Tasha woke with a gasp. Her own scream still rang in her ears, but Will and the others remained asleep so it was just an echo from the nightmare. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing out loud as she untangled herself from her blankets and quietly made her way to the patio door. She slipped outside, closing the door behind her. She made it to a bench at the corner of the garden, where she sat down heavily as her tears overtook her.

Will had woken when Tasha went out. She hadn't made a sound, but the cooler air coming in from outside had stirred him. He always was a light sleeper when in a strange place. Wondering what had woken Tasha, he followed her out to the garden. He found her on a bench, face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Alarmed, he called out to her. "Tasha? Are you ok?" She jumped up, startled by his silent approach. Embarrassed, she turned away, wiping her face. "I'm fine, sir." He appeared at her shoulder. With one hand, he gently spun her around to face him. Wiping the tears off her cheek, he spoke softly. "Somehow, I think these tears say otherwise." Faced with his kindness and gentle touch, Tasha lost the barrier keeping her emotions under control. Alarmed again, Will pulled the sobbing woman into his arms. He led her back to the bench and gently sat her down; keeping his arms around her he straddled the bench next to her. He rocked her gently back and forth. "Tasha, it's okay. Everything will be okay."

Tasha clung tightly to Will. She was embarrassed at crying like this, but at the same time she needed it so badly. Will just held her tight, whispering comforting words and rocking her. When she was finally able to calm down, she pulled away from Will, shivering in the cold night air. He took her hands and squeezed them. "Are you ok?" "I'm better now. Thanks Will," she replied, blushing. "Want to talk about it?" Normally Tasha would automatically answer no to that question, but tonight, for some reason, she started telling Will about her nightmare. When she was done, Will sat there stunned. "How old were you when this happened Tasha?" "I was 13 when I was raped, 14 when they killed my baby." "My god…" Will shook his head. Tears fell down Tasha's cheeks again. Will gently ran his fingers over her cheek. "I'm so sorry Tasha." He pulled her close again and she cried softly. "This is what upset you earlier, isn't it? The girl, Kiaha, she reminded you of yourself." Tasha nodded against his chest. Will held her tighter and gently kissed the top of her head.

They soon went back to bed. Tasha curled back up in her blankets, shivering slightly. She closed her eyes, but found herself unable to sleep again. As soon as the first light of dawn hit the sky a few hours later, she quietly headed out to the gardens again to do her morning exercises. Worf soon joined her, and the two fell into their usual workout routine. They finished up and showered before joining the rest for breakfast. Will watched Tasha carefully as she sat down. She met his eyes briefly and gave him a small smile.

After breakfast, the team continued their diplomatic duties. They toured various parts of the city, spoke to the leaders more about what joining Starfleet would do for them, and enjoyed a mid-day meal along the bank of a gorgeous river that cut through the heart of the city. The afternoon was spent being entertained by the raksis. Will and the rest found themselves being amazed with the similarities to Earth life. They watched a movie, and had dinner while enjoying a play. It was quite late when they finally got back to their quarters. Tasha yawned as she got ready for bed. Even though she was exhausted, she chatted with the rest for another hour before they all were ready for sleep.

Bidding the rest goodnight, Tasha huddled down into her blankets, and stared up at the ceiling. She realized she was afraid to fall asleep. She tried to fight it at first, but soon, sleep overtook her. The dream started almost as soon as she was asleep. She was not quiet this time however. She whimpered softly as she tossed and turned on her pillows. Across the room, Will rolled over, half woken by her whimpers. As her dream neared conclusion again, Tasha screamed. Will was awake in a heartbeat, and quickly realized what it was. Worf and Geordi were awake too, weapons drawn as they sought out the enemy. Tasha was still caught in her dream. Will rushed to her. "Tasha, wake up!" He shook her gently. She cried out again. Will called out to her a second time, louder. Tasha woke up, and, still caught in the fear of her dream, scuttled backwards away from them all. She huddled against the wall as the dream slowly faded. "Tasha?" Geordi's voice was concerned. Will waved him and Worf back, knowing Tasha's desire for privacy. He went to Tasha's side and knelt beside her. Tasha looked up at him. "My baby…they killed my baby…" Her sobs followed. Will pulled her to him, holding her tight as she cried.

