A/N:

I'm a clown because I'm rewriting this story for a third time. I started this story when I was an actual child. I could never bring myself to finish this story because I didn't know how. Well, it's past time I finished it. This is an entirely different plot, so if you're not new to these characters. Forget everything you knew. If you are new. Be thankful you never had to read the dumpster fire that was my previous version

This does take place in an alternate reality where Beverly has two children. I keep the Romulan people true to the earlier depictions (mostly the TNG, DS9, and VOY versions). Anything from the Picard series regarding Romulans will be ignored in this story and does not exist in this universe. I said what I said. However, I do pull some stuff from the games and novels.

This is enemies to lovers. As in this is a ROMANCE. You've been warned. It's full of fluff, mushy stuff, enemies to lovers nonsense, and just full of romantic tropes. I have no regrets.

CHAPTER ONE

The Neutral Zone

oOoOoOo

ENSIGN DAPHNE CRUSHER wasn't stupid. But she wasn't interested in becoming a doctor like her mother or pursuing the same interests as her brother. Daphne received excellent scores in school and was always complimented by teachers on her cleverness and quick wit. She loved to learn as much as a Crusher should, but her interests were more physical in nature. Daphne loved the art of combat. She studied various forms of combat from not only earth but all over the universe. She studied, she trained, and she disciplined herself until she succeeded. She may not have graduated top of her class at Starfleet Academy, but she prided herself on winning almost every martial arts competition she had the luxury of entering. After graduating from the Academy, Daphne was recruited to work as a Starfleet Intelligence Operative. Her cleverness allowed her to master the art of espionage, infiltration, evasion, and hacking. Those skills, paired with her combat skills, were a sure recipe for an excellent federation spy. She worked under Starfleet Intelligence for a year before joining her mother and brother on the Enterprise.

And upon her arrival, Daphne found friendship in the least expected member of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's crew-the Klingon who never smiled.

"Okay, I think I'm done for the day." Daphne breathed, blowing a loose strand of strawberry blonde hair from her face. She unfolded herself from the ground and met the gaze of her Klingon friend.

Worf huffed at her comment, "Tired already? You're better than this." Despite his best efforts not to patronize the human woman, he knew her potential and continuously pushed her to better herself.

"You're a worthy opponent, Lieutenant. The most worthy on this ship, if I'm completely honest." Daphne began as she wiped the sweat from her brow, "But I've been on duty all day, and I'm tired." She patted his shoulder, craning her neck to look up at him. Daphne was average in height, yet the Klingon towered over her tremendously.

He released a resigned sigh, "Very well. But I expect your presence here at the same time tomorrow."

"Yes, Sir." She agreed before reaching down to grab a towel and tossed it over her shoulders before making her exit. She trained with Worf Daily, and it was the most fun she had had on the Enterprise since her arrival. Well, almost the most fun.

"There you are!" A feminine voice called out to her just as she walked into Ten Forward.

Daphne was greeted by her two closest friends, one of them being more than a friend, at least that's what it felt like. They never officially decided on anything, but Ensign Liam Grayson snuck into her quarters at unseemly hours far too much for her to consider him just her friend.

She sat down at the table, her eyes landing on Ensign Gianna Hudson. They graduated from the Academy together, and while Gianna was assigned to the Enterprise, Daphne went on to train with Starfleet Intelligence. Liam, on the other hand, graduated a year before Daphne and the two of them were exceptionally close while he was still at the Academy. She felt his hand squeeze hers from under the table, and she smiled at him. He wasn't breathtaking, but he was handsome in his own right. Dark brown hair with cerulean eyes that glimmered every time he looked at her. Daphne felt her heart skip a beat, and she leaned in closer to him.

Gianna rolled her eyes at the two of them before bringing her glass to her lips. She swallowed the contents just as she had to swallow the mushy display of affection unfolding before her very eyes. "You two make me sick."

Daphne pulled back from Liam, her gaze averting to the tall woman sitting next to her. She laughed, nodding in approval. "It is a little nauseating, isn't it?" She agreed before winking at Liam.

Liam forced a smile, although she could see the opposed look in his blue eyes. Of course, she was only joking, but it seemed her comment struck a nerve with him.

