"We're entering visual range."

Will shot up from the command chair. "On screen ensign." When the battered, floating ship appeared on before him, the feeling of dread hit his stomach as if he was struck. "Are we in transporter range yet, Mr. Worf?"

"Not yet. We will shortly Sir."

Will nodded and turned to climb the ramp. "Data, you have the bridge, Mr. Worf, you're with me. Riker to Dr. Crusher." Will tapped his comm link as the duo entered the turbo lift.

"Crusher here."

"Beverly I need you to meet Worf and I in transporter room 2."

"Understood."

Beverly was waiting for them in the transporter room, and as soon as he and Worf walked in, Will could see the anxiety on Beverly's face. "What should we be prepared for?"

Will looked to the transporter chief who shook his head. "We're not in range yet sir."

Will nodded. "Our scans indicate that they're all alive, but running out of air."Beverly exhaled a breath of relief.

"We'll need these then." She grabbed three oxygen masks and handed them out.

"Data to Commander Riker."

"Go a head Data."

"Sir, I would advise you to hurry. We just lost one of the life signs."

Will quickly turned to the chief. "Get power from wherever you have to to boost our signal." All three moved to the pads putting on their masks. "Energise."

When the transport was complete, the cold cut through them. "My god, it's freezing." Will commented as he moved around the small corner towards the front of the ship. He stopped dead in his tracts. His eyes immediately found the still figure of Deanna, and he didn't move until Beverly brushed past him.

"He's alive!" She said with a slight shake in her voice as she ran her tricorder over the Captain. "We need to get them back to sickbay immediately."

Will moved to Deanna's side and lightly felt the side of her neck, and was relieved when he felt the soft pulse under his fingers. "She's alive too." As soon as he said it, he looked to Worf who knelt next to Emelle. He shook his head, removing his hand from the woman's throat.

"If we get her to sickbay, I might be able to revive her, but we need to leave now."

Will nodded and tapped his comm badge. "Data, six to beam directly to sickbay."

Several hours later, after the Captain was brought out of surgery, Will found himself standing in the doorway of the private room, staring at the still figure of his friend. He was pulled from his train of thought when Beverly came to stand next to him. "He had several broken ribs, a collapsing lung, and a major concussion. We were able to stop the internal bleeding," She quickly whipped a hand across her forehead. "but he still has a long way to go."

Will nodded. "So he's going to make it?"

Beverly chuckled lightly. "I think so. He's too damn stubborn to let that take him out."

Smiling, Will turned to Beverly. "Good work Bev." When she nodded her thanks, he turned and moved out of the door and towards the main room. "You should get some rest. How long have you been up?"

"Oh...I'm fine Will, really." She lowered her voice and looked back towards Jean Luc's room. "I need to be here." Will nodded and placed a light hand on her arm before moving to Deanna's bed. "She'll be fine." Beverly called after him, teasing him slightly. Seeing him shake his head, she turned back to tend to Jean Luc.

"Deanna. Deanna can you hear me?" The soft voice pulled her from her sleepy lull. When she noticed how warm and comfortable she was, her first thought was she had died. But the more the voice called to her, it was as if it was pulling her to the surface. She felt something being injected into her neck, and as she opened her eyes, Will's figure came into focus, his hand clutching hers next to his chest. "Deanna."

"Will." Her voice was soft, but she squeezed his hand in return.

"Welcome home." His smile warmed her further. Whatever she was injected with woke her further, and she blinked her eyes a couple times to get used to the light. "Want to try to sit up?"

Will helped pull her up to sitting position once she nodded. "You found us."

He smiled. "Yep! When you didn't show up to the rendezvous site, I had Data adjust the long range sensors in the general direction of the Blaken system. We wouldn't have been able to find you if you hadn't lowered your cloak. When we made it to your position, you were all beginning to suffer from hypoxia, and even after we brought you back to the Enterprise, you were unconscious, and have been for the past 12 hours."

Deanna shook her head. "12 hours?"

Will nodded before a more serious look covered his face. "Your body temperature was dangerously low. Your breathing was shallow and erratic." He paused and swallowed heavily. "Deanna if I lost you..." Before he could continue, Deanna leaned forward and rested her hand against his cheek. "Imzadi."

