Note of Interest: Gah! I was busy doing to research on Thomas Riker for this piece and discovered that Thomas Riker was on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, so out of curiosity I looked further and found that that according to DSN Thomas Riker stole a ship for some people, was caught, and now is serving a sentence in the Cardassian slave prison, or something along those lines. I'm disappointed. I mean it makes sense, the guy probably went nuts, but I'm still disappointed. Just thought I'd mention it in case there's some reader out there like me, who only ever watched TNG (probably not). Don't worry though, my story is not headed in that direction. : )

Author's Note: For those wondering, since I didn't mention it before but I hoped it would be picked up by the math but just in case it didn't, this story takes place after Season 7. So I suppose this is the imaginary Season 8. I've seen only two of the Next Generation Movies, Insurrection and Nemesis, so my imagination is free roaming. Hope you enjoy! This post is semi - long. Okay now I'm done babbling. Thanks for tuning in.

Deanna stared, her heart pounding in her ears. She stood up, Will let go of her hand, and she simply stared, in shock, at Thomas. Thomas turned to leave and Deanna cried out, "Wait!" Deanna ran after him, "Tom, wait!"

Tom turned and spit out, in anger, "What for?"

Will came walking, slowly up behind Deanna and Tom cast him a glance of anger and despise. Deanna turned and glanced up at Will before focusing back on Tom. "Please give us a chance to explain."

"Explain what?" He snapped and then he turned and stalked down the hall.

"Tom!" Deanna cried, but Will grasped her shoulder, "Let him go," he whispered, "Give him a chance to cool down."

Deanna turned and stared at Will, "Come on," he insisted, "let me walk you to your quarters." They were silent as they walked.

"I don't think you should stay here tonight, Will," Deanna said, once they entered her quarters.

"What, why?" He paused, "Because of Thomas?"

"Well, yes," Deanna replied, "Will, I just don't want to hurt him."

"Well, I'd say it's a bit late for that."

Deanna looked up at Will and saw Tom's haunted face, "Will, I-"

Will pulled her close and Deanna shivered, not from cold, but from the anticipation of what he might do. "Deanna it's you and I it's always been you and I. He never even came into your life until-"

"You forget you two were the same person up until ten years or so ago. He has the same memories as you up until that point. He remembers falling in love and spending time with you, just as you do."

"Yes, but," Will interjected, "He doesn't have the time that we've spent together in recent years. The time on the Enterprise, all the missions we've done together, the many near-death experiences, he doesn't have those."

"Yes," Deanna said, pulling herself out of his arms and walking towards the couch, she saw the photograph of her and Will taken just a few days ago by Geordi when they were having a birthday party for Beverly in Ten Forward. They looked so happy and they had been happy. Happier than Deanna could remember being in many years. "But it doesn't change his feelings."

"And yours?" Will asked, suspicion in his voice.

She turned to him, "To me, you are William T. Riker, Commander and first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise." She paused, looked away, and then looked back at him, tears in her eyes, "And the man I fell in love with."

Will reached out to her but Deanna turned away, "Will, you have no idea how hard it is to separate my feelings between the two of you. I mean there are parts of you that are best expressed in Thomas."

Will took a step towards her and paused, "What do you mean?"

"I remember when we first started seeing each other, how romantic you were. That was lost in you somewhere down the road but Thomas hasn't lost that. Experiences have made you different and now I feel stuck in between."

"What are you saying," Will asked and Deanna could sense his fear. He was afraid. Afraid that she was going to leave him, leave him for Thomas.

Deanna turned back to face him, "Will, I want to be with you, I always have and that hasn't changed. I think though, that while Thomas is aboard, we should keep things simple."

"Platonic, you mean," Will remarked, a slight sour note to his comment.

"I don't want to upset Thomas, besides I need to speak to him about this, about us. Help him to understand."

"Deanna, I-" but feeling as if he couldn't win the argument he changed his mind, "Alright. You win, as always, but Deanna, be careful."

Deanna gave a nod of her head and Will bent, kissed her forehead and left her quarters. After he left Deanna's knees gave way and she sank into her couch, sobbing.

"Why did you not tell me?" Will yelled.

"Don't take that tone with me, Number One," Picard scolded.

"Sorry, sir," Will said, the shock of his double coming on board was going to his head.

Picard came around his desk, to face Will. He had come in the captain's ready room, demanding answers as to why he wasn't notified of Thomas Riker's arrival and why he wasn't on the new crew list. "I wasn't even aware he was coming aboard until the admiral brought him along."

