Chapter Nine
"Geordi, I need your advice," Wes called from the catwalk far above Geordi's head, near the top of the warp core. He was light-handedly punching buttons on a panel, running a standard diagnostic he could do in his sleep.
"What about?" Geordi stood below him at the dilithium crystal chamber.
"Well, there's this girl in my Astrophysics class and she's--"
"Here we go again," Geordi sighed.
"--really good-looking," Wes continued, ignoring Geordi's commentary. He skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ladder at Geordi's side after having moved so quickly that Geordi hadn't notice he'd left the catwalk above him. Geordi looked over at the ladder from the catwalk to the floor, then back at Wes, who was leaning casually on the rail next to him.
Geordi groaned. "You're getting all bouncy and springy. I think we're all in trouble."
"Come on, Geordi, it's not like when I was fourteen."
"No, it's worse."
"I'm not in love, Geordi. I'm just... in... in like."
"In like."
"Uh-huh."
Geordi shook his head. "In lust is more like it."
"Geordi!" Wes narrowed his eyes at him, mildly annoyed. But Geordi had been hoping to embarrass him with that accusation. He'd only succeeded in irritating him by not taking him seriously.
He sighed. "All right, out with it. Who is she?"
"Do you know a girl named Robin Wallace?"
"Do I? She's a walking disaster in a science lab! But Worf loves her. He says she's the next Tasha Yar or something. Well, I don't know about that, but she seems fun, Wes. Nice choice."
"Thanks. There's this one problem, though."
"There always is."
"I'm leaving for Starfleet Academy in less than two months."
"And? What's the problem?"
"How can I get into a relationship if I'm leaving in two months for Earth?"
"Well, is she your future wife?"
"Huh?"
"Are you planning on marrying her?"
"What, now? Of course not. I barely even know her."
"My point exactly. So have a two-month relationship with her and miss her when you go."
"I don't want to miss her."
"Then don't get involved with her."
"But I really want to get invol--"
"Look, Wes," Geordi interrupted. "You've got to decide if you'd rather have her and then miss her, or wonder forever what it would have been like to be her boyfriend, even for a little while."
"I know. It's just a tough decision."
"No one ever said life would be easy."
"I know... you're right," Wes groaned.
"Of course I'm right."
"Also, there's Billy Nolan."
"What, you mean the smooth talker up on the bridge before?"
"Hey. I'll be the first to admit the guy's not exactly filled with social graces, but no one was in top form with that girl threatening us with total annihilation."
Geordi remembered everyone's little outbursts. "Yeah, I guess that encounter could have gone better."
"My point is my personal problem with him," Wes moved the conversation away from that episode. "He's heavy after Robin, and frankly, he's better-looking than I am."
"So, who does she like, you or him?" Geordi would have argued that Wes was good-looking enough, just to be encouraging, but Geordi had no idea what Wes looked like. Through Geordi's VISOR, Wes looked like a tall, thin, Human-shaped tie-dyed T-shirt with a blue- and green-patterned outline unique to Ensign Wesley Crusher.
"Me, I think."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Well, she asks me to help her study all the time."
"Ah, she wants you for your brain," Geordi smiled.
"And she met up with me in the hall before and kissed me goodbye."
"Sounds like a good sign."
"And there's that she outright said so."
"She did? When?"
"When I was visiting her in her quarters just before the poker game."
"Visiting how?"
"Just... Well, she... uh..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, has she spent time visiting with Nolan?"
"No, I don't think so." Then resolutely, "No, she hasn't."
"Well then?"
"I know, it's just that he really gets on my nerves! We were in the corridor before and she was this close to kissing me," Wes held up his thumb and forefinger, about an inch apart, "and he pushed me away from her. Pretty humiliating, right?"
"Only for him. Sounds like that would only make her like him less."
"Think so?"
"Definitely. Women are notorious for rooting for the underdog and hating bullies."
"I'm the underdog. Great. Thanks, Geordi."
"That didn't come out right."
Wes let it go. "Women are so hard to figure out. You'd think that with all the advances in technology and space travel, we'd be able to understand the opposite sex."
"Not a chance. Women are more complex than an unstable wormhole. But from the sounds of things, she likes you. I say go for it. You'll have some good memories to bring with you to the Academy."
"Yeah," Wes had a wistful expression on his face, one that was only slightly too sage for his current age. But the nostalgic curl to his lips quickly became a smile, "She's so wonderful, Geordi." He straddled a chair next to Geordi, looking distinctly like a younger, shaven version of Will Riker again, in a rather practiced way. "She's got beautiful long hair that's almost the color of copper. And these huge, sparkling green eyes, and she doesn't get all... giddy or embarrassed when talking to guys or to superior officers, like nothing can intimidate her, you know?"
"Yeah," Geordi was dismissive. He didn't want to go into what a beautiful woman looked like. He would give anything to see the beautiful hair and sparkling eyes Wes was describing.