Deanna felt old emotions coming to the surface. "It's going to take more than that to get rid of me."

Will, relieved at her attempt at humour, smiled and reached for her hand. "Geordi took a preliminary look at the Volkerie. He said if you hadn't lowered the cloak when you did, you would have run out of air before we could get to you. He was really impressed at how much power Commander Pinces was able to get to the life support; redirecting power from almost every system. She really knew what she was doing."

Deanna sighed. "Wouldn't want her to know that."

"Let's not feed the monster."

Deanna laughed, but turned her attention away when her eyes focused on the still form of the young woman in the bio-bed next to hers. "Is she..."

Will smiled lightly and shook his head. "Beverly was able to re-start her heart, and repair the damage to her shoulder. If we had been any longer..." He shook his head. "I don't think she'd be so lucky."

Deanna closed her eyes briefly. "And the captain?"

"He is going to be fine. Beverly said that it will take some time for all his injuries to heal, but he'll make it. Thanks to you."

"And Emelle." Deanna added. "I really think you should give your recommendation to the council. She would be an asset when dealing with the cultures in this sector." Will nodded. "Without her knowledge, we wouldn't have been able to rescue the captain."

Will exhaled heavily and sat on the edge of her bed. "I sent a message to Starfleet headquarters to inform them we found the Captain. I didn't, however, tell them about how we found him."

Deanna furrowed her brows, rubbing the last bit of sleep out of the corner of her eye. "They're going to find out Will. I thought the plan was to tell them I was kidnapped? Why didn't you tell them?"

He shrugged lightly. "I blamed the short transmission on our damaged communications array, but truthfully, I think she should stay here, and if I were to say that she kidnapped one of the flagship's senior officers, they probably wouldn't go for it. I guess I just wanted to have some more time to think it over."

"Maybe." Deanna conceded with a yawn.

"You want to get some more rest?" Will asked, concern still etched in his features.

"I'm fine." She replied with a smile.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop badgering my patients, Commander Riker." Beverly said, feigning annoyance. "If I am pleased with her test results, I will let her go and rest in her quarters, but as long as she's under my charge..."

Will smiled and lifted his hands in surrender as he stood. "Won't happen again."

"Good."

"I'll come by to check on you after my shift." He said before squeezing Deanna's hand and turning to leave.

If felt good to be home. Deanna smiled as she sat on her coach, sipping a hot chocolate. Shortly after Will left sickbay, true to her word, Beverly released her to go home, where she quickly shed her clothes and stood under the beating shower.

She was now clean, and in a crisp new outfit. As she placed the empty mug on her table, a warm presence caught her attention. Smiling she moved to the door and opened it, startling the man on the other side.

"I suppose I should be used to that." Deanna smiled at Will as she stepped aside to let him in. "I went by sickbay, but they already released you, obviously."

"Did you check in on the captain?" Deanna asked as she sat back on her couch.

Will moved and sat next to her, lifting his arm around Deanna's shoulder. "Physically, Beverly says he's going to be fine. Mentally," He exhaled heavily. "that's more your department."

Deanna smiled sadly as she laid her head on his chest, snuggling closer to him. Will looked down at his Imzadi, relishing the closeness of the moment. As he sat there, his thoughts returned to when they found the Volkerie. He closed his eyes as he remembered beaming onto the ship, and being hit by the freezing temperature. When he saw the cold, stillness of her body, dread spread through him.

Feeling the sudden dark thoughts, Deanna lifted her head and looked at Will. "What is it?"

He shook his head. "I was just remembering, finding you on that ship," he raised a hand to stroke her cheek. "you were so still. I was terrified I'd loose you." His voice dropped to a whisper as his emotions took hold.

Overwhelmed with his confession, and the pure love in his face, Deanna leaned up and pressed her lips to his. When he didn't respond, Deanna moved to pull back, but Will's hand grabbed the back of her head, and his lips came crushing into hers. She was getting lost in the swirl of emotions as she met his passion, kissing him back. When they broke, they kept their foreheads touching as they tried to calm their breathing.

"I love you Deanna." His confession surprised both of them.

Deanna pulled back in surprise. "What?"

Will reached up, stroking the soft skin of her neck. "Imzadi, I know we agreed that while we were serving on the same ship we wouldn't..." He paused. "I love you." There was a moment he worried when she didn't respond. But when a wave of love washed over his mind, and the love of his life smiled at him, all fears disappeared.

