Title: Parterre, Season four, Chapter Six a: "Clues"
Author: Psycha (deadestiny at yahoo dot com)
Rating: M (R) for sexual situations.
Codes: C/T
Summary: A wise man once said; "Nothing worthwhile is easy." And Doctor Beverly Crusher is just about to find out how right he was, especially in matters of friendship and love.
Feedback: Any type is welcome, even flames. Criticism is especially appreciated though :) You can leave feedback via the websites indicated below, send a direct e-mail via my profile, go to Parterre's homepage (as linked to in my profile) or simply use fanfiction's easyand quick review feature :)
Archiving: The Femme Fuh-q Fest, ASCEM, fanfiction dot net and the Parterre homepage. Anywhere else is fine, but please ask first.
Author's Note: This is a bit of a tricky chapter. Apart from dealing with memory/time issues (I refer you to the episode -smile- ) I've had to tone it down a bit in order to stay within the M-rating. In effort to write a well-rounded story I didn't want to tone it down too much.
If you're uncomfortable with this particular aspect of the story, you can move on to chapter 6b. To avoid confusion (and because I couldn't figure out how to make it clear in the story) 6a and b are not the same moment. 6a takes place after the first time the Paxans wiped the Enterprise's crews memories. 6b takes place after the second time their memories were wiped.
To make up for not updating earlier, and for me being on a computer-less holiday for the next three weeks, I'll post both chapters today :) Thank you all for the reviews, they really make my day(s)! I'll bring back chocolat for all -grins-
Chapter Six a: "Clues"
The small round containers filled with frilly scarlet moss seemed so benign. They were, for the most part, but they'd also brought something disturbing to light. Twenty-four hours were missing. What happened during that day, Doctor Crusher could only speculate. For one thing, the moss had grown.
She watched the incubation chambers warily, hoping childishly that if she stared long enough, they would magically answer her questions. Data seemed to be the only one who had any answers, but he was unwilling or unable to provide them. The way the android kept talking in circles unnerved her. When he had taken control of the ship several months ago it had been because his creator had activated a homing device. His actions nearly cost a little boy his life. But Data's creator was dead and Data wasn't posing a threat to the Enterprise or her crew now.
Beverly sighed. Whatever the mystery, Jean-Luc would figure it out. The captain was always drawn to mysteries. For as long as she knew him, and that was longer than she wanted to admit, he had to have answers. Dixon Hill would solve the case of the Diomedian Scarlet moss and the malfunctioning Android.
And then there were Deanna's hallucinations, another piece of the puzzle. She'd examined her friend and had found elevated adrenaline and stress levels. Nothing unusual enough to worry about, in fact her findings hadn't been very different than those of a week ago, when the counselor had come to her, stressed under the emotions of a planet in chaos.
Her instinct told her that Troi's hallucination had to have been more than just any hallucination. She had never seen Deanna that terrified, except for the time she'd lost her empathic abilities.
She sighed, again. That line of thought had been what had made it so uncomfortable to continue the examinations in the counselor's quarters after Jean-Luc and Worf had left. Picard's steady presence had kept her focused and she'd be lying if she didn't admit that she had been a little bit amused by the big Klingon's concern. When the men had left however, only herself and Deanna remained, and between them the kiss they had shared.
They'd made polite small talk, consciously avoiding any intimate subject and Beverly had felt guiltily relieved when she had been called back to sickbay. There had to be a way past this awkwardness, but whenever she tried to find that way she ended up fantasizing about Troi's nude form writhing beneath her own. Like now.
Beverly tried to redirect her thoughts to the mystery at hand, failing that she begrudgingly thought about a young man who'd been in her year at medical school. But the slender, feminine body of her friend would not be chased away. Not even Jean-Luc did the trick this time. Frustrated with her inability to control her own thoughts, and embarrassed by the growing arousal low in her stomach Beverly slammed the small container she was holding against the surface of the desk. The ball didn't break, but rolled onto the floor and under the desk as if it was hiding from her.