"It's like there's a real person inside, someone as real and tangible as me, mostly because she's similar to me in some ways."
"That's important," Geordi was getting bored.
"And I can talk to her. She's bright and intelligent and--"
"Intelligent?" Geordi's face contorted. "That girl couldn't memorize the configuration of a hand phaser!"
"Yes she could. She just doesn't want to waste time memorizing stuff like that when it doesn't interest her. She's got Shakespearean sonnets memorized instead."
"Introduce her to Captain Picard."
"No way, they might get along too well."
"Well, good luck with her, Wes."
"But I never know what to say to her when I'm with her."
That had been the second time Geordi tried to end the conversation and Wes pursued it. Geordi sighed.
"She's always so calm and confident, and I'm always so nervous."
"She's older than you, right?" Geordi asked.
"Yeah, three years. Why?"
"That explains it."
"But what do three years do to a person that hasn't already been done to me?"
"Just because you have the intellect of a hundred-year-old man and a proficiency for finding trouble doesn't mean the rest of you has caught up with your mind."
"I think I've been insulted," he smirked.
"Besides, I'm sure she's nervous, too. She just better at hiding it. She studies with Worf, remember?"
"Yeah, so what do I say to her?"
"If I tell you what to say, it'll just come out wrong."
"Why?"
"You have to go in there cold. You have to say whatever comes to your mind. Be honest. Not rehearsed. They can smell it if you've practiced."
Wes gave him a scowl of disbelief.
"You have to just be spontaneous," Geordi summed up.
"I hate that."
"Yeah, well I don't know anyone who likes it. Computer, what time is it?"
"The time is 2047.23," the voice answered.
"Better head up to the meeting," Geordi ended the conversation once and for all. Wes had an irritating way of asking questions for which there were no definitive answers. "You can put this off until later. You won't be any use to me for the next fifteen minutes with your mind on what to say to Robin."
"Okay. Thanks, Geordi," Wes was still lost in his own thoughts.
"Or what to do to Robin," Geordi elbowed him and grinned.
Wes grimaced. "You had to get that last one in, didn't you?"
"You know me," he grinned.
"See you up there. I'm going to go get Mom."
"See you there." Geordi remembered days when he could make Wes blush at the drop of a hat. He hadn't been able to do that in almost two years. Geordi smiled and shook his head. "The Boy" grows up, he thought, wondering what life on the Enterprise would be like without Wesley Crusher.
"Geordi, I need your advice," Wes called from the catwalk far above Geordi's head, near the top of the warp core. He was light-handedly punching buttons on a panel, running a standard diagnostic he could do in his sleep.
"What about?" Geordi stood below him at the dilithium crystal chamber.
"Well, there's this girl in my Astrophysics class and she's--"
"Here we go again," Geordi sighed.
"--really good-looking," Wes continued, ignoring Geordi's commentary. He skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ladder at Geordi's side after having moved so quickly that Geordi hadn't notice he'd left the catwalk above him. Geordi looked over at the ladder from the catwalk to the floor, then back at Wes, who was leaning casually on the rail next to him.
Geordi groaned. "You're getting all bouncy and springy. I think we're all in trouble."
"Come on, Geordi, it's not like when I was fourteen."
"No, it's worse."
"I'm not in love, Geordi. I'm just... in... in like."
"In like."
"Uh-huh."
Geordi shook his head. "In lust is more like it."
"Geordi!" Wes narrowed his eyes at him, mildly annoyed. But Geordi had been hoping to embarrass him with that accusation. He'd only succeeded in irritating him by not taking him seriously.
He sighed. "All right, out with it. Who is she?"
"Do you know a girl named Robin Wallace?"
"Do I? She's a walking disaster in a science lab! But Worf loves her. He says she's the next Tasha Yar or something. Well, I don't know about that, but she seems fun, Wes. Nice choice."
"Thanks. There's this one problem, though."
"There always is."
"I'm leaving for Starfleet Academy in less than two months."
"And? What's the problem?"
"How can I get into a relationship if I'm leaving in two months for Earth?"
"Well, is she your future wife?"
"Huh?"
"Are you planning on marrying her?"
"What, now? Of course not. I barely even know her."
"My point exactly. So have a two-month relationship with her and miss her when you go."
"I don't want to miss her."
"Then don't get involved with her."
"But I really want to get invol--"
"Look, Wes," Geordi interrupted. "You've got to decide if you'd rather have her and then miss her, or wonder forever what it would have been like to be her boyfriend, even for a little while."
"I know. It's just a tough decision."
"No one ever said life would be easy."
"I know... you're right," Wes groaned.
"Of course I'm right."
"Also, there's Billy Nolan."
"What, you mean the smooth talker up on the bridge before?"
"Hey. I'll be the first to admit the guy's not exactly filled with social graces, but no one was in top form with that girl threatening us with total annihilation."
