short-lived life.

¡§I think I might love you.¡¨