Chris-
Chris ran though the halls of the starship, excited. Everything was strange and new and he loved finding new windows to look out of. No one seemed to pay him much attention, at least not that he noticed. Chris would stop and stare, a little bit, every time he saw a new type of person. It was wonderful! This was the first time Chris had ever seen such interesting looking people unless they were from Count D's petshop. They weren't really all that different from Chris' friends and they smiled at him sometimes. He especially liked a man with bright blue skin he saw and a woman with feathers.
It didn't take long before his excitement began to wear off, however, and he realized he was lost. There were things like elevators and when Chris saw some people getting into one, he stepped in and made his way unobtrusively to the back. The elevator moved with a noise like the wind and Chris got off with everyone else.
'It's just like where I was.' Chris wasn't even sure if he'd really gone anywhere. Everything was still all white. His feet were hurting and he was very tired. Chris wanted to go home. He tried finding the petshop, but every door looked the same and most of them wouldn't open for him.
"Computer," Chris looked up when he heard the voice and he saw a man talking to the wall. "Tell me how to get to science lab 8."
-Science lab 8 is on deck 4. Follow, please.- The wall lit up and began flashing down the hall to the left and the man obediently followed.
'Wow.' Chris thought. 'That's handy.' So Chris went to the place at the wall where the man had asked for directions and thought he'd give it a try. -Where's my big brother?- He asked the wall.
The wall didn't answer.
-His name's Leon.-
This time Chris waited a minute, thinking that maybe it was just a really slow wall, but it nothing happened.
-How about home? Where's the petshop?-
Silence.
-Please, tell me how to get to the petshop.-
Silence.
-Come on!- Chris was getting impatient. -You helped him!- Chris was on the verge of yelling at the wall when he realized the problem. -Stupid wall can't hear me. Stupid. Stupid. No one can hear me.- Chris walked away from the wall that was unwilling to hear him, but he had no idea where to go. All the people he saw on this ship and there was no way he could ask them about Leon. No way to find Leon. He was lost, his feet were sore, and he was hungry.
Chris left the uncooperative wall and started his search again, beginning to regret his choice to look for Leon instead of staying in the safety of the petshop. Perhaps another hour or so passed, Chris wasn't really sure. He was getting frightened, though. There were so many strangers around and Leon had always told him about the dangers of strangers.
What was it Leon had told him?
"If you're lost, never talk to or go with strangers. That's just asking for trouble." Leon had wagged his finger at Chris, to emphasize his point. "You find a cop or call 911 when you find a pay phone. It's free. Then you wait at the phone and the cops will come to you. It's okay if you can't talk, they come automatically when the number's dialed and they trace it to the phone." Leon had winked when he said that with a little smile. Leon had mentioned that last part especially, since no one but the residents of the petshop and Leon could hear Chris speak. It was a good idea, but in all his wanderings, Chris hadn't seen anything that even looked like a phone, so how could he call 911? All the people he saw were strangers and, therefore, dangerous. That left just Leon's last bit of advice. "Find a cop."
So Chris kept looking, but he didn't see anyone that looked like a police officer. There were lots of people wearing little badges, but none of them looked like Leon's police badge. Chris didn't even know how he was supposed to ask for help when he knew they wouldn't hear him.
Hours seemed to pass and Chris felt like he was just walking in circles. He was tired, his feet were sore, he was hungry, and scared. Tears began to burn at his eyes, but Chris quickly rubbed them away with his knuckles. Tet-chan and Leon would be ashamed if they saw him crying. Best to sit down and think. That's what the Count would tell him to do.
He ended up finding a little alcove with a small bench in it and Chris thought how funny it looked to have a bench out here in the middle of the hallway. Then again, he was pretty tired from walking, so maybe other people got tired, too. So Chris made himself comfortable and tried to think of a way out of his predicament.
Nothing.
Chris' mind was a complete blank. He was sure that the Count would show up sooner or later to take him home, so maybe it was best that he just stay where he was. Wasn't that another piece of good advice? To stay in one place and wait to be found? Chris wasn't the most patient of people.
'A trait you share with that brother of yours.' The Count had once said in exasperation when he and Leon had gotten into another fight. 'Neither of you can sit in one place for more than two minutes!' Chris didn't know how he'd gotten involved, but he was sure the Count was more mad at Leon than at Chris. Even that, Chris had doubts about. Sure, the Count and Leon fought a lot, but it was always about little things, never important stuff. It was almost like they enjoyed fighting with each other.
"My, you look a bit lost."
Chris looked up and found a lady with long black curls smiling at him. He knew she wouldn't hear him, so he didn't bother trying to answer. She was a stranger. Chris sat up straight, crossed his arms over his chest, and scowled, hoping she'd go away.
"There's no need to be afraid of me. My name's Deanna Troi. How about you?"
Again, Chris didn't bother to reply. Why should he when he knew she wouldn't hear him? Chris shook his head at Troi and stood up, skirting around her. His brother's warning still clear in his mind. Never talk to strangers.
"You're very smart to be cautious." She said, still watching him. "I can see you're also afraid and very confused. You look tired, too. Have you gotten lost?"
Chris continued to back away.
"Would you like me to help you find your way home?"
At that, Chris stopped and looked at her, appraisingly. He really wanted to get home and go to bed, maybe get some dinner first. But Leon was very strict about the 'no strangers' rule. The one time Chris had been tempted to get into a strangers car, it turned out she was a homicidal maniac who almost killed the Count and tried to kill Chris all to get revenge on Leon. This lady might be just as bad.
The lady wasn't at all put off by getting no response from Chris. In fact, she seemed to smile more and actually bent down to look him in the eyes. "I can see you don't talk to strangers. That's alright, but I can't just leave you here. I can tell you're afraid, so I'm pretty sure you're lost. Won't you tell me your parent's names so I can tell them where you are and they can come get you?"
