The next day, the Senior Staff gathered for a meeting to discuss the progress being made en route to their next mission. At the end of the discussion of logistics and reports on expectations, the Captain asked for a report on Troi's condition.
"She's doing well," the doctor answered. "Everything is retuning to baseline at a reasonable, of not quick, pace. Her vital signs have been almost normal and she assured me her empathic senses are back to her baseline. All tests seem to confirm this. She's still quite debilitated and needs time to recover physically but I'm not concerned. And she's started to complain profusely about Sick Bay, which I am taking as a good sign, knowing Deanna."
"Excellent," the captain nodded, so very relieved.
"Is she up for visitors?" Commander Riker interjected.
"She should be, just please alert the staff before coming just in case," the Doctor replied.
The Captain nodded again. "Dismissed."
The staff stood to leave. As they did so, Dr Crusher said, "Commander Riker, can I ask you to stop by my office later today?"
"Of course, Doctor," he replied. As he hurried out towards Engineering he approached the doctor, "anything I need to worry about, Doctor?" He asked in a low voice.
"No, not at all," the doctor replied. She looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. "Now that Troi has her senses under full control and at normal levels, I wanted to complete one more assessment to make sure your brain had no lingering negative effects." Sensing his skepticism she went on, "just for assurances, I don't want to miss something that could potentially cause a problem in the future."
Not at all reassured by this but knowing he had no grounds for refusal, the commander quickly agreed to stop by later and then hurried on.
A couple of hours later in Sick Bay, Dr Crusher stood at the side of Trou's bed, thoroughly exasperated. Surprisingly, Deanna's first visitor had not been Commander Riker, nor the Captain, but was Commander Data, who stood at the side of her bed trying to convince the Counselor.
"Counselor Troi," He started patiently, as always, "D. Crusher has explained her rationale for having you stay in Sick Bay. I think that you should listen to her."
The dark haired woman, slightly pale and resting on the bed with the head elevated, replied "Yes Data, I know. I also know there is no reason why I can't recuperate in my own quarters. Even Dr Crusher said herself 'there is no acute medical need.' for me to be here." She looked at the Doctor with a stubborn look in her eye.
Sighing at having this exact argument for the third time that day, she relented. "Fine. If you think you are able to recuperate in your quarters where there is no one to help you, there are some clothes on the table on the side of the room. Put them on BY YOURSELF and meet me in my office and we will talk about discharge." She gave the Counselor a pointed glance. 'Let her get herself out of this one,' she thought. To Data she said "Do NOT help her...And DON'T let her fall." The doctor turned on her heel and walked to her office, a smirk on her face that no one else could see.
Counselor Troi sighed a satisfied smile and sat up. She swayed slightly on the bed and stopped, as Data stood by her side, looking as apprehensive as an Android could. Troi slowly moved her legs to the side of the bed and paused again. The ground seemed an awful long way away. She felt a little lightheaded and paused again. She thought for a moment and then looked at Data.
"I think, Counselor, is that this is what the doctor meant when she said not to help you," he said, eyebrows raised as if looking for approval.
The Counselor huffed slightly and slid down the side of the bed, only to have her legs buckle as she tried to stand. Data quickly reached out and steadied her, a firm grip on her arm keeping her from hitting the floor. "And that, Counselor, is what she meant when she said not to let you fall. I suggest you sit back down." He said it in a way that she knew she couldn't argue.
"Data, you're the worst. And the best." She said as she settled back down but kept her legs hanging off the side of the bed. The android gave her a quizzical look but didn't reply.
Several minutes later, Dr Crusher returned, eyebrows raised at Deanna still sitting at the side of the bed. "I've decided to stay for the time being," she said haughtily, daring Beverly to comment.
"I'm glad to hear it," the doctor replied, but gave Data another smirk as she passed behind Deanna.
Coming around to look at her patient, she said, not without compassion, "Deanna, I know you hate being here but trust me on this one. Just give it a little time and you'll be better faster. Trust the medical establishment for once."
"It doesn't appear that I have much choice," the Counselor replied bitterly.