"I heard whispers that a distress call came from one of our outposts just before the neutral zone," Gianna said, not really noticing the sudden tension her previous comment unintentionally created.

"I heard that too." Liam murmured, "It seems they're not responding, and the Enterprise is headed that way."

Daphne sighed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms, "Didn't we see this film before?" She didn't mean to sound so aloof about it, but it was like having a case of deja vu. She was with Starfleet Intelligence at the time, but she had to read over the reports when it happened.

Liam nodded, "Yes, not too long ago, some of our outposts were destroyed, along with a few of the Romulans' outposts as well."

Daphne's nose wrinkled, and she narrowed her eyes, "Ugh. The Romulans."

Liam's brows bounced up at her disgusted remark, "Not a fan, I take it?"

"Well, we don't know much about them, but we do know their arrogance is uncanny. Their belief in their own superiority is enough to make anyone vomit." She snorted.

Gianna chuckled at her friend's very direct perception of the Romulan people. She shrugged her shoulders, "I hear they think humans are the scum of the universe."

Daphne nodded, "It's true. Worf says they're treacherous and can't be trusted."

"Well, hopefully, this has nothing to do with them." Gianna hoped before taking a sip of her drink as the three of them fell into a thoughtful silence.

oOoOo

"What did you mean by that?" Liam asked, his fingers dancing over Daphne's naked back while he stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom.

Daphne sighed against his chest and pulled herself up enough to glance down at him in her bed. "What are you talking about?"

He exhaled, reaching up to run his fingers through her long red hair that cascaded down against his bare skin. "In ten forward. You said we're nauseating. What did you mean by that?"

She knew her words bothered him. "I was just joking. I don't think we're nauseating. But I also don't know what we are. We've been doing this since the Academy, and yet we never actually made it official. You were sleeping with other people before my arrival, and I just ignored it because you said we're just friends with benefits, yet you get angry anytime I pull away from you."

Liam remained silent a moment as if contemplating her words. "You're right. But now we're together on the Enterprise. I feel like we can take the next step in our relationship."

"So you want us to be exclusive? As in I can finally tell my mother about our relationship?"

"Yes. I would like that."

Daphne felt relief wash over her, and she placed her head on his chest again and closed her eyes.

"Although I think your mother already has her suspicions."

Daphne chuckled against him, "Yes, I think she does. She asked me the other day when we're going to run off and elope."

Liam laughed at this, wrapping his arms tightly around her, "Yeah, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Daphne opened her eyes at his words and stared at the wall across from her. She worried her bottom lip. Of course, they couldn't talk about marriage yet, but something about the way he said those words made her think he wasn't really serious about her.

The following day she told her mother about Liam. Beverly Crusher wasn't surprised in the slightest and congratulated them, yet Daphne didn't know why she felt so at unease about the entire development. She assured herself it was just new and would take time getting used to, but there was this gut feeling that it wasn't the right call, and she always followed her gut. Something Commander Data would probably find intriguing before exploring what it means and trying to figure how to go about following his own gut. She chuckled at the thought of the eccentric android.

"Lieutenant Worf to Ensign crusher."

Her mother looked over at Daphne from across Sick Bay. She was working, and Daphne hadn't quite made it out yet when Worf chimed in.

"Ensign Crusher here," Daphne responded, her feet coming to a halt near the doors.

"We've arrived at the outpost. You've been assigned to our away team. Meet us in transporter room two ASAP."

"Yes, Sir." She responded. Of course, Worf was always to the point, no need to dance around anything. She didn't even look back at her mother. She just flew out the door, knowing she couldn't be late to one of her first away team assignments.

"Daphne. Wait!"

Daphne halted before turning to see her mother rushing over to her. "Mom?"

"Come here," Beverly said, pulling her daughter in for a tight hug. She pressed her hand into her hair, kissing the side of her head quickly. "Please be careful." She cupped her face, giving her eldest child a once-over.

Daphne nodded, leaning into her mother's hand, "I promise. I'll stick with Lieutenant Worf. Nothing can go wrong."

Beverly smiled, "I'm so proud of you."