Deanna Troi-
She was sure she'd seen him before, but she didn't know where. The child looked so familiar. His lips were kept tightly closed and he sure wasn't going to say a word to her. He was really a very cute child with such bright blonde hair and very big eyes. It was quite the surprise to find him alone in a deserted corridor so early in the morning. The Enterprise really didn't have day or night, but it did have regular shifts and this was the time when most children, most people, were in bed and asleep. In fact, that was where Deanna had been headed when she ran into the little boy.
He still didn't answer her and, again, backed away when she stepped closer. This wasn't getting her anywhere. There wasn't so much fear as caution from the boy, but she could feel his frustration and so many other unpleasant emotions even before she'd seen him. Loneliness. Fear. Worry. Even a bit of excitement and confusion. Really, it didn't make much sense.
"Well," Deanna said, when it looked like the boy would never open his mouth. "Why don't I see if I can find out where you belong?" She went to the computer panel on the wall. "Computer, are there any missing children reported?"
-No.-
Deanna looked at the boy sharply when she felt his anger and found him scowling, not at her, but at the computer panel. He was angry with it? Again, that didn't make any sense. "Computer, I need a child identified. Blonde hair, blue eyes, human male. Approximately seven years old."
Deanna looked at the boy when he stomped his foot and shook his head. He held up eight fingers.
"Sorry. Eight years old."
-There are thirty two children on the Enterprise that fit that description.-
"Are they all in their quarters?"
-Yes.-
So that meant this child wasn't one of those ones, which was nearly impossible. There might be some kind of glitch in the computers, but that was unlikely, too. "Well, I'm afraid this raises some problems." Deanna turned to the little boy.
-Yeah? What?-
The thought words were so strong that Deanna's mouth dropped open, before she could catch herself. -You're a telepath. Are you Betazoid?- Maybe that was why the computer turned up nothing. She should have been looking for a Betazoid instead of a human. -What's your name? Can you hear?- That was another good possibility of why he didn't speak to her. Perhaps he was deaf.
-I'm Christopher, but everyone calls me Chris. I can hear, but...you can really hear me? Not many people can- The little boy turned his head to the side. -What's a Betazoid?-
-I can hear you because you're a telepath.- Deanna was only half Betazoid, on her mother's side, so she normally didn't have telepathic contact with anyone on the Enterprise. To be completely truthful, Deanna wasn't really a telepath. She was an empath and could only speak telepathically with other telepaths. A full Betazoid could, and often did, communicate fully telepathically. It was the normal way of life. In fact, many Betazoids who never left Betazed couldn't even speak verbally. Deanna even remembered her own mother learning to speak from her human father. Having a human father had been a huge advantage for Deanna because she'd learned to speak verbally at a very young age and that had made her transition into Starfleet, where most people had no psychic talent at all, much easier. -I'm a Betazoid, and Betazoids are the only known people who can communicate like we do. With out minds-
-No.- Chris said, slowly. -I think you're wrong. I know lots of people who can hear me. I don't even know what telepa..tela...whatever that word is. I just talk. No one can hear me, that's all.-
He was hiding something, something about why he didn't speak.
Deanna was puzzled, but careful not to let it show in her mind's voice. This boy's mind's voice was clearly very powerful and well controlled enough that Deanna wouldn't have been able to tell he was telepathic if he hadn't spoke. Still, he didn't even know he was a telepath and Deanna just couldn't believe that.
"Computer," Deanna tried again. "Are there any Betazoid children on the ship? Any telepathic species at all?"
-No Betazoid children are currently on the Enterprise. The are no telepaths on the Enterprise.-
So much for that idea. He couldn't have just come from nowhere. Deanna bit her lip when a notion stuck her that this might be some work of Q. It hadn't been long since the whole kitsune incident and it was still running loose. If Data was right, and he usually was, this could be a disguise of the kitsune. No. That didn't make much sense, either. Why would the kitsune be out here so conspicuously? Surely, it would take a form that would be easier to hide in, like an adult in Ten-Forward? Even if Chris wasn't the kitsune, he could be some other trick of Q's. "Computer, who is the child standing approximately three feet in front of me?"
-Unknown.-
-Hey, miss Troi?-
-Yes, Chris?- She hadn't been called miss Troi in a very long time. Alarm bells were ringing very loudly in Deanna's mind and she knew she'd have to discuss this with the captain. This child definitely shouldn't be here.
-Why won't the wall help me find Leon? It talked to that other guy and to you, but it won't talk to me.- He actually sounded insulted and only then did Deanna realize why the boy hadn't spoken to her before. He didn't understand the difference between speaking and mind's voice.
-Leon?-
-My big brother. He just came back. I'm looking for him, but I got lost and now I can't even get home.-
-I see. Can you tell me your brother's full name?-
-Lean Orcot.-
-It shouldn't be too hard to find him. You're sure he's on this ship?- This was good. If there was someone connected to the child, then it would give them more information. If the brother was a crew member, it was possible that the boy had just been overlooked when he came on board, not likely, but possible.
-Yeah. I saw him. He was wearing funny clothes, just like you.-
Deanna looked down at her uniform and frowned. There really wasn't anything strange about her uniform. It was what all Starfleet personnel wore and was very similar to what most civilians wore. Actually, now that she thought about it, the child was dressed a bit oddly. Some tough, faded pants that were held up by a kind of belt that might have actually been leather. Deanna shuddered at the thought. Imagine! Wearing the skin of dead animals. How primitive. Even his shirt was something Deanna had never seen before. It was plain white, but there was a big picture of a dinosaur on it and 'MILKBALL' written in large red letters across the top. It made no sense at all and whoever heard of clothes with pictures on them?
"Computer," Deanna thought she'd give it one more try. "Please locate Leon Orcot." Leon? Now why did that ring a bell?
-There is no Leon Orcot on the Enterprise.-
The little boy was shocked and angry. He pointed a furiously shaking finger at the computer panel. -It's lying! My brother is here! I saw him.- Now he was even more scared than before and his eyes started to well up with tears. -We were waiting for him and he's here!-
-Now, now. Don't worry. We'll find out where you belong. If I can't find anything here, we'll go talk to the captain. I'm sure he'll have some idea of how to find your brother.- If nothing else it was a good excuse to show Chris to the captain and let him know about the problem. It wasn't unthinkable that Q had brought some poor innocent child from another world or another time and set him down in the Enterprise just to see what the crew would do.