Dawn found Tasha curled up against Will in his pile of pillows. She woke up as the first rays of sunlight fell into the room. Glancing around, she saw that the rest were still deep asleep. Moving carefully so that she didn't wake Will, she got up and headed to the shower. Coming out fifteen minutes later, she found the rest slowly waking. Tasha slipped out to the garden while they quietly took their turns at the shower. Will came for her when it was time to head to breakfast. After breakfast, it was time to discuss planetary issues with the leaders of Sila. They had seen a lot of the cultural aspect of the raksis, but none of the political. And now they suddenly found themselves faced with a plea from Slvark and the other leaders to help end a rising rebellion. Will calmly explained that if they were accepted into Starfleet then yes, Starfleet would be able and willing to assist in any way necessary, but until that time, the Prime Directive forbid them from interfering. "I understand," said Slvark, sorrow in his voice.

They went with Slvark shortly after. Slvark was heading back to his offices, and the away team was hoping to explore the city's library. They were in a knot, walking down the street, Slvark's guards in a circle around them. Out of nowhere, hooded raksis poured into the street, armed with a variety of weapons. Alarmed, the guards pulled their weapons, but were quickly shot down. The away team was hit as well. Will grunted as something tore into his shoulder, throwing him backwards. Worf grabbed him, dragging him into the entrance of a nearby alley. Geordi ran to them both. Will looked out for Tasha, and saw her struggling to help an injured Slvark. She supported the raksi and they started towards Will and the others. Suddenly, the sound of shots rang out again and Will watched in horror as Tasha's body jerked with the impacts of several shots. A phaser blast hit her leg and she went down. "No! Tasha!" Will yelled, lunging towards her. Worf caught him and held him back. "No Commander, it's too dangerous. They would just shoot you down too!"

Will leaned heavily against the wall, staring at Tasha's still body as the sounds of fighting continued. He ached to run out there, but Worf was right. Slvark lay in a heap beside her, blood flowing from the bullet wound in his forehead. The street went eerily quiet and the away team realized all of the raksi were dead. Suddenly a familiar chirp came from Will's combadge, followed by his captain's voice. "Picard to Riker, come in please." "Captain, we're under attack, get us out of here please!" Captain Picard heard the tension in his Commander's voice. "Are there injuries Will?" "Yes, please hurry," pleaded Will. Captain Picard quickly ordered the transporter chief to get the away team back on board, and to beam them directly to sickbay. He left Data in charge of the bridge and went to meet his away team.

Picard walked into sickbay just as the away team finished beaming up. He took in the scene quickly. Riker, Worf and Geordi all stood close together, Worf's hands were on Riker's shoulders as if he had been holding Will back. Blood poured from a nasty wound on Will's left shoulder. Picard at first thought Tasha was missing. He was about to inquire about her when he saw her. She was on the floor, a few feet from the others. She didn't move, and blood was already beginning to pool around her. "Tasha…" Will's voice was worried. He pulled away from Worf and slowly walked towards his injured friend. He knelt down carefully, his own injuries hurting him. Reaching out with his right hand, he gently ran his fingers over Tasha's face. He saw her chest rising and falling so he knew she was still alive. But he also saw the blood covering her body. He only got that brief moment before Dr Crusher rushed over, and with the help of her medical staff, quickly moved Tasha to a bio bed. Will found himself unable to get up, weakened by blood loss from his shoulder. Worf and Geordi helped him to a nearby bed. Dr Crusher glanced over at Will as she spoke quietly to one of her staff. The woman nodded at Dr Crusher's instructions and headed over towards Will. "Please lie down Commander, and I will give you something for pain before I look at that shoulder." Suspicious, but too weak to argue, Will stretched out on the bio bed. The nurse applied a hypo spray to his neck. Will cursed softly moments later as the sedative started to take effect.