"The admiral?" Will was surprised. Admiral Backlard had recently transported on the Enterprise because he had a mission for them, one he had not briefed them on yet.

"Yes," Picard continued, "During my private meeting with the admiral, he expressed wishes to transport another passenger onboard the Enterprise and this passenger didn't want any ceremony. In fact he wanted only the Admiral, transporter chief, and myself in the transporter room."

"Thomas didn't want anyone to see him, why?"

"He told me he wished to surprise yourself and Councilor Troi."

"Well we certainly were surprised," Will remarked, "We were down in Ten Forward..." he drifted off and then gave the captain a look, "together."

Picard gave Will his own look, one of mischief, surprise, and understanding, "I see." He gave a short pause, "Will, I know about you and Councilor Troi. Why, I doubt there is a person onboard this ship, civilian or officer, who isn't aware of your relationship with Councilor Troi."

Will gave a huff and a small smile, the classic Riker smile, "So what does Admiral Backlard have in mind for my double?"

"I am not sure, Number One, but you can bet that it involves you as well."

Deanna stood outside Thomas Riker's quarters, unsure if she should ring or not. She had finally managed to quiet her nerves and anger by indulging in two chocolate ice cream sundaes and a chat with herself.

Despite the fact that she knew that Thomas and Will were the same person up until a certain point in their lives, but she still had a hard time accepting that there were two identical Will Rikers out there.

She knew that up until a certain point they were the same person, but separating them was hard for her, and many others, to do. It was mind boggling and giving her a headache. Deanna sighed and pushed the button. She heard Will's, no Tom's voice, answer, "Enter."

Deanna took in a deep breath as the doors opened. Tom stared at her from the sofa and finally stood up, "Deanna."

Deanna walked in and waited for the doors to shut before speaking, "Hello, Thomas."

"If you will allow me to explain," Deanna requested.

Thomas walked around the table and towards the restroom and turned back and walked towards her, slowly, and finally he said, "What is there to explain?"

"Tom, Will and I-"

"I know, I know," he said, turning away and walking towards the couch, "to you he is the REAL William T. Riker, not I."

"It's not about-"

"Yes it is," Thomas yelled, spinning around to face her, "It's always about him! To you, I'm nothing but a replacement, a substitute for-"

"How dare you say that" Deanna snapped, raising her voice for the first time, anger and hurt welling up inside of her, "I never used you," she said, slowly regaining her normal voice tone, "I cared for you, not as William T. Riker, but as Thomas W. Riker. You and Will shared the same experiences for most of your lives and it was only until you were separated, copied, that you became different. You are two different people and those experiences you had once you separated made you two different people."

Thomas finally calmed down a bit, "I'm sorry, Imzadi."

Deanna shuddered at his use of the word Imzadi. Thankfully she shuddered inside and not out. He was remarkably close to Will in almost everyway. She didn't like hearing Imzadi come out of Thomas' mouth. "Please don't call me that."

"Right," Thomas said, turning his back to her again and finally sitting on the couch, "Imzadi is reserved for you and William Riker," he said, stressing Will's name.

Deanna came around the other side of the table and sat next to Tom, "Tom, please, will you let me explain?"

"Deanna," he turned to her, looking her straight in the eyes, "seeing you with him was-" his voice chocked, "It was an awful blow."

Deanna wanted to reach out and grasp his hand, but she didn't dare. She was afraid it would cause sparks between them. Instead she clasped her own hands together and looked down at them and said, "I know," she looked back up at him and into his eyes. He looked exactly like her Will. She knew he did, but every time she looked deep into his eyes she was still surprised that the depth of them was just like Will's. Well almost, there was much more emotional scarring within them. "Please, let me explain," she whispered.

Thomas cast his eyes away for a moment. Then looking back at her asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I suppose because I knew it would hurt you, so I put it off. We stopped keeping in contact so often because you were trying to move on. I guess I was afraid that if I told you, I would bring back memories, resentment, and you wouldn't be able to keep going. You're doing very well for yourself. You've started at the bottom and are working your way up. You've received promotion after promotion."

"Just like he did," Thomas said quietly, "and just like him I've abandoned you for my career."

"You didn't abandon me," Deanna whispered, "Our lives took different paths. There's nothing wrong with that."

Thomas cleared his throat and sat up, Deanna followed his motions and finally after moments of silence Thomas asked, "So, what did happen?"