Daphne felt her heart swell. "Thank you, mom. I'll be back before you know it." She pulled back from her mother before turning in the direction of the transporter room. She walked in anxiously, hoping she wasn't late. She saw Lieutenant Worf, Commander Riker, Commander Geordi Laforge, and a few security officers such as herself waiting.

She quickly fell in line with the other officers and turned to see Gianna standing there. "Gi? You're coming too?"

Gianna gave a vigorous nod, "Yes? Can you believe it?"

Daphne's lips spread into a wide smile, and she nudged her friend's shoulder, "We're going to do great."

Gianna nodded, "I hope so. I'm nervous." She admitted just as they were briefed on their mission.

Daphne quickly scurried behind Gianna onto the transporter pad just as Commander Riker gave his orders to beam them down.

"What the hell happened here?" Daphne lamented, just as her eyes took in the broken outpost. Gianna shrugged her shoulders, giving her a solemn glance. The outpost was wrecked. Everything was nearly destroyed. Daphne could see phaser burns along the walls, and she knew a fight must have occurred.

"Split up. Check for any survivors." Riker ordered.

"Commander, it would seem there was some sort of altercation." She jutted her chin toward the phaser burns.

Riker nodded, "Everyone be on the lookout. We may not be alone." He pulled out his phaser before taking off in an arbitrary direction.

"Be careful," Daphne whispered to Gianna before the two of them separated.

Daphne didn't remove her phaser from her belt. Instead, she allowed her fingers to hover over it as she trekked through the deserted outpost. She kept a sharp eye out as she walked the corridors alone. Everything was mostly dark, and the lights flickered, sparking with each step she took. The atmosphere felt eerie, especially with the sharp quietness that sent chills sifting down her spine. She sucked in a breath, nearly stepping on something heavy in her walking path. She glanced down in horror at the lifeless body of a science officer with her eyes wide open. She bent down, touching her pulse, but felt nothing. Her bottom lip quivered, but she held back the tears. This was the first dead body she's seen since joining Starfleet, and she knew it wouldn't be her last. She stood up, trying to remove the image of the dead woman's lifeless brown eyes from her mind. Daphne looked ahead of her into the darkness and knew she had to keep moving. She rounded a corner and came to another abrupt stop. Her hackles rose, and her heart paused in her chest. Her hand tightened around her phaser, and she released a shaky breath. Squatting was a Romulan with his hand pressed against the neck of what seemed to be a dead comrade. Green blood oozed from the lifeless Romulan's head. The surviving Romulan's rueful gaze turned cold the moment he noticed Daphne standing there.

Before she could pull her phaser from its holster, he was pointing his disruptor in her direction. He unfolded himself from the ground and took a few steps toward her, "You did this?"

Her fingers dancing over her weapon, but she was not quite brave enough to draw it yet. She narrowed her eyes, "No." She answered.

He tilted his head at her, his dark eyes squinting in disbelief. "He's dead. And you're alive."

"What are you doing on a federation outpost is the real question?" She countered.

"I don't think that concerns you."

She nudged her chin in the direction of the corridor. "I just discovered the dead body of a federation officer. Did you do that?"

"No." He matched her previous tone.

"Your people have no business on this outpost. Did you attack it?"

"No." He said through gritted teeth, "I was sent to rescue them because they were stranded. Yet, they're all dead now."

"Why were they stranded on a federation outpost, to begin with? Your people crossed the neutral zone. Just like you did."

"Only because you crossed it first."

She looked taken aback, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Someone destroyed one of our outposts." He told her, "Why would the federation do that?"

"Honestly, we've seen this before." She said. It all happened simultaneously with the discovery of 20th-century pods containing frozen humans.

"I'm aware. Yet, here we are again. Outposts destroyed."

"Well, I don't know anything about that. Our ship received a distress signal from this outpost, and we're only responding accordingly. You can imagine the surprise I feel seeing you standing here."

He opened his mouth to speak, "Commander Brax, report." Came a voice from the Romulan's comlink. He stared at her a moment before responding to the mysterious voice instead of her.

"No survivors. However, I do have a human federation officer on hand." He said.

"Bring them up for questioning."