Ten-Forward-
Q-
"Deanna thinks so poorly of me." Q commented with a pout. "It's really not fair."
"Really?" Guinan asked, skeptically. "Well, what are you going to do? If the Jean-Luc finds out there's a child on the ship who shouldn't be here, he's going to have kittens. If he gets upset, the whole crew gets upset. There will be an uproar until they finally find out where the boy belongs and they'll find D." Her dark eyes met his. "They'll find out about us sooner or later."
Q nodded his understanding. "I see your reasoning. I suppose we can just let them find him. It's not as if they can hurt us. They're inferior." He said this with a slight smirk, not at the Enterprise's crew, of whom he was actually quite fond, but of Guinan. She knew that fact as much as he did. It wasn't arrogance, just simple fact. Humans, Klingons, Vulcans, Betazoids, and all those other type of creatures were so far below Q, Guinan, D, and all the other Kami in the universe that there was literally nothing they could do. Of course, Guinan, now powerless as a human, had few ways to physically defend herself. D, taken away from his source of power, the Earth, had power, but it grew less and less the further they went from Earth. It was out here in the deep of the void that Q was the most powerful. This was his domain.
"Inferior or not," Guinan said. "It would be best if they didn't know about our kind. At least, not what we're capable of. It's too much for them. They wouldn't understand and it would frighten them. Frightened humans are dangerous, it would cause chaos."
"Are you hinting that you want me to get the boy away from your precious counselor."
"Deanna has a good heart, but she shouldn't get involved in this."
"She's got enough reason to be suspicious, already."
"Yes, but no proof of anything. D will keep the boy closer, after this. He's protective and I think it would be bad for everyone if something should happen to the boy. I think the Count would have no hesitation in destroying this whole ship."
"Well, we can't have that. We'll have to be subtle, though. They already think I'm responsible for bringing the kitsune on board."
"You didn't have to show him to them."
"No. But it was so much fun to watch them scurry around like that." Q's eyes lost their merriment in an instant. "That little incident will also encourage the Count to keep his pets off my bridge. I won't have his pets threatening my pets."
"Jean-Luc would have a stroke if he heard you referring to him and his crew as pets."
Q laughed as an image of Jean-Luc, livid with rage, stomping and shouting suddenly grabbed his chest and fell over with a thud. "Yes. That would be amusing, wouldn't it? I'll tell him when it starts getting dull around here." Q left Ten-Forward without waiting to hear Guinan's rebuke. She hated it when he teased the Enterprise's crew, for some reason.
The man was Leon Barns, now, but it was clear that this was the brother the little boy was looking for. He found Leon sleeping in a friend's quarters and woke the man with soft whisper. "The boy's in trouble."
Leon woke groggily and groaned as he pulled himself out of sleep. "Boy?" He muttered, confused.
"That nice little boy you met at D's. Chris. He's lost and alone on deck 7. You have to go rescue him." Q used more than just words to get Leon out of bed, he used a compulsion. Compulsion was something Q rarely used. It wasn't much fun to force people to do what he wanted them to do. Q much preferred to adjust the situation and watch how people reacted to it. Still, this was the most efficient and least conspicuous way to get the boy away from the Enterprise's crew.
Leon stood up and began to dress himself. He didn't notice Q in the room with him because Q didn't want him to. It was a useful and extremely easy talent, easier than a thought. He watched Leon leave the room, satisfied. Humans were so easy to manipulate. He knew Leon would go to where the boy was and he knew Leon would get the boy away from counselor Troi. He'd implanted the knowledge that Leon didn't want anyone to see him taking the boy away from the counselor, so there wouldn't be a fuss. Just to be sure, though, Q decided he'd follow Leon and watch to make sure everything went off flawlessly.
Leon didn't start waking up properly until he was several yards away from his friend's quarters, striding down the corridor with a purpose. He was confused, but didn't hesitate on his way to the boy. This would serve another purpose. Having Leon go back to D's home meant that D would get off the Enterprise all the sooner and Q liked that idea.
In no time at all, they found the boy. Leon was actually walking down one hall that intersected another. It was that other corridor that Leon and Q saw Deanna Troi walking calmly by. With a little help from Q, she passed without noticing Leon. Leon stopped walking when he saw her and waited. A few yards behind Deanna Troi walked a little blonde boy.
'Quietly." Q advised Leon. "You must be quiet. If she hears you, she'll cause you a lot of problems." Leon didn't hear him, not really. It was more accurate to say that Q spoke inside of Leon's mind. Not telepathy. That would have been to clumsy and the very person he didn't want to alert, Deanna, would have heard it without difficulty. In fact, Leon would never guess that the idea to be quite and do this without alerting counselor Troi wasn't his own.
Leon obeyed Q's suggestion. He stole up to the corner of the intersection and grabbed the little boy's arm. A single swift tug and the little boy was pulled into Leon's arms. Leon then picked the boy up and began walking very fast down the corridor he'd just come, away from Deanna..
Chris struggled when he was lifted so suddenly off his feet and Q had to block the boy's mental shout from the nosey counselor who would no doubt have tried to follow him. That would have led to more interfering from Q and that just took all the fun out of this whole situation. If they were going to have this kind of mess on his favorite starship, then he should at least get the fun of watching it play out. The inconvenience and insult that his domain should be invaded by D, it really wasn't all that bad. He was amused by both the crew of the Enterprise and the Kami's attempts to keep a low profile. Now that the kitsune was known and hunted it would make life a little more difficult for D and Deanna would turn around eventually and see her young charge was missing. She would inform Jean-Luc, Q himself would be blame, and it would set off another maddening search for the mysterious, vanishing child. Yes. That would be lots of fun to watch.
"Hey, kid, don't wiggle. It's me." Leon was quick to reassure the boy Q knew was Leon's brother in another life.