Deanna had been waiting for this chance but now that it had come she wasn't sure if she could tell him, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Thomas nodded, "Yes, I need to know."

Deanna sighed and sat back further, her back now touching the cushions, "A few months ago the Enterprise was attacked by the Romulans, we lost a lot of good people during that fight. Will went down to Engineering to help Geordi, when they received a devastating hit down there. Geordi managed to evacuate engineering personal and get Will out of there. Will had been hit by some flying debris and had breathed in some gas that had become present in the air.

Beverly, Dr. Crusher that is, didn't think Will would make it. He slipped into a coma and I spent every spare moment I had with him. Telling him he needed to recover. It was only when I thought I lost him that I realized how much I truly needed him."

"I don't understand," Thomas said, slowly, "You two have been placed in many life and death situations before, what made this one so unique?"

"I'm not sure," Deanna answered, "I guess because it was just so close to the end or perhaps the timing of it all. I'm not sure. But in that moment we both realized that despite what our heads said, our hearts said something different." Thomas didn't answer and so Deanna continued, "It was while he was in that coma that I told him..." her voice drifted off.

Thomas finished for her, "You told him you loved him."

Deanna nodded and unclasped her hands, putting them on her knees. Her knuckles were white from clasping them together so hard, "Yes. He recovered and told me that it was because I told him how I felt that he recovered. After he got out of Sick Bay we began seeing each other again. We didn't pick up from where we left off," Deanna said, sensing that that's where Thomas was going inside his head, "We started over, as if we hadn't ever really been together before," she paused, took a deep breath, "and in a sense we haven't."

Thomas didn't answer he leaned forward and took one of Deanna's hands into his own, "I understand."

Deanna clasped her other hand over his and he in turn clasped his left hand over hers. They tightly held hands for a moment before Deanna asked, "Really?"

"Yes," he replied, but Deanna knew, even without her empathic abilities that he was lying.

Captain Picard called for all the Senior Officers, Admiral Backlard, and Thomas Riker in for a meeting in the conference room just off the bridge the following morning. However, even though Picard called for the meeting Admiral Backlard had the floor. "I know that Thomas Riker and myself are the only ones privy to knowing why Thomas Riker is aboard the Enterprise. But even Captain Picard has not been told been told about the nature of Thomas Riker's appearance." He paused looking at each of them in turn.

Worf, Beverly, Will, Deanna, Data, and Geordi were all present. "This mission requires help from all of you," Backlard continued, once more looking at each of them in turn. Otherwise I would have requested that only those who needed to be present be. This mission is top secret and I must insist that it remain so." One more he paused.

Deanna could sense that he was on edge, like a man who has seen too many battles and was afraid to enter another one. "I'm sure that you have all heard of the Rebellion that was expelled from Earth two years ago."

They all nodded. It had been big news when a group of Star Fleet Students, who had been expelled from the Academy for bad behavior, had been exiled from Earth, after killing a dozen Star Fleet Students. The reason for their malevolent behavior was still unknown, even after many months.

"They wish to return home but will only speak to Commander William T. Riker." Backlard finished.

"Why only the commander?" Deanna asked, trying to mask her concern as just one of a fellow crew mate, and not his Imzadi. The only person fooled, however, was the Admiral.

"Because they look up and respect the Commander and because I wouldn't give them Captain Picard," Backlard stated, as if it was as simple as ordering tea and cookies in Ten Forward.

"How does this concern Lieutenant Riker?" Beverly asked, stressing the word lieutenant, as she did.

"This is where things get complicated," Backlard said, "The Enterprise is scheduled to meet and negotiate a peace treaty between the Cardassians and the Bajorans."

"The Cardassians want peace with the Bajorans?" Will asked, "I find that difficult to believe."

"As do I, Commander," Backlard said, "But really don't have much of a choice in the matter. We need to at least investigate and for the most part to appear interested in what the Cardassians have to say."

"You want one of the Rikers to stay onboard as First Commander and one to go down to the planet and negotiate peace with Ex-Star Fleet Students." Deanna observed.

"Correct," Backlard said, once more in his matter-of-fact tone.

"Why?" Geordi asked, "If the Cardassians wish to know where Commander Riker is, why can't we say he is on shore leave, why would they care anyhow?"

"We're unsure," Thomas said, speaking up for the first time, "But the Cardassians requested Captain Picard, Commander Ricker, and Councilor Troi to be present at these negations."

