Another Favor

Star Trek: The Next Generation, all characters and ideas there associated are the sole ownership of someone that's not me.
All original ideas and characters contained in the following story are the sole property of J.L. Scott.

Not so for Troi. She was fully aware of everything that was going on.

/This works in a tiered sort of way/ Raylyn said before they started, /Deanna will pull you in and then I will pull her in. Just try to be open/
Troi mentally acknowledged and a second later she felt the questing presence of her counterpart. She had expected the touch to seem familiar, almost normal, the way her mother felt. It was, essentially, her own mind after all.
Instead the touch was very alien, the way a complete stranger felt. Or even more so, the way a new entity felt. She was confused for a moment, wondering why it should be so uncomfortable.
/Well, you've never exactly had the chance to feel your own touch/ she felt her counterpart say /It's uncomfortable for me as well/ Both Deanna and Troi took a second to explore the strange feeling. Deanna was trying to get the taste of what a life without her Imzadi would be like. Troi was discovering the joys that would accompany following her mother's advice and getting married, having a family. She had always been afraid, in the back of her mind, that marrying would mean giving something up, giving the life and work she loved, up. But here was this other version of herself handling it all quite well, without having given anything up. In fact, she was even a step ahead of Troi, for Deanna was a commander and her career options were wider than Troi's.
Those couple of seconds passed, however, and then they both felt the tug of Raylyn. Troi had felt Raylyn before, speaking telepathically with her, but this was an entirely different sensation. While she had only noted the slight uncomfortable feeling of being linked with her counterpart, Troi now suddenly felt engulfed, drowning in someone else's essence. She had not, until then, fully realized the strength of Picard's daughter's character. She was subjected to the iron fisted control Raylyn held over herself, to the wide diversity of experiences and knowledge that had built her. Her personality was so rich in comparison to what the Councilor had been prepared for. She could only float amid the conflicting currents of confidence and self doubt, love and frustration, power and lack of control. She wondered briefly if all commanding officer's minds were so chaotic, and yet so controlled. She knew she would never find out. This was a once in a life time experience.
As soon as the initial shock had faded, like a body getting used to cold water, they could feel Raylyn pulling them into Jean-Luc's mind. She was shielding him from them, and them from him, so that they wondered what she might be feeling. But Raylyn was looking only for the memories she needed access to. When she found them, she moved in, pulling the other two women with her and they all took a tour through a Borg's mind.

Riker could almost say he was having fun with his counterpart. The man represented everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever hoped to be. Their conversations about battle tactics had gone well, and the Commander had even gotten some new ideas from the Captain. (He had been pleased to find that he would, apparently, be aging gracefully, for, except a few gray hairs and a little more wisdom around the eyes, the face above the green uniform was the same face above the red)
Their appetites had ignited at the same time and was even now driving them to Ten Forward for a quick lunch. As they walked the corridors they quizzed each other about their careers and about old friends. They were both careful to sidestep their posting on Betazed, but both were intrigued wit the different choices they had made.
"Ryan Vela and Nick Dutro!" Riker grinned and shook he head, "I haven't heard from those two in years"
"You're kidding!" Will exclaimed. The Academy friends were still close, "They both made captaincy a few years back"
"Did Dutro ever catch that girl he was chasing?" Riker asked.
"Bethany Halliwell" Will nodded, "Married 13 years, 2 teenagers, both queuing up to join Starfleet. Vela is still a bachelor"
"Figures" Riker smiled. He hadn't even thought of his two Academy friends in years, but he made a note to catch up with them as soon as they got back home.
He had been on the verge of saying something else when a strange sound stopped him. He looked to his left and his right.
"Did you hear that?" he asked. His counterpart had stopped and was looking about too.
"It came from the Jeffery's tube" he said. And sure enough, just as the two men stepped toward the service duct covering, 3 dark heads tumbled out.
"You three!" Will cried, not exactly sounding angry. The three children rose quickly to their feet, looking a little nervous.
"We were looking fro Ian, Andrew and Ana" the boy, who was taller than his apparent age probably should have allowed, answered. Riker found himself staring at the boy. He looked very familiar.
"In the Jeffery's tubes?" Will demanded.
"No!" one of the girls said. Both girls were the exact same height, with long black hair.
"The Computer said they were in Ten Forward" her sister added.
"Children aren't allowed in Ten Forward" Will told them.
"But Dad!" the boy cried. Riker finally realized why the tall boy looked so familiar. He was an exact replica of himself! That meant these girls were the twins Jean-Luc had told him about. They certainly didn't look like much, but, none the less, they were beautiful. Riker couldn't tear his eyes away.
"And you two" Will nodded at the girls, "This is nowhere between Engineering and home"
"We were on our way when we ran into J.W." one of the girls said, but she was sliding looks at Riker. Her sister was staring.
"Morgan, don't stare" Will reprimanded her. So that one was Morgan, which meant the other one was Mary. Riker thought she looked a little bit like his own mother.
"J.W. take your sisters back to our quarters" Will ordered, "I do not need to worry about you three while we're trying to put this ship back together"
"What about Ian, Andrew and Ana?" the boy asked.
"Stop worrying about your cousins so much and start worrying about yourself" Will replied. The children took a step toward the open Jeffery's tube. Will stuck a hand out and gently turned them all the way he had just come from.
"Take the turbolift" he told them. The children smiled impishly as they headed off. Riker bent and replaced the covering to the Jeffery's tube.
"They have a little too much of Raylyn in them" Will commented as they continued on toward Ten Forward.
"As I recall, we were a little rambunctious ourselves" Riker grinned, using the Captain' word to describe the children. He was still marveling over them. They were exactly what he'd always envisioned his children would be like.
Will was grinning too as they finally entered Ten Forward. It was mildly busy with crewmen on their lunch breaks.
"Hello, gentlemen" a soft voice greeted them.
"Hello, Guinan" Both Will and Riker said. The sage woman smiled in amusement and moved off to serve the tray of drinks she was carrying. Riker was just about to suggest that they get a table when a childish scream accompanied a cold wet feeling that was spreading across his chest.
The scream had come from a little girl, now staring up at him frightfully, standing about two feet in front of him. Riker immediately recognized her as Deanna's daughter, Ana. Not that she particularly looked like her mother, it was more something about the eyes.
The shot of water (he hoped) came from under one of the bar stools. Even now a light haired boy was emerging with what appeared to be a homemade squirt gun. Both children slowly lined up in front of their Uncle.

