The Ties That Bind

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Star Trek: The Next Generation no mine...no money, no sue, please?

Miranda glared at her reflection in the table. She had taken the seat farthest from Will, which he had not noticed as of yet. Dillard had neatly disappeared while Will's head had still been reeling, and as the Enterprise had interrupted a mission for his father's funeral, he'd had no choice but to bring his "sister" on board while he tried to figure everything out. He had immediately had the Captain, Deanna and Dr. Crusher join him in the observation lounge. They, like he, had been astounded.
"Are we sure?" Jean-Luc asked, acting more as a friend than a Captain. Dr. Crusher nodded.
"The DNA matches" she replied, with a quick glance at Will.
"I just can't believe he never told you" Deanna said, with a glance at the girl, who had still not said a single thing since she'd shown up.
"I can" Will muttered, and glanced at Miranda. His sister. He had a sister and his father had never even bothered to tell him? He'd just abandoned her on some planet and forgotten about her. Why? The idea that this was some elaborate trick by...anyone...crossed his mind. Another glance at her, however, banished that idea. It wasn't just her dark brown hair, blue eyes and tall lanky form. The look on her face was one that he recognized, one that he had worn often enough as a teen. His father had left him too.
"Well, what do you plan to do?" the Captain asked. Miranda's head lifted just a bit, but Deanna was the only one who noticed. The Councilor could barely read the girl, but what she did feel was disturbing. She would have to say something to Will.
"I have legal custody" Will said, finally turning to the young woman in question, "I'm not my...our father" he said, quickly amending the familiar pronoun, "I won't just leave you on some planet" Will waited for her to say something, thank him, but she remained silent. She lifted her head and caught his eyes, but did nothing more than hold his gaze. Deanna flinched under the pressure of the tension that was developing. She could already tell there was going to be some difficulty in making this relationship work.
"Well" Jean-Luc said with a large smile when it was apparent that Miranda was not going to reply, "It'll be a pleasure to have you with us, Miranda" She flicked a look at him, minus the daggers she was apparently saving for Will, and did not reply. An uncomfortable moment was developing again.
"Your things should be aboard by now" Will told her, standing, "Why don't I show you to your quarters?"
"It was nice meeting you!" Deanna called as the young woman followed her older brother out. Miranda didn't even bother to acknowledge.
Will remained just as silent as she in the turbo lift, taking the few moments to study her a bit. The top of her head reached his chin and was covered in the same super straight, find dark brown hair that his was. She had a strong jawline, and Will thought her eyes had the same look as his. She was well proportioned, quite lovely really, despite the surly look on her face. Her top was strapless and flowy, reaching about mid thigh, and was pruple. The pants she wore were a sort of swirl of purple and blue and while not tight, were not loose either. It wasn't exactly a ship appropriate outfit, which he would remember to talk to her about later. He was still just trying to cope with the idea that she was his sister. How did one treat a sibling so young? He was old enough to be her father himself! And he was her guardian. Should he set rules, be a parent figure? Or was she too old for that? So many questions were rolling through his mind he almost missed the fact that the doors had opened.
"This way" he let her precede him and led her to her quarters. They already had her name on the door. IT slid open and the siblings stepped in. There were a few suitcases and quite a few boxes sitting just inside. She must have had rather large quarters back on Bolgara.
"Well, it looks like everything made it" he said, as she checked the boxes, "The replicator is over here, and I think you can find everything else. My quarters are on the next deck up" She didn't respond and actually kept her back to him. Will sighed, starting to get a little annoyed with her attitude.
"Look, I've got some work to do, so I'll leave you to unpack" he said, snapping a little more than he'd meant to, "I'll be back in a couple of hours to show you around" Again she made no response so he turned and left. He didn't know where he was going until he found himself in Deanna's office, pacing in front of the couch. Dillard had left all of Miranda's school records and her personality profile, which Will had given the Councilor. She had just been reading it when he'd come in, and her concern for Miranda had only grown. Judging from Will's agitated state, there was good cause.
"You're upset" she said.
"Yes I'm upset!" he cried, "A girl shows up out of nowhere, a sister my father never bothered to tell me about, she won't talk to me, she glares at me like I've got a price on her head, and I know nothing about her! What am I supposed to do with her?" And with that he flopped on the couch, exasperated.
"Well, first of all, her name is Miranda Leslie Riker, and she's 16 years old" Deanna told him in her calm, councilor voice.
"16! He kept this secret from me for 16 years!" Was all he could say.
"Her mother was a half Betazoid woman named Valerie Marcus" Deanna continued, "It doesn't say in her record whether Miranda is empathic"
"Empathic" Will repeated, absorbing the information.
"Will, if she's been acting coldly toward you, maybe it's because she can feel all the anger and frustration you're feeling. She's probably assumed that you're angry at her, that you don't want her here, maybe even that you're ashamed of her" Deanna tried to explain to him.
"Why would she think that?" he wanted to know.
"Her father abandoned her on some rural planet to be raised by people he didn't even know, Will! He kept her a secret from her only other relative, her brother. He treated her like a mistake, one that he had to hide from the world. It's natural that all the ill feelings she had for him over the years would transfer to you as a representative of what he was hiding her from" Will didn't say anything, having to accept what his Imzadi told him was true. Deanna knew he was having a hard time with this. Will was used to everybody liking him right away, and he tended to get very defensive when someone didn't. He was going to have to be very patient with Miranda and it wasn't going to be easy.
"She's very smart, Will. She's well beyond her age level, academically. But she's never had any friends, according to her file, and she's been know to get into some trouble. You need to show her that you're not ashamed of her, that she's not some dirty little secret to you" Will was not looking enthusiastic, "Take her out, introduce her to your friends, show her around the ship, try to get her involved in something!" Deanna joined him on the couch, trying to show her support, "Why don't you bring her over for dinner tonight. I'd like to get to know her, and maybe it'll get you two talking"
Will thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He had to do something.