"Get yourself together Beverly Howard." She ordered under her breath. Intellectually she knew that her heightened emotions were, at least mostly, the result of the airborne agent Data had released into the ship's air-circulation system, but she also knew the effects should have diminished by now. Instead they only seemed to increase. Almost if there was something in the pit of her stomach warning her that something big was going to happen.
Plastering a pleasant smile on her face she turned back to the doors, hoping that there would be someone waiting for her help. Maybe treating someone would help her focus. She froze when she saw who was blocking her exit. "How long have you been standing there?"
The counselor regarded her solemnly, her black eyes unusually wide. "I wanted to ask if you could give me a sedative. You seemed occupied, I didn't want to disturb you."
The way Troi was leaning against the wall accentuated the curves she had tried to ban from her head just seconds earlier, her cheeks burned hotly. "How long?" She had to know how much Deanna had sensed, she had to know how quickly she could peel that burgundy uniform away from-. "Damn this!"
She didn't dare to look at her friend. Even when she felt the other woman come closer she kept her eyes trained on the floor. This was killing her. She wanted Deanna, but she didn't. Heat exploded on her arm where Troi touched it and she raised her gaze. "I never meant to make you uncomfortable." The remorse was clear in black eyes, but it wasn't the remorse that got to her.
"I can't get you out of my head." Beverly murmured, craning her neck to look past the remorse, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Deanna wanted her, she could see it in her eyes and unlike herself, she realized now, the counselor wasn't afraid to admit it.
The shorter woman met her gaze head on and for a second she was certain Deanna was going to kiss her. Anticipation drummed against her temples. "I'll leave you alone."
"Wait!" Beverly barely registered her own reaction as she grabbed Troi's arm, stopping the empath from walking away. She closed the short distance between them, finding courage where there had been none before. "I want you too," she whispered hoarsely.
Time froze, wrapping her in a wonderful, warm blanket. The heat that flowed between them throbbed insistently in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't aware of moving, and suddenly her lips met Deanna's. Softly and tentatively their mouths brushed together, she shivered. Her breath caught in her throat when Deanna licked her lips and she tangled her hands into the dark mass of curls, her own tongue meeting Troi's.
They moaned into each others mouths and deepened the kiss, at first leisurely exploring each other, but soon the passion burned too hotly and the kisses became hot and demanding. She barely paused when eager hands began to explore her body, and reciprocated in kind, running her hands over the curves of her friend's body. She groaned when Deanna brushed her thumbs over her nipples, even through the fabric of her uniform the erotic contact was intense.
Troi broke their kiss with a playful tug at her lower lip. Black eyes burning with need met her own and heavy breathing filled the air around her. "You're so beautiful." The whispered compliment was accompanied by hands caressing her breasts and rear. She wanted to respond, but coherent thought was robbed from her when a wet mouth sucked hotly on her ear.
She drew Deanna closer and felt a rush of heat between her legs when the younger woman's body pressed flush against hers. She was forced backwards until her legs hit the desk. The containers with scarlet moss were knocked over and rolled onto the floor, but she couldn't care, the hot mouth lavishing kisses on her throat demanded all her attention.
Deanna moaned against the pulse in her neck when she cupped the empath's rear in her hands. Her uniform was burning into her skin and she was almost desperate to feel naked skin against her own. As if her mind had been read, nimble hands started to peel away her clothes.
The air soothed her skin and teased her nipples to full hardness. She leaned back and kicked off her uniform completely while Deanna undressed. Troi's dark eyes slid over her naked body and Beverly suddenly felt uncertain. Deanna's nude form made her knees buckle. How could she not have seen how beautiful her friend was? Her eyes lingered on lingered on large breasts, tipped with the dark brown nipples and on the smoothness of her friend's flushed sex. She felt plain in comparison to the empath's exotic appearance.
Deanna reached out to her and put a hand on her hip, Beverly shivered under the contact. They kissed again slowly while their bodies pressed together, the feel of naked skin against her own was electrifying. "You've been driving me crazy," Deanna whispered against her lips.