"Where's your brother?" Will demanded immediately. Ana and Ian exchanged a look but said nothing.
"I think you may want to check behind the bar" Guinan whispered as she passed by. Riker followed her. Sure enough, squatting behind the bar was another boy, this time with dark hair.
"Come on" Riker ordered and Andrew followed to stand with his siblings.
"You know you're not allowed in here" Will said. None of the children said anything. Will sighed and tapped his badge.
"Riker to Troi"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah?" Wyatt's voice came back.
"I found something of yours in Ten Forward" Will said.
"What? Something of mine? In Ten Forward?" Wyatt sounded surprised.
"Three something in fact" Will added.
"Oh. All right, I'm on my way" Wyatt answered.
"You three stay right here until he gets here" Will ordered the triplets, "Guinan will you make sure they don't take off?" The bartender nodded serenely.
"Come on. You never know what they sprayed you with" Will said as he led Riker out of Ten Forward.
"I was hoping it was just water" Riker admitted pulling at his uniform. Was it him, or did it seem....sticky?
Will led him to a door that was marked "Captain, Riker, William T./ Commander, Picard, Raylyn"
"You can borrow one of my uniforms till you can get back to you ship" Will said upon entering. Riker would have demurred but the sticky feeling was growing stickier. He was afraid if he didn't change soon, he might never be able to.
While Will fetched him a new uniform he took a second to glance around the quarters. They were certainly different from his. The gentle grays and salmons that adorned the standard quarters had been replaced with light curtains in the windows, bright blue furniture and white-green carpeting. These were female tastes and Riker suspected that his counterpart had had little say in the decorating.
The rest of the quarters reflected family living. There were copious amounts of framed photos sitting around, what Riker suspected was a science project of some sort, school books and a basket of laundry. His trombone sat in a corner and the bookshelves were stocked with many of his favorite selections.
"Here you go" Will said, only a minute later, holding out the clean uniform. Riker took it, examining the gree.
"You'll want to wash off any of the liquid that got on your skin" Will advised.
"Right" Riker replied and headed for the washroom.
"Data to Captain Riker" Will looked up.
"Go ahead"
"You are needed on the Bridge" Data reported.
"On my way" Will replied, then gave Riker a nod, "Go ahead"
So Will left and Riker moved into the washroom. He had to peel his uniform top off and scrub at the stick substance on his chest. When he was finally satisfied that he'd gotten it all, he pulled the green uniform on and transferred the pips. He tried not to look in the mirror, not wanting to contemplate the reflection he didn't need a mirror to see. He was ready to get out of these quarters.
When he turned, though, he found his way blocked. Raylyn was on her toes and kissing him before he could say anything. She pressed herself into him and he automatically provided the support she was searching for. She wasn't much taller than Deanna, but her body seemed to fit to his so well. She was warm and she smelled good and it just felt so right to be kissing her. For a second, Riker considered going along with her mistake. (To save her from embarrassment of course) He considered pretending this was his wife of 14 years, that they had three brilliant, beautiful, troublesome children, that he was the Captain of the Enterprise and that all of his dreams had come true.
But it was only a second and he gently pushed her away.
"I think there's been a mistake" he said. One of her dark eyebrows quirked.
"Oh" she replied, "You know, the rest it's easy to tell, but you..." And then her eyes fell to his uniform.
"Oh! He lent it to me" Riker told her, "I got in the way of one of the Troi kids"
"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you scrubbed well" Raylyn replied.
Riker smiled, "I did"
"Speaking of children..." Raylyn let her sentence trail. Riker wasn't sure if he was expected to say something or not. He had the feeling she was talking to someone else.
"We ran into them" he finally said. Her gaze slowly lifted to his face.
"Your husband told them to come straight back here" he added.
"Hmm. They took a slight detour" Raylyn said. Just then the doors slid open and the three of them walked in. They threw a glance toward their mother and immediately set upon their school work.
"Well, I had better go find a red uniform" Riker said.
"It was nice kissing you" Raylyn chuckled as he went out the door.