"I've always loved you Imzadi." Her voice cracked, and she pulled him into an other kiss. Feeling the passion and desire growing, she quickly lifted her leg over him so that she straddled him. In surprise, Will broke the kiss for a moment before running his hands down her sides, pulling her against him.

Deanna felt her desire burn further when she came in contact with his hips. Grinning, she dropped her head, kissing him again as she ground her hips against his. Hearing him groan in pleasure, made Deanna melt inside. Will found the hem of her shirt, and softly caressed the warm skin underneath. As he worked his way up, he teased her through her bra. Breaking the kiss in a gasp, Deanna quickly let him remove her shirt and throw it aside. "Bedroom." As soon as she said it, Will pushed them off the coach, with Deanna still wrapped around his waist, and headed to the bed room, shedding heir clothes along the way. As Will slowly lowered them to the bed, Deanna smiled against his lips. 'This is home.'

Will lay there facing the ceiling, smiling. Deanna was pressed against his side, her legs tangled with his own, sound asleep. His one hand was under his head, while the other drew lazy patterns on her bare back. Finally feeling the chill of the room, Will realized the thin sheet lying over their lower limbs, wouldn't nearly be enough. So, reluctantly, he slowly untangled himself for a moment, and reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed. Pulling it over both of them, Will laid back down, surprised when Deanna resumed her previous position, but opened her eyes. "Hey."

She gave a content hum and she lifted herself to kiss him. "Hey." Resting her chin on his chest so she could look at him, she sighed. "That's got to be the best welcome home gift I've ever received."

Will chuckled as he toyed with her hair as she grinned up at him. "I'm here to please." It never ceased to amaze him, how with just one look, he could feel his body respond immediately.

"Indeed you are." Deanna responded, her eyes falling shut.

Sighing, he pushed his thoughts and desire to the side, his concern for her winning out. "You've been through a lot. You should try to get some sleep." She opened her eyes, and smiled dopey. Grabbing one of his hands, she turned to her side, pulling Will to spoon behind her. "I'll be here when you wake up." He promised, pressing a kiss to her neck. When he heard Deanna's breathing even out as she slept, he felt his lids getting heavy, and he finally gave into sweat slumber.

Chirp. 'Damn'. Chirp. Pulling himself into consciousness, Will realised the object of his annoyance was his comm badge...which was no where in reach. And it wasn't stopping. Sighing he moved from behind Deanna's sleeping form, grabbed his pants, and moved to the living room so he wouldn't wake Deanna. "Riker here."

"Will?" Beverly's surprised voice responded. "What are you doing with Deanna's comm?"

Realizing it was in fact Deanna's and not his, he rubbed a hand over his face. "Oh, I uh, I thought it was...Deanna's...not available right now."

"I see." He rolled his eyes at the poorly veiled amusement in the woman's voice. "Well, when she is...available...please tell her I need to bump our lunch ahead an hour."

"Will do. Riker out." He clipped it off, and through it on the coach as he returned to Deanna's bedroom.

Sitting on the bed, he removed his pants, and then moved behind Deanna, lazily wrapping his arm around her mid-section. "Who was that?"

"Beverly."

Rolling over to face him, Deanna opened her eyes. "What did she want?"

"You. Apparently I grabbed your comm thinking it was mine."

Deanna chuckled and brought a hand up to stoke Will's face. "Well, there goes any plans on keeping us quiet. Thanks to Beverly, the whole ship will know within a half an hour."

Will nodded. "No kidding. No offense to the good doctor, but she loves her gossip"

Deanna laughed. "She means well though. What did the lovely doctor want anyway?"

"She wanted me to tell you, she' delaying your lunch an hour. Didn't say why."

Now fully awake, Deanna propped herself on her elbow and leaned over him. "That gives me an other hour then."

Catching on, Will grabbed her around the waist and rolled on top of her. "You don't have any appointments?" He asked, beginning his assault on her neck.

"Hmmm. Not till after lunch."

"Excellent."

OK. It's coming along! It has also been brought to my attention that I've made some spelling errors in the beginning chapters, and I just wanted to apologize Please R&R, I love to hear what you guys think!