They were interrupted by one of the medical staff calling for Dr Crusher. They all looked towards the other room and saw Commmander Riker had entered the Sick Bay. Dr Crusher nodded to him and he disappeared into her office.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dr Crusher watched Troi for any reaction. She was normally one who guarded her emotions closely, at least when she wanted to. She didn't think that the Counselor remembered any of the incident in her quarters, but she wasn't sure. She also couldn't tell if there was a change in what the Counselor normally sensed when it came to Will Riker. Did she still have control of their link? WAS there a link that still existed? Was she again keeping Will unaware? She had so many questions. Perhaps her new exam of Will would be enlightening.
"One or two more days, Counselor. At most," the Doctor said. "Data, perhaps you would assist the Counselor in a lap around the room?"
"I think, Doctor, that I would like to rest right now. I will walk in a little bit, if Data can wait?" She looked questioningly at him.
"Yes, of course, Counselor. I will sit and wait with you, if you do not mind my company." Data looked at her expectantly.
Touched at his concern, she replied "Thank you, Data, that would be nice."
She laid down on the bed, on her back, with her eyes closed. A careful medical exam would have revealed that she was not actually sleeping, but to her visitor and the medical staff, she appeared to be dozing.
Physically fatigued, but not at all sleepy, Deanna Troi used the peaceful moments for some careful introspection. She could sense Will. It was when that came back to her that she was assured that whatever had happened to her was indeed temporary. She carefully reached out with her mind to try and sense Will Riker. It was a delicate balance of sensing him fully without him knowing it. It took careful control and, in her current condition, full concentration. She had done this a few times in the past several years, very infrequently, and only when her anxiety about his condition got the best of her. Normally she chose not to seek him out, not to utilize their connection, especially on a personal level. She felt from him a general sense of concern partially for her and partially for the crew in general, otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. She wasn't sure, but thought that he had escaped this debacle unscathed. Surely Dr Crusher would have mentioned something to her. She still wondered if she had made the right choice in not telling Will or the doctor about their bond, and her possible loss of control over it. She thought Will's human DNA would have protected him, even without her controlling the link. His use of it had been dormant for so long she didn't think he had any notion of its existence, and certainly no independent use of it. She did have some vague sense or memory of him when she thought about the past week but it was too non-specific and her mind too addled by the medications to make sense of it. It must be the lingering effects of the medications and the re-emergence of all her telepathy. Coming from a blank slate, it made sense that he would feature more prominently than the others. She was regretting not speaking to Will about their connection before this. Still hurt and defensive about the way they had parted, she had preferred to sweep it under the rug, convinced a mostly dormant connection would always be able to be managed by her. She had moved on, and she wished her mind and body had as well. Even as she thought this, in her deepest heart she knew the truth. The Imzadi bond she felt with this man was not temporary. There was no running away from it, no ignoring it. She thought back to the feeling of terror she had felt when she had lost her sense in the encounter with the two dimensional beings. She hadn't realized how connected she still was to her Imzadi until she could no longer sense him at all. The feeling of isolation from him that she usually felt, enforced by her own mind and usually tempered by the close proximity of the rest of the crew, was terrifying without that buffer to distract her. Since then she'd had a new sense of the importance of that connection, though she still had no idea how to manage it. "As long as he remained unaware," she thought, "there is still time to resolve this." Even as she thought this, she knew in her heart and mind that it wasn't an answer. Resolve how? Continue the status quo? Full disclosure? There was no good answer. She had done some research into what happened when Imzadi bonds were broken, but there really wasn't any. One or two case reports existed where Imzadi had chosen to part ways, but for the most part the research didn't exist because it didn't happen. As far as Imzadi bonds between partner who were not the same species and one only partially Betazoid? The medical research would have a field day, if they knew, she though. As she played all this through in her mind, the monitors beeped an increase in her heart rate, bringing Nurse Ogawa to her bedside.
In Dr Crushers office, Riker submitted silently to a quick exam. He answered negatively to the doctors multiple questions, essentially asking the same thing in multiple different ways.