Geordi remembered everyone's little outbursts. "Yeah, I guess that encounter could have gone better."
"My point is my personal problem with him," Wes moved the conversation away from that episode. "He's heavy after Robin, and frankly, he's better-looking than I am."
"So, who does she like, you or him?" Geordi would have argued that Wes was good-looking enough, just to be encouraging, but Geordi had no idea what Wes looked like. Through Geordi's VISOR, Wes looked like a tall, thin, Human-shaped tie-dyed T-shirt with a blue- and green-patterned outline unique to Ensign Wesley Crusher.
"Me, I think."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Well, she asks me to help her study all the time."
"Ah, she wants you for your brain," Geordi smiled.
"And she met up with me in the hall before and kissed me goodbye."
"Sounds like a good sign."
"And there's that she outright said so."
"She did? When?"
"When I was visiting her in her quarters just before the poker game."
"Visiting how?"
"Just... Well, she... uh..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, has she spent time visiting with Nolan?"
"No, I don't think so." Then resolutely, "No, she hasn't."
"Well then?"
"I know, it's just that he really gets on my nerves! We were in the corridor before and she was this close to kissing me," Wes held up his thumb and forefinger, about an inch apart, "and he pushed me away from her. Pretty humiliating, right?"
"Only for him. Sounds like that would only make her like him less."
"Think so?"
"Definitely. Women are notorious for rooting for the underdog and hating bullies."
"I'm the underdog. Great. Thanks, Geordi."
"That didn't come out right."
Wes let it go. "Women are so hard to figure out. You'd think that with all the advances in technology and space travel, we'd be able to understand the opposite sex."
"Not a chance. Women are more complex than an unstable wormhole. But from the sounds of things, she likes you. I say go for it. You'll have some good memories to bring with you to the Academy."
"Yeah," Wes had a wistful expression on his face, one that was only slightly too sage for his current age. But the nostalgic curl to his lips quickly became a smile, "She's so wonderful, Geordi." He straddled a chair next to Geordi, looking distinctly like a younger, shaven version of Will Riker again, in a rather practiced way. "She's got beautiful long hair that's almost the color of copper. And these huge, sparkling green eyes, and she doesn't get all... giddy or embarrassed when talking to guys or to superior officers, like nothing can intimidate her, you know?"
"Yeah," Geordi was dismissive. He didn't want to go into what a beautiful woman looked like. He would give anything to see the beautiful hair and sparkling eyes Wes was describing.
"It's like there's a real person inside, someone as real and tangible as me, mostly because she's similar to me in some ways."
"That's important," Geordi was getting bored.
"And I can talk to her. She's bright and intelligent and--"
"Intelligent?" Geordi's face contorted. "That girl couldn't memorize the configuration of a hand phaser!"
"Yes she could. She just doesn't want to waste time memorizing stuff like that when it doesn't interest her. She's got Shakespearean sonnets memorized instead."
"Introduce her to Captain Picard."
"No way, they might get along too well."
"Well, good luck with her, Wes."
"But I never know what to say to her when I'm with her."
That had been the second time Geordi tried to end the conversation and Wes pursued it. Geordi sighed.
"She's always so calm and confident, and I'm always so nervous."
"She's older than you, right?" Geordi asked.
"Yeah, three years. Why?"
"That explains it."
"But what do three years do to a person that hasn't already been done to me?"
"Just because you have the intellect of a hundred-year-old man and a proficiency for finding trouble doesn't mean the rest of you has caught up with your mind."
"I think I've been insulted," he smirked.
"Besides, I'm sure she's nervous, too. She just better at hiding it. She studies with Worf, remember?"
"Yeah, so what do I say to her?"
"If I tell you what to say, it'll just come out wrong."
"Why?"
"You have to go in there cold. You have to say whatever comes to your mind. Be honest. Not rehearsed. They can smell it if you've practiced."
Wes gave him a scowl of disbelief.
"You have to just be spontaneous," Geordi summed up.
"I hate that."
"Yeah, well I don't know anyone who likes it. Computer, what time is it?"
"The time is 2047.23," the voice answered.
"Better head up to the meeting," Geordi ended the conversation once and for all. Wes had an irritating way of asking questions for which there were no definitive answers. "You can put this off until later. You won't be any use to me for the next fifteen minutes with your mind on what to say to Robin."
"Okay. Thanks, Geordi," Wes was still lost in his own thoughts.
"Or what to do to Robin," Geordi elbowed him and grinned.
Wes grimaced. "You had to get that last one in, didn't you?"
"You know me," he grinned.
"See you up there. I'm going to go get Mom."
"See you there." Geordi remembered days when he could make Wes blush at the drop of a hat. He hadn't been able to do that in almost two years. Geordi smiled and shook his head. "The Boy" grows up, he thought, wondering what life on the Enterprise would be like without Wesley Crusher.