-Leon!- Chris realized who had grabbed him and smiled wildly, throwing his arms around Leon and let himself be carried. He was smart enough not to run and call attention to himself, but he did walk very quickly and didn't set Chris down until they were well away from counselor Troi. Once they'd gone into one of the turbolifts, Leon finally set Chris down, but kept the boy close to his side with an arm over his shoulder.
"Kid, what are doing wandering around? D's gonna tan your backside. He's probably worried sick." Leon put a hand to his head and Q guessed that Leon was starting to realize how odd it was that he'd gone rushing out in the middle of a sound sleep just to pull Chris away from the ship's counselor, whom Leon knew wasn't a danger. Leon would likely pass it off as just a whim that he should go for a walk in the middle of the night and he wouldn't think anymore of it.
-I was looking for you and I got lost and...-
Q's attention wandered away from the sticky sweet conversation and around the ship. Though he was still with the two brothers, Q really wasn't at all interested in their bonding time. Instead he went to peek at counselor Troi who was speaking rapidly. At first glance, she was talking to herself, but the reply of Jean-Luc's voice told him she was talking to her communicator badge.
"He vanished! I'd swear he was just a step or two behind me, when I turned to check on him, he was gone!" She sounded more irritated than anything.
Jean-Luc sounded tired when he replied and Q wondered if the man had been sleeping when the counselor woke him. Hmmm...there was an interesting idea. He could pay Jean-Luc a dream-time visit. That might be fun. The subconscious of any mortal creature was sly and tricky. Now what would Jean-Luc dream about when all his defenses were down? Did he dream of his family on Earth or that red haired spit-fire, Beverly Crusher? There would be time enough to play with Jean-Luc after D left the Enterprise and was back where he belonged, on Earth.
"Vanished?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Vanished. This could have something to do with the kitsune, if Data was right about its disguise power."
Q lost interest after that and moved his attention onward, though careful to note that Leon and Chris had left the turbolift and were nearly at the door of D's quarters. He saw most of the ship moving along in its usual, hum-drum way and no sign of the kitsune. That meant that it was back in the domain of D, where it couldn't affect the ship or the crew. There was, however, another creature loose. It was a strange looking animal, angry and hungry. It roamed the corridors with it's nose alternately in the air and snuffing at the floor.
'Trying to find the boy?' Q mused. 'D didn't send him, I'd bet. He'd have gone after the boy himself.' It was an interesting animal and not so dangerous as the kitsune. The Tou-Tetsu wasn't so clever or sly. The only real danger it presented was that it might eat one or two of the crew before they found it. Still, it was nothing but an animal and Q knew the Enterprise crew would kill it as soon as they found it. So Q moved his attention away, again, and found Guinan in her quarters just adjacent to Ten-Forward where he'd left here. She knew he was there and scowled at him.
"Are you finished?"
"Almost. They're at D's quarters now and D just opened the door. He's not happy that I'm here, but he's pleased the boy's home." Q listened to the conversation and the not-so-subtle suggestion that Leon spend the night. He laughed when Leon nearly ran away in a fit of nerves. "Humans..."
Q turned his attention to the corridor where Leon was running and saw the crow flying towards both Q and Leon. It landed easily on Leon's shoulder, but cast a glance at Q.
"Thank you. From myself and Count D." The crow told Q. "You've saved us both much trouble."
"I didn't do it for you." Q told her, stiffly. "As far as I'm concerned, the child could die. It wouldn't matter to me."
"It would, in the end. The child is as dear to the Count as Leon is. He would be most displeased if something were to happen to the child."
"Then that's his affair. He shouldn't have brought the child with him out into the danger of the Void."
"You do make sense but, when in the grips of grief, the Kami of Earth are not prone to reason or logic. One Kami, locked in his grief, went mad and tried very hard to destroy Earth. If this D tried the same thing, he would surely succeed in destroying this ship and if you stopped him by killing him, you would have his grandsire to deal with. I think you wouldn't like that."
"No. Probably not. Still, I won't keep helping out like this. You tell your master to hurry it up and get back to Earth where he belongs." He looked suspiciously at the crow. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be guarding your Kami's precious humans?"
"No. I guard this one." She shook her head, elegantly. "I think I tire of this waiting game, however."
"Then end it." Q urged. If the bird could get D off the ship, then the sooner the better.
"No. I will not. That's not my role in this game. They must sort it out themselves. Too much was left unsaid and undone the last time. This time, they'll do it all themselves."
Q didn't bother to hide his sigh of impatience. "What, exactly, is it they have to do?"
"It's nothing all that impressive. Nothing that will shake the universe or even this ship. Probably, no one will even notice but the two of them. Anyway, it's not something you should be concerned about. It'll happen, given good luck."
"Luck? Isn't that an invention of the human imagination?" Q arched an eyebrow.
"That question raises issues of reality and it's too late to speak of such things. Do not to interfere. Everything will work out well in the end, providing of course...but I'll see about that." The whole conversation had taken place in the time that it took for a human heart to beat, then Leon rounded a corner with the crow and they were gone.
Q turned his attention back to D, now standing in the doorway of his quarters with his hands on Chris' shoulders as he urged the boy inside. D paused and nodded his head once in Q's direction. A silent thanks.
Leon-
Leon fell right back asleep as soon as he got back to Reggie's quarters. After a quick pit stop at his own quarters for another dose of his medications and letting Jill relieve herself in her sandbox, Leon headed right back for Reggie's. He was glad he hadn't woken Reggie both when he left or when he came back, and slumped into bed, feeling more tired than he had in a long time.
Jill was waiting for him with a strange look on her face. "Don't look at me like that." Leon told her, grumpily. He wasn't used to running about in the middle of the night and God only knew why or how he'd run into Chris so late. At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that Chris was safe at home with D. It felt uncomfortably like someone was rummaging around in his brain, making him do things he didn't want to do.
Jill spread her wings and glided from where she'd been perched on the headboard to land on Leon's lap. She nuzzled his arm with her beak and looked up at him.