Daphne's eyes widened, and she grabbed at her phaser, but as soon as she did, she felt the sudden pressure of a disruptor blast against her chest. She gasped for air just as she was hurled backward. The moment her body made contact with the ground, everything went dark.

oOoOo

Sub-Commander Brax watched the human woman fall to the ground. He stepped over her, studying her unconscious form for a brief moment. She was dressed differently than all the dead Starfleet personnel on the outpost. Her uniform was mostly black with yellow trim along the shoulders, and the top zipped in the front. The collar reached her neck but was left open just below her collarbone. The uniform was fitted against her body, accentuating her figure, and the pants were tucked into black boots that were decorated with sturdy straps, and a black utility belt hung from her hips where her phaser once was. The uniform appeared efficient for combat, and he could appreciate the cleverness in its slickness compared to the majority of Romulan uniforms.

He bent down, pulling the woman up enough to grab ahold of her, and tossed her over his shoulder. Her body hung limp, and even though she wasn't heavy, her deadweight wasn't exactly easy to manage. "I'm ready for transport." He spoke into his comlink just as footsteps echoed in the near corridor. "Now."

Soon the familiarity of his ship appeared, and he stepped off the transporter pad. He carried the human woman to the brig as ordered but wasn't entirely sure why Commander Tebok asked for the human woman to be taken prisoner. It was a risky move to make, considering they were on the Federation outpost and not the other way around. He knew the Commander was anxious to know more about their destroyed outposts. This was something Tebok has seen before, but Brax thought they decided it could not be the Federation because of the level of destruction, but it seemed now they were considering the Federation again. They must have suspected the Federation at least knew something and was withholding vital information.

He could only guess that's where this human woman came in. Maybe she knew something. She was the only one alive while everyone else was dead. Maybe she was a witness to the destruction, and whatever information she could give them would be useful. He felt relief the moment he was able to drop the woman from his shoulder and onto the hard bench inside the brig. Her arm fell over the side, and she almost looked lifeless lying there. The only indication that she was still alive was the soft rise and fall of her chest and the pink color on her cheeks. Her fair-colored hair intrigued him. Most Romulans had dark hair that was susceptible to graying with older age, but her hair was something he's never seen before. In fact, she was the first human he's ever seen alive in person. Her braided her was a light orange color that almost wanted to look a yellowish pink in the fluorescent lighting.

"Yes, yes. She's very pretty." A prickly voice sounded behind him.

Brax felt his cheeks flush, and he knew they darkened at the words of Commander Tebok. "I wasn't thinking that."

Tebok sucked his teeth, "Ah, of course, you weren't. I suppose you were standing there, waiting for her to wake." He placed a hand on Brax's shoulder. "You did good, bringing her to me."

"I brought her because you told me to." He reminded his Commander.

"Inform me when she wakes. We have many questions to ask her." Tebok smiled at the human woman. Brax noted the smile wasn't exactly a friendly one. He had many plans for the Federation officer, and Brax didn't want any part of it. It's why he left the Tal Shiar and asked to be transferred to a ship. He joined Commander Tebok after his previous second in command, Thei, was promoted to his own ship.

"Allow me to question her first." Brax dared ask, hoping Tebok would at least humor him.

The Romulan Commander turned to study Brax, and he narrowed his eyes, "Very well. But know I will get what I want from her whether she likes it or not." He hissed before turning on his heels and leaving the brig.

"Not if I get it from her first." He mumbled before moving to sit on the opposite bench to wait for the human woman to wake from her unconscious state. Brax didn't have much of an opinion on humans. From what he did know, he knew they were curious people, much like Romulans. However, humans seemed to care for the downtrodden, while Romulans couldn't care less. Brax wouldn't say he understood humans, but he didn't despise them, nor did he care for them either. He was indifferent to their existence and never really thought he'd have to interact with one. But even so, he wasn't heartless and recognized the woman in his brig was a living, breathing creature, and he didn't like the idea of torturing her. He didn't like the idea of torturing anyone.

Minutes passed and just when he started to worry that the human was maybe too injured to wake, she began to stir. A groan escaped her lips and her eyelids fluttered open to reveal frightened green eyes looking back at him.