"How long have you been briefed on this mission, Lieutenant?" Will asked, staring straight at Thomas.

"Almost three months, Commander," Thomas bit back.

The others could sense the tension between the two. When Thomas had left the Enterprise two years ago, it had appeared that he and Will had made peace. Deanna knew that the two had exchanged some communication, but not a lot. Thomas was trying to drift away from Will, trying to become his own person. Deanna couldn't blame him. Living in the shadow of Commander Riker couldn't be easy.

"The question is," Beverly stated, "Who's going to stay onboard the Enterprise, and whose going down to the surface."

"Commander Riker will be transported to the surface," Backlard offered, "and Lieutenant Commander Riker will remain on board the Enterprise as Commander Riker."

Deanna and Thomas exchanged a glance, which didn't go unnoticed by anyone, least of all Will. Deanna knew that Thomas had received promotion after promotion, but she had believed they had been small promotions. She didn't realize just how close he was to being a Commander, in just two years.

"Lieutenant Commander Riker will take the exam, here onboard the enterprise, under the supervision of Captain Picard, and perhaps receive his last promotion to Commander." Backlard said.

"Excuse me, Admiral," Will interrupted, "But I usually judge the Commander Exam."

"True," Backlard replied, "But since your relationship to Lieutenant Commander Riker is so close, and a rocky when at best, I decided that Captain Picard is best suited for this position."

Will turned the sour look that was beginning to develop on his face, inward, "Yes sir."

"Why are the Star Fleet Treaty and the meeting with the Cardassians and Bajorin taking place at the same time?" Beverly asked, "Couldn't you have asked one to postpone their meeting?"

"My, my," the admiral said, "I expected minor protests and some questions but this is out of hand."

"You must understand, Admiral," Picard injected, "That while we have complete confidence in both Commander Riker and Lieutenant Commander Riker's skills, we are hesitant due to the nature of this mission."

"Who's to say that the Cardassians or the Ex Star Fleet students won't figure out that Commander Riker is at both and assume that they have Lieutenant Commander Riker?" Geordi commented.

"Everyone onboard the U.S.S. Andromeda except for Captain Joharren, his first officer, and transporter chief, believe Lieutenant Commander Riker to be dead." Backlard explained.

"Dead?" Deanna erupted, "How are you going to explain this to the crew once Lieutenant Commander Riker appears back aboard the Andromeda, safe and alive?"

"It will be explained to the crew, besides, it is doubtful that Lieutenant Commander Riker will be reporting back to the Andromeda."

"What do you mean?" Deanna asked, suspicious.

"Once this mission is complete Lieutenant Commander Riker will be reporting to the U.S.S. Gemini, as Commander Riker, First Officer to Captain Percy." Backlard answered. Deanna gave Thomas yet another stunned expression he had also failed to mention that as well. Deanna closed her eyes and tried to center herself into remaining calm. Backlard took no notice, "We will be arriving within space of Sabre V in two days. Which should be spent preparing for this mission. We'll have another meeting at 1700 hours. Dismissed."

They left, chatting along the way and unwilling to be with Will or Tom at the moment Deanna accompanied Beverly to her quarters to play poker. Deanna cast her eyes down when she entered Beverly's quarters, trying to hide the smile on her lips. Poker was a favorite pastime, and excuse, of Will and Deanna's.

"This must be hard for you," Beverly said as they set up the table, chips, and cards. Normally Deanna and Beverly spent their time in the exercise lounge but because of the accessibility of the area Deanna and Beverly decided to play cards. Deanna was hiding from both Will and Tom and with good reason.

"Harder than you can imagine," Deanna commented, "I thought I had grown use to the idea of Tom and Will but I know now I lied to myself. I was convinced that Thomas was simply Will's twin, nothing more. But there is more too it."

"I'm guessing that Will didn't take the news too well about Thomas's arrival," Beverly chipped in.

Deanna pulled back a chair and sat down, Beverly sat down opposite her, "No, he didn't," Deanna commented, "I'm worried about how this mission is going to affect Thomas."

"How do you mean?"

"Thomas has lived in Will's shadow for the past two years. Almost everyone in Star Fleet knows he is a replica of Will Riker and therefore has a reputation to live up to. I know he's been throwing himself into his work, but I'm still worried about how this will affect him."

"Hm," Beverly said. Then glancing down at the cards she held in her hand she placed three face down on the table, "I'll take three."