"Don't ask me." Leon pulled out his little hypospray and inserted a pill into the chamber before pressing it to his arm. "I'll be damned if I know what's going on." D had looked at him like...like he was hungry or something. It had made goose-bumps rise all over Leon and a pleasant burning in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on and he didn't like it. Like he was trying to do a puzzle, but someone was hiding the pieces. D had them. Leon was pretty sure of that. D in his dreams...Leon had never forgotten the D he'd dreamed of as a child or the comfort those dreams had given him.
The medicine brought a sense of relief to Leon. He was glad he'd woken up in time, he'd actually forgotten to take his meds before going to sleep. It was strange. Never, since the day he'd started taking them, had Leon forgotten. Must have been all the excitement in meeting D. Excitement...yeah. Leon couldn't help a pleased smile that crossed his lips before he fell asleep. D was exciting in a way Leon had never felt before.
Leon slept peacefully until morning when he heard Reggie moving around in the outer rooms.
He hadn't really meant to spend the whole night at Reggie's place, but it worked out well. In fact, it was the best rest Leon had gotten in ages. He woke up feeling ready for anything and his head clear about D. He wanted D, but he wasn't sure why and he knew it was doomed. He'd gone his whole life without any kind of infatuation, why did his first have to be to some creepy, weird guy in a dress? It wasn't even a very good match. They were obviously nothing alike. What could they possibly have in common? Nothing. Nothing at all.
It scared Leon to death. He'd never felt anything so powerful for any other living creature and he really wasn't sure what to do about it. He should probably ignore the feelings he was having. They'd lead to nothing good.
Reggie nodded a 'good-morning' when Leon saw him eating breakfast, but didn't say anything. He had a bowl of cereal in front of him, one of those tasteless health-food things, and was fiddling with some kind of mechanical thing. Leon really wasn't sure what it was, but Reggie seemed fascinated by it. It had probably once been something very useful and ordinary, but at the moment, it was little more than a pile of circuitry and metal laid out on Reggie's table. The table wasn't just littered with little bits of circuitry, it was piled high with things and bits 'n bobs.
"What is that?" Leon asked when he sat at the table. He snatched Reggie's little palm-held computer pad from under one of the piles of metal and typed in his code. The little computer was connected to the rest of the Enterprise and could tell him anything he needed to know, including his schedule for the day.
"I'm not sure yet." Reggie smiled softly, though his mind was still completely on whatever it was he was trying to do. "I think it used to be a table."
"A table? That?"
"Yes. I think so. Maybe it was a food dispenser." It was times like this that Reggie seemed happiest. He was completely lost in whatever little world he'd created for himself, imagining the possibilities of what he could create. "There's food around here, somewhere."
Leon made himself breakfast and finally settled down to look at the borrowed computer pad and frowned at the message. It was to all security officers.
ATTENTION: INTRUDER LOOSE WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE. NO TRACKING POSSIBLE AS OF YET. PROVEN DANGEROUS. ENERGY BLASTS FROM FOREHEAD. INJURED.
APPEARANCE: FOX-LIKE MAMMAL. NINE TAILS. APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET TALL, THREE FEET LONG, NOT COUNTING TAILS. COLOR: WHITE. TWO RED CIRCLE MARKS ON FOREHEAD.
INTELLIGENCE: UNKNOWN.
ORDERS: CAPTURE. PHASOR SET ON STUN WILL INJURE CREATURE, BUT WILL NOT STUN FULLY. UNKNOWN WHAT OTHER SETTINGS WILL DO. IF SEEN, REPORT TO LIEUTENANT WORF. IF LIFE OF CREW OR SAFETY OF SHIP IS THREATENED, KILL.
Leon scratched his head. Well, that was weird. Still, he'd keep his eyes open. If he was supposed to deliberately hunt for it, no doubt there would be a secondary note attached to the one Leon had just read. As it was, he'd just have to watch for it and report if he saw it. Leon scrolled down to the next message.
AWAY TEAM NOTIFICATION: LEON BARNS WILL REPORT AT 1100 HOURS TO TRANSPORTER ROOM 4. MISSION TO ACTURA IV, RESCUE MISSION FOR COLONISTS INFECTED BY PLAGUE. YOUR OBJECTIVE: GUARD DOCTORS AND OFFICER FROM ANY AND ALL DANGERS. PROJECTED TIME OF MISSION: SIX HOURS. END.
It was a simple message and one that Leon liked. 1100 hours, huh? Two hours. He'd have to get his meds and take a dose, it had been quite a while since his last one. Probably should grab a quick shower and...
SQUAWK!
Jill flew out from the bedroom where Leon had been sleeping and nearly crashed into him. Leon laughed when she landed noisily on the table between Leon and Reggie. "What have you been doing? You were so quiet all this time."
Reggie didn't even look up when Jill had made her noisy entrance. "I can't go this morning." Reggie said, not looking up from his mess of stuff. "Sorry."
"Huh?" Leon looked away from Jill and at Reggie. "Go? Go where?" He felt like he's missed a whole conversation.
"You wanted to go to Count D's quarters again, remember? I've got second shift duty, so I have to be in engineering in a few minutes. By the way, did you think of an excuse for going, yet? Will he think it strange that we just pop up out of no where?"
Leon had completely forgotten. If he just went there it might look strange. All the bizarre feelings and thoughts that Count D inspired in him didn't help Leon at all. He felt himself starting to blush and tried to hide it from Reggie by concentrating on Jill. He did need an excuse. "I'll think of one." There had to be some excuse for going back. Something that didn't make Leon look like he just wanted to see D for pleasure's sake. It was important that Reggie see the magic close and what the rest of D's home was like. If Reggie saw it, then Leon knew he wasn't seeing things.
Before any of that, Leon needed his meds and Reggie needed to get to work. Reggie left his tinkering on the table, reluctantly, and make sure he looked respectable before they left together. Since main engineering was on the way to Leon's quarters, he and Reggie walked together most of the way.
