11.
The Doctor's smiling face told them all they needed to know and in the same second a kaleidoscope of emotions surged through their minds. Anna's happy laughter seemed to ring through the air and for a moment they remembered how they'd been at her birthday; dancing around the dinner table singing Happy Birthday as Anna eagerly watched the presents that had been piled up on the shiny surface.
But in the blink of an eye the image was torn from their minds' eyes and soft half-Betazoid filled his arms. The conflict raging about in their minds drew them together and he was happy for the comfort the hug offered.
They sat in silence, slowly allowing themselves to come to terms with the finality of the Doctor's diagnosis and composing their thoughts before returning to their quarters; returning the sad smiles they collected from crewmembers along the way.
Inside the sanctuary of their home, Will sat his wife on the couch and got her something to drink and eat, and already Deanna knew he was going to pamper her just as he had when she'd been pregnant with Anna…and new tears sprang to her eyes.
"Deanna?"
She looked up into his sparkling blue eyes, knowing he shared her sorrow and her happiness, but they only made her hurt more. She knew he was trying so hard to comfort her, to guide her through the pain, but there were times he only made it worse.
There were times, more often than she wanted to admit, that all she wanted to do was find a dark corner somewhere; curl up and just stop feeling. Some times all she wanted was for him to take her in her arms and tell her that everything would be all right. That the hurting would go away.
And that she wouldn't have to sense his feelings.
And then there were times when nothing was more soothing than knowing he felt the same way she did, that he too was conflicted by sadness and happiness and that he understood how she felt; that she wasn't alone.
But right now she wondered if he could really grasp what was going on inside her heart and mind, if he really understood how frightened she was of loosing another child; of having her heart torn apart once again.
"I'm all right." She said eventually, reaching out to ruffle a head through his soft hair, suddenly shocked by the amount of grey she found. When had he grown old?
And as she took his hand and stood up she realized he was not the only one growing old. The last weeks had taken their heavy toll on them and she knew they weren't done paying that toll yet…there was still so much to grieve about; so much to miss. But as her hand strayed to her belly she felt, for the first time in too long, the quiet insistence that there was still so much to live for too.
===End===
Okay, like it or not, this was the last chapter ;) Always good to end a sad story on a note of hope *waves*