"No, I feel fine. No headaches. No dizziness. Nothing out of the ordinary. No sense of...anything really." A slight pause before the final answer went unnoticed by the Doctor, who was focused on the results.
"Anything to report, Doctor?" He asked.
"No," she replied. "Not really. Your neurotransmitter levels are a touch higher than they were yesterday, on the borderline of normal for a human. Without any other symptoms to go on, there isn't any else to report on. You're free to do, Commander. Case closed. But please do report any new strange symptoms to me."
"Yes, of course, Doctor," he replied. He hadn't been 100% truthful in his answers. He did feel something out of the ordinary, but it was something he couldn't place, something he couldn't identify. It was almost lightheadedness, but not. It wasn't pain. It was as if he SHOULD know something but was missing it, similar to Deja Vu. As he didn't know how to explain it, he didn't mention it.
He looked out the office window, watched Deanna resting on the bed. He knew she wasn't sleeping, but wasn't sure how he knew it.
"Will..." Doctor Crusher started. "Are you going to talk to her? You sh—-"
Riker cut her off. "I know. I will. But I don't want to have the conversation here, in Sick Bay, surrounded by tricorders and medical staff. I think the conversation we need to have needs to be done in private." He looked chagrined at the thought.
The doctor nodded, "Of course."
He looked again out the window, seeing Nurse Ogawa talking to Deanna, now with her eyes open.
He sighed heavily, lost in thought. He was still perplexed by the experience. He remembered the sensation of telepathy he had shared with Deanna years ago. The feeling of vertigo, of almost being drunk, not quite within oneself because you were within another person, was not something he had ever replicated. It was very different than what he had felt that night in Deanna quarters. He shuddered just thinking about the pain and the oppressive feeling that it was. Yet the similar lingering effect was still there, almost like a hangover. He thought about how he used to initiate communication, but was too afraid to try, afraid that he would succeed. He thought Dr Crusher was right, that there was still some link between him and Deanna that existed, though he didn't understand in what format. They didn't have the ease of each other's minds the way they used to, back on Betazed, when they were "intimate." His own brain paused in its bought, trying to seek the right term. Intimate yes, physically, and emotionally, but also mentally. The comfort of "knowing" the other person without having to filter it through the other senses and distractions of the universe. Yes, he was sure, the bond was still there. It explained a lot of things that he'd previously wondered about but had written off to coincidence. The time he had turned around without thinking in Ten Forward only to see the door open and her walk in. The times he heard the turbo lift doors open on the bridge and knew it was her without looking. The look she had given him when she'd lost her sense in the conference room. Like she was trying desperately to communicate with him but was as unsuccessful as an ordinary human. The time he'd woken up suddenly out of breath in the middle of the night, only to find out Troi had been awoken by a patient in crisis at the same exact time. And countless other small things he'd never thought twice about, suddenly falling into place. He wasn't so sure that Deanna knew it know. Surely she would not have kept such a thing a secret? He didn't know much about Imzadi bonds. He had assumed, without really considering the consequences, that it would cease to exist when the relationship ceased to exist. He couldn't remember Deanna ever telling him that though. She must know more about it. She would have told him if this wasn't the case, right?
"Commander?" The doctor asked with concern, wondering why he was still standing in her office watching Troi.
"Yes, fine. I'm fine. Sorry," he rushed. "I'll check in with you later. Please inform me of any unexpected changes," her replied, all business again. He glanced over at Troi as he left the office, catching her eye. He almost tripped over his own feet. It felt like a buzzer had gone off in his mind. In his haste to not crash into something on his way out, he didn't notice the involuntary shake and shiver that Deanna experienced as well. Nurse Ogawa did however, and noticing Troi's heart rate spike and her color drop, she squinted her eyes suspiciously.
"Deanna?" She asked curiously. "Are you okay?"
"Hmmmm?" Troi replied distractedly. Then louder, pulling herself together "Yes, fine, just a strange chill. Probably still adjusting." She rubbed her arms to convince Alyssa she meant it. The nurse looked at her suspiciously again, not buying it, as Deanna's eyes remained trained on the spot where Riker had walked out the door a moment ago.