"Man, thanks for the breakfast." Leon said as soon as they walked out of Reggie's quarters. He had so much to thank Reggie for, but this was a start.
"No problem."
Leon didn't like the changes he noticed in Reggie as they walked along. It started out just fine, Reggie was normal and chatty when they left Reggie's quarters. The closer they got to main engineering, though, the quieter Reggie became. He started to fidget with his hands and began to nervously look around with shifting eyes, as if he were afraid someone was going to sneak up on him.
"Are you all right?" Leon asked, worried.
"Oh...." Reggie was quiet and then gave Leon a forced smile. "Yes. Yes. Just fine. Oh, here we are." When he looked at the doorway of main engineering, Reggie hesitated and seemed to gather up his courage. "Well, I'll just...um...be going...I guess."
It was just like in Ten-Forward. It seemed that Reggie couldn't bear to be around other people. On his own, he was fine, but when other people were around he lost all his confidence.
"I don't go on duty till the whole away mission thing, it's in a few hours. I'll say bye, if nothing else." He waited until Reggie had walked into main engineering before leaving and stayed a moment to watch Reggie. He didn't like it at all. Reggie was very subservient to the other engineers and they didn't seem to think anything of it. From what little Leon saw, Reggie nodded quickly whenever anyone said something to him and rushed off to do what he was told. He seemed very nervous all the time and fairly ran to hide when Captain Picard happened to walk through. 'We'll have to work on that.' Leon decided, starting away. 'He's too good to be acting like that.'
Deanna Troi-
Deanna wasn't having a good morning. She hadn't slept at all, thinking of the little blonde boy she'd met and now she had to figure out a way to convince everyone that she hadn't been imagining things, when even the computers didn't show anything of the little boy when they checked the records. All they showed was Deanna talking to herself in the corridor. She knew she'd seen him!
"Man, thanks for the breakfast."
"No problem."
Deanna stopped in her tracks, all thoughts of everything else vanishing at the sight of Reg Barclay and that rude, blonde man she'd met on the shuttle craft walking out of Reg's room, together. They both seemed happy enough, though the blonde man was brushing his hair with his hand and still rubbing his eyes, as if he'd just gotten out of bed.
"I mean it. What would I do without you?" Leon, yes, that was his name, slapped Reg on the back as they started down the hall together. "You sure it's okay for Jill to stay at your place? She can go back to my quarters, if you like."
"It's all right. You'll be back for dinner, though, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it. The away mission can't take all that long."
They turned a corner and vanished, neither one of them noticing Deanna watching them. She was surprised that Reg had never mentioned that he was homosexual in any of their meetings. Funny. She thought he trusted her enough to tell her all those little details. Even funnier, she didn't think Reg would fall in love with someone like Leon. Reg was such a nice, good person and Leon struck Deanna had being vastly different. He was loud and rude and...
'Stop it.' Deanna told herself. This was just the sort of thing she was trained not to do, making snap judgments. There were lots of reasons why Leon Barns might have been rude to her on the shuttle craft. She didn't even know him and she'd tried to strike up a conversation. Some people didn't like strangers being so forward and would do anything to distance themselves from uncomfortable socializing. He might have been having a bad case of jitters about starting on a starship for the first time. Then again, he might have just had a real bad day. Whatever the reason, Deanna had known the moment she met him that Mr. Barns had having some serious stress. His emotions were in turmoil and her approaching him had only made things worse.
'It shouldn't be such a surprise.' Deanna told herself as she shook her head and continued on to her own quarters. 'I saw them hugging in Ten Forward, in front of everyone.' What was it that Mr. Barns had said to Reg? It was apparently more than simple teasing as Deanna had first thought. "I'm gonna start thinking you don't love me anymore."
She was happy for Reg, despite that Mr. Barns didn't seem to like her much at all. From what little she'd seen of Mr. Barns and Reg together, Mr. Barns seemed to make Reg much more confident. Reg didn't stammer or keep looking nervously at his feet when he was with Mr. Barns. 'I wonder if he'll mention it at our next session?'
It was only about twenty minutes after she'd seen them that something registered in Deanna's mind and she came to a halt in mid-step. 'Leon? Chris mentioned a Leon. Leon Barns. Leon Orcot.' She stopped walking and thought back to the mysterious little telepath. 'They certainly looked a lot alike. Enough to be brothers?'
Leon-
Leon hadn't been meaning to stop at D's quarters, but he did, anyway. He wanted to wait for Reggie, but he found himself at the door of D's quarters, regardless. For a long time, Leon stood at the door and just stared at it. 'This is dumb.' Leon scolded himself. 'Not even properly washed up, I shouldn't be visiting people.' But the door slid open of its own accord and Leon took it as an invitation. The room was still starkly empty and Leon went directly to the magic closet. He didn't care what Reggie said. He knew what he'd find and he was right.
The stairway led down into D's real home and all Leon's thoughts about telling a superior what he'd discovered about D faded from his mind the further he went down the stairs. He wasn't going to tell anyone. He wouldn't bring Reggie here, either. In fact, he'd stop by engineering and tell Reggie to forget the whole thing. He didn't want anyone else near D.
It all felt so familiar, but Leon wasn't afraid. Not really. Opening the large doors at the foot of the stairs felt like going home and familiar scents wafted out at him. The first thing Leon saw was D, standing by another set of doors. He had been looking at someone or something back there and turned when Leon came in.
"How's Chris?"
"Asleep. Finally. I am afraid he was very worried about a friend of his who has not come home, yet. He went to look for Chris, but got lost himself."
"You got other people living here?"
"A few. This particular person is in no danger, though. I have already seen to his well being."
Leon got right down to business. He wanted answers. "Look, D, I don't know what's going on, but I think you can tell me."
D looked pleasantly surprised, but chose his words very carefully. He didn't move a muscle when he spoke. "What would you like me to tell you, exactly? I will tell you anything you wish to know."