Beverly moaned softly in the sheer ecstasy of Deanna's body sliding along her own as the empath kissed down her throat, pausing to nibble on her collarbones before making way down between her breasts. She had to lean back on her arms to keep from falling when Deanna softly kissed her nipples, first one, then the other. Never had she imagined it could be this crazy, this intense, but the warm mouth enveloping her told her that it could be. That it would be.
She couldn't figure out why she'd been fighting this. All she knew was that she wasn't going to fight it again, ever. She gasped and arched her back when Deanna nipped lightly at the sensitive peaks, sending jolts of pleasure through her. "Dea, please."
Troi pulled away and looked up at her with black eyes full of passion. "Want me to stop?"
"Gods no." She barely recognized her own voice. Deanna's laughter only made her insides turn into a liquid heat and the hands rubbing up and down her thighs really didn't help.
"Good, I don't think I could." Whatever Beverly's reaction was going to be to the husky promise, it flew out of her reach when Deanna knelt before her and kissed the insides of her thighs.
She lost track of time, of anything except the agile tongue and nimble fingers that made her moan, gasp and scream. Her knees gave out from under her and she was unaware of the warm body holding her upright. Her mind was a vortex of pleasure so strong she couldn't breathe. After an eternity she became aware of sweet nothings being whispered in her ear and hands caressing her stomach and breasts. "Oh my god," she croaked, turning her head to look at Deanna, "that was…"
"Intense?" Troi smiled brilliantly and kissed her softly.
She nodded. "And then some." Their eyes met and she tried to figure out where to go from here. She'd fallen in love with her best friend and never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that sex between them would be so mind-blowing. She didn't want to give that up. "Dea."
"We have to talk," Troi acknowledged, "but right now we need to get back to work." Her skin chilled aggressively when Deanna pulled away and began to collect their clothes. Her legs and arms were still a bit sluggish, but she managed to dress herself while watching Troi do the same
Standing face to face they looked into each others eyes for long seconds, then Deanna reached up for a leisurely kiss and she felt a familiar desire awaken. "I'm sorry," she whispered in a moment of self-consciousness, "for trying to deny--"
The counselor stilled her with another kiss. "Dinner in Ten-Forward at eight?"
"Ten-Forward?" The idea of having what was bound to be an intimate conversation in such a public place unsettled Crusher. Although, she reflected, it wouldn't be quite as intimate as what they'd just shared. She chuckled mentally and noted with some satisfaction that she hadn't felt this good in months.
She pushed against the hands caressing her rear and openly admired Deanna's cleavage as the counselor adjusted the neckline of her uniform. "I don't think I could keep my hands off you if we were alone." Deanna admitted in a husky voice that send a jolt of electricity through her.
After a final kiss Troi turned and exited the lab, leaving Crusher alone. Beverly kept her eyes on Deanna's backside as long as she could, desperate to keep the concerns forming in her mind at bay. Jean-Luc and Will would just have to deal, she decided firmly and started to collect the containers with diomedian scarlet moss that lay scattered on the floor. A shudder rolled down her spine as she remembered how the containers had gotten onto the floor in the first place. A quick check told her that the research hadn't been compromised.
Working in the lab would never be the same again. As she made her way into Sickbay's main area she couldn't keep the silly, satisfied grin off her face and quickly gave up trying. So what if her staff wondered how it'd gotten there? They'd never guess.
The grin disappeared faster than a Ferengi at a charity event when she saw the big, looming figure in the center of the treatment area. "Hello, Worf." The Klingon officer turned to look at her, one of his large hands wrapped protectively around the wrist of his other arm. He didn't say anything for a dreadful second. Dark intense eyes scanned her body and his nostrils flared with deep inhalation. Beverly held her breath. Would he be able to…? Nah, no way. Not a chance in hell. Absolutely not.
"Doctor." His voice boomed with just a hint of a question.
Not in a million years, she told herself again and smiled politely. "Can I help you?" His eyes squinted, as if he knew… and suddenly she wondered if a million years could be condensed into a single second.
That way for the next chapter ;) ---->