"This," Leon waved his arms all around at the dim, smoky room. "It all feels like...home. That can't be. I've never met you before and the only places I've ever lived in have been children's homes. How can any of this be here? It's just not possible." Leon wrapped his arms around himself and shifted his eyes away from D, to the panels on the walls that were like window, letting light into the hallway, though there was nothing beyond them. They were ornate cut outs with light as bright as sunlight streaming into the halls and giving plenty of light to see. He looked at anything but D's intense eyes. "I think I've dreamed of this place all my life. Is this real?"
Leon felt very vulnerable and he didn't like it. He didn't want to leave, though.
"Yes." D began walking to Leon, his long dress making soft swishing noises at every step. He was graceful and elegant an when he reached Leon and tentatively put a hand on Leon's arm, as if he were afraid of how Leon would react. "This is real. This is home. Once, long ago, you lived here. We were so happy, before you died. No. That is not quite true. You visited so often, it was as if you lived here. Your brother lives with me."
"Brother?" Leon's mind flashed back to his dreams of long ago. How many times had he dreamed of a little brother? A brother who looked just like him, but never spoke a word. "You mean, that boy? You have Chris and..." And in his dreams his brother had been named Chris.
"Yes. You are his brother." D smiled and put the palm of his hand on the side of Leon's face. "I told you I was looking after him for his brother. Well, it was you who asked me to care for him as you died." D's smile vanished and his face took on a look of such aching pain that Leon wanted to comfort the man, but he didn't know how. He didn't know what to say or do that could stop the pain in D's eyes. "You wanted the truth, did you not?"
"Yes." Leon wasn't sure what D was talking about, not really, but if D knew the truth, then Leon would have it. "Please. I have to know. How do you know me? Chris knew me when he first saw me. I dreamed of you." Leon blushed when he realized how that must sound, but D didn't look at all offended.
"The truth, then. I am one of the three living D Kami of Earth."
"Kami?"
"A sort of spirit. All places of life have at least one guardian Kami. Earth is the domain of my clan. My sofu, my grandfather, and my young brother being the other two. As I said before, long ago this was your home. This is my petshop, my home, and the place where I sealed contracts with humans. They would come desiring a pet and I would give them what they most deserved. You found me Leon when your job drew me to your attention and I had a hard time trying to get rid of you after that. You grew on me, I will admit. You are so very dear to me. You died defending your brother when a burglar came into this petshop. When your death nearly broke me, one of the ancients who dwelt within this petshop, the phoenix, took your soul and promised to return you to me. Now we are together again. I have been waiting for you for so long. For hundreds of years I have waited." He sounded as if he might cry at that last and Leon stared blankly at the smaller man, unable to stop himself. "Leon...please, stay with me."
"Stay?" Leon balked at the idea. He felt overwhelmed with the impossible idea that D had planted in his mind. Leon stepped back, out of D's reach, and started to babble. "I can't stay. I've got duties. Responsibilities. They're expecting me for the landing party; I've only got a little while to spare. I have to leave." Part of him couldn't believe anything that D had just told him, but part of Leon was jumping for joy that someone had just explained all the strange dreams he'd had. But...Kami? Guardian spirits and reincarnation? This wasn't the dark ages; who believed in magic these days?
The raw anguish on D's face was awful to look at, but Leon also couldn't look away. "Must you?"
"There's a rescue mission to Actura IV and I'm part of the landing party. They need me."
"They can find another security guard. -I- need you! Chris needs you!" D grabbed Leon again, fingers tightened around Leon's arm, almost painfully. It was a possessive, desperate grasp and it disturbed Leon more than it would have if D had sunk his lethal looking fingernails into Leon's flesh. "I have waited for you, I have been patient."
Leon shook his head. "This can't be. It was just a dream. Just some weird coincidence..." Then why did Leon feel like he would break down into tears if D began crying? He prayed that D wouldn't cry. He couldn't bear it. "None of it was real. I need reality. Those dreams are a curse. I need what's solid and stable, or..." If he accepted that D's explanation was real, then what about all the humanoid animals he remembered from his childhood? Were they real, too? Had he been taking that damned medication of Mr. Goti's for so many years for no reason?
"Or what?" D pressed.
"I'm afraid I'll lose myself." Leon couldn't believe he'd said that to someone he'd known only a few hours. What if he started dreaming again and never woke up?
"Would it be so bad to lose yourself in dreams?" D came closer, again, causing Leon to back up a step until his back was against a wall. "Your reality is laced with fear. Every day you fear your secret being discovered, you fear death if you are not discovered. I can give you such beautiful dreams." He reached one slender hand up and stroked the side of Leon's face, dragging his fingernails down Leon's cheek. "No more fear and no more danger. Just stay with me."
Leon felt his eyes burning, but he didn't know why. Without really intending to, Leon mimicked D and reached his hand out to touch D's face. His blunt, callused fingers brushed though D's silken hair and barely graced the skin as soft as a butterfly's wing. Leon didn't to stop. "People are depending on me. I can't live in dreams, not even happy dreams."
D's face hardened. "It was NOT a dream. None of it was 'just' a dream. It was real. It was our life!"
Leon felt himself start to get angry and he took his fingers out of D's hair. Better to be angry than frightened. "You're nuts! You don't even know what I'm talking about." What if D was just mocking him? Playing to Leon's weak points? He wanted so badly for this all to be true. To have real family. To have a home. To have D.
"Oh? What do I not know about?" D gave a wicked smile, filled with things Leon couldn't begin to understand. "Shall I tell you about Jill, the lovely lady with curly brown hair and spectacles? Shall I tell you about when your mother died and you had to give your only brother to your aunt and uncle before you were taken away to an orphanage? When little Chris stopped talking because his cousin told him that he was a devil child who had killed his mother? The first day you walked into my petshop, you were looking for information about the white lizard Robin Hendrix bought. The next day your brought me a box of sweets from Hotel M and I told you the story of the Medusa. You were a detective and so proud to be one. Do you remember our vacation to the islands when the volcano exploded or the time we watched the Sakura blossoms with the musicians playing so sweetly just for us?"
"Stop it!" Leon shouted, putting both hands to his head and turning away from D. "Just shut up!" 'This can't be happening. It's not real. I'm not crazy. But he knows....all those things...in my dreams...I remember them!' He needed a minute to think.
D didn't stop as Leon had asked, but he did continue in a quietly persistent voice. "You lived another life before this one, Leon. You were a police detective in San Francisco, California, a very good police officer. You were a very good man. You lived in a run down apartment with pornographic posters of naked women all over your walls and you always refused to take them down. I always thought you kept them up just to annoy me. You had a disgusting habit of smoking and I had to flush your cigarettes down the toilet to help you quit." He stepped back, this time. Stepped away from Leon, as if to give him room to breathe and Leon was grateful. D's voice was much softer when he spoke again. "It is all right if you do not remember. Few people who are reborn remember what their lives had once been. I had hoped that because the phoenix was close to you, you would have some understanding of your dreams."
"I don't dream. Not anymore."
"I know." D's head hung. "I will have revenge for that, also."
"Huh?"
"Never mind." D looked back at Leon, desperate longing in his eyes. "When will you let me in? You are afraid. I understand, but...once, long ago, you trusted me. Will you trust me again? Just for a little while." D leaned his face into Leon's hand and he closed his eyes, as if reveling in the touch.
Leon didn't want to cause D pain, he didn't want to hurt anyone. "I...I only have a short time. They'll start looking for me. I don't want them to come here. There would be questions and...and," Leon's hand moved from D's face down to his shoulder and it felt so frail under Leon's hand. "And I don't want them to find this place."
"You are leaving this ship to go to another planet, are you not?" D's grief laden voice spoke as if it were the end of the world. "I have no way to protect you, where you are determined to go." D took Leon's hand and began leading him away from the parlor, back into the interior of the petshop and to the twin doors that led deeper into the petshop. "No living humans has set eyes on my home in so many hundreds of years and none has ever been so welcomed as you are."
They went though miles of hallways until, eventually, they came to a room and D slid the doors open, beckoning for Leon to enter ahead of him. The room was lit only by a tall standing candelabra in a corner. The bed was quite low and partly hidden by a draping canopy, so delicate that it looked like spider silk in the dim light. "I can not make you stay." D said, sliding the doors closed behind him. "I will ever force you to do something against your will." Leon couldn't take his eyes off D and he felt his breath quicken. He knew what D wanted, it was pretty obvious at this point. "But once I made a mistake. I was a fool. I will not make such a mistake again." He took Leon's hands and held them, his thumbs stroking the back of Leon's hands. "I love you."
Leon felt his breath coming faster and faster, his hands started to sweat, and his heart was beating painfully against his chest. "I..."
D broke away from Leon and went to the candelabra. He blew out one of the seven candles. "You are afraid. Of me?" He blew out a second candle. "I have been waiting to tell you that. I promised myself that I would not be such an arrogant, stubborn fool when next we met. I once thought I could withstand you. I once thought you would always be there." He laughed, though not happily. "You were always so stubborn, so resilient. It was better to keep you happy and content, rather than press the issue. I was happy so long as you were near. I still am." D raised a hand and passed it though the small flame of the third candle. He didn't flinch at the lick of the fire. "I have regretted my silence for too long. I never told you how much I need you."
"I should go." Leon felt like a coward and hated himself. How could he answer that? How could D need him? He was worthless except as an experiment for Mr. Goti. He was like a hundred other kids who'd been pumped full of drugs, the only difference was that he'd been one of the few to survive. He couldn't even get off the drugs, like Reggie had, so how could someone like D need him?
"Why?"
Leon opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had six hours before he had to be anywhere. Jill was happy and content in Reggie's quarters. There really was nowhere else he had to be. "Look..." How was he supposed to deal with this? Didn't most people go through this sort of thing as a teenager? Leon must have missed that part of adolescence. He wanted to stay. But...
"I will not force you to do anything, my Lion." D ran his fingers through the flames of another candle. "There are many things I wish to do, but if it frightens you or hurts you, I will not. I only ask that you stay here where you are safe."
"I'm not frightened." It was an see through lie and Leon knew D wasn't fooled. "But I have to go. It's important. There's a plague and the doctors have to be guarded while they're handing out the medicine."
"You still intend to go?" D's voice was getting angrier at every word. "I can not protect you when you leave this ship. Do you understand? I can not even properly protect you outside my petshop. If you go you will be in great danger!" D whirled on Leon, a furious butterfly in a swirl of color, and grabbed him by both shoulders, shocking Leon with the hidden strength in those thin hands. "You may die, again! I would not be able to stand it! I can not survive seeing you die a second time!"
Seeing D so enraged, Leon gave in. He did what he'd wanted to do since he first saw D and ignored all his paranoia that told him to keep his distance.
Leon seized both of D's wrists and pried them off his shoulders. Holding D's wrists in his hands, Leon brought both of his hands together, holding them over D's, and leaned forward to give D a chaste kiss. The room was so quiet that the only thing Leon could hear was his heart thundering. When he pulled back from the kiss and dropped D's hands, Leon said, "I promise."
"What?" D whispered, his eyes wide with shock. Leon wondered if he shouldn't have done what he did.
"I promise I'll come back. So, no more hysterics, got it? You drive me crazy!" He turned and stomped out of the petshop, going as fast as he couldn't without actually running.
Once back out in the sterile white of the Enterprise, with all the normal, ordinary people moving about their lives, did Leon slow his pace. To say he was happy would have been a vast understatement. Leon couldn't remember feeling like this, not since he'd been a very small child. He felt so light that he though he'd just float away. 'I can't believe I did that!'
Leon smiled so widely he thought his face might split. That kiss...not only the bravest thing he'd ever done in his life, but the best thing he'd ever done in his life. Kami...reincarnation...any other kind of magic, Leon didn't care anymore. He'd sort it all out later.
Right. Time to go on his first away mission.
to be continued...
Bet you're all wondering what happened to Tet-chan, huh?