Picard gave an amused grunt over Beverly's method of getting stubborn patients to cooperate. He walked past Will, wincing as he got a closer view of the damage done to the Commander's shoulder. He stopped in front of Worf and Geordi. The two men stood stiffly at attention. "At ease gentlemen," Picard said, keeping his voice low. "Sir, will they be alright?" Geordi asked, his voice full of worry. Picard glanced over towards the medical staff and their two patients. Dr Crusher worked furiously on Tasha. "I hope so, Lt.," he replied. "I know Dr Crusher will do her best." He turned back to his men. "Now, tell me what happened down there." Geordi and Worf gave him a quick, but complete, rundown of what had happened in the last couple of days on the planet. As they finished describing the fight that injured Will and Tasha, Deanna came into sickbay and walked over to silently stand next to Captain Picard. Picard noticed her face was wet with tears. "Counselor?" She looked up at him. "What happened Captain?" He told her the story. "Will they be ok?" Deanna asked. Picard put his hand on her arm and squeezed gently. "Will should be just fine. We don't know about Tasha yet, but I'm sure Dr Crusher will take good care of her." He paused, noticing how upset Deanna seemed. "What is it Counselor? Do you sense something?" "Fear. And sadness. It's as if Tasha is caught in some horrible nightmare." She looked over to where Dr Crusher worked on the security chief. "She's so scared. It's terrible Captain."

Geordi gently cleared his throat. "Maybe it's the nightmares she had on the planet." Deanna fixed him with a questioning look. "She woke up screaming last night. Will took care of her, and told us later that she had a nightmare the first night as well." "Do you know what it was about?" Deanna asked. Geordi shook his head. "Commander Riker didn't tell us." Deanna looked back towards Tasha, her eyes filled with concern for her friend.

A little over an hour later, Tasha was stable. Dr Crusher informed them that Tasha would have to spend a few days in sickbay and a couple weeks in physical therapy, but she would be just fine. Will's wound had been taken care of as well, and he was sleeping off the sedative. Relieved, Worf and Geordi headed out to get some rest. Picard followed, after asking Dr Crusher to keep him updated on Will and Tasha's status. She agreed, and Picard headed back to the bridge. Deanna stayed, sensing that Will would wake soon. She settled into a chair near his bed to wait.

She didn't have to wait very long. She sensed Will waking and called out for Dr Crusher. She stood next to his bed as he opened his eyes, feeling his confusion. He looked at her. "Deanna…" She felt his sudden panic as he remembered what had happened. He sat upright, frantically looking around sickbay. "Tasha!" Deanna put a hand on his arm, urging him to stay on the bed. " Will, Tasha's fine, everything's ok. Please, lay back down." Will calmed somewhat, but wouldn't lie back down. "Where is she?" "I put her in an isolation room, she's going to be ok Will," answered Dr Crusher, as she walked over to Will's bedside. "Give me a few minutes to examine your shoulder and I will let you go see her." The bribery worked. Will settled back down on the table, allowing Dr Crusher to examine him. Deanna took his hand, and he squeezed hers in response.

Beverly spent a few minutes checking the wound, and, seemingly satisfied, helped Will back into a sitting position. "Your shoulder will be stiff for a few days, maybe up to a week, but you shouldn't have any problems using it. Let me know if you experience any pain or swelling." Will nodded. "And Tasha?" "Come, I'll take you to her." Will carefully hopped down off the bed, following Dr Crusher as she headed towards one of the isolation rooms. Deanna trailed behind him, her forehead lined with worry. Beverly stepped into the first isolation room. Will saw Tasha, stretched out on the bio bed, the lights above her flickering as they monitored her vital signs. Will walked slowly to the side of the bed. He gently ran his fingers over her forehead. "How is she?" he asked, looking up at the doctor. Beverly looked down at the young woman. "She took a total of five actual bullet hits, and two phaser blasts. She was extremely lucky. The bullets that stuck her missed doing any immediately fatal damage, the worst was one that passed through her lung but I was able to take care of that one. She took one bullet in her right shoulder, one in her abdomen that just missed her stomach, one to her right hip and one to the left knee, where one phaser blast also hit her. The other phaser blast hit her directly in the chest, but it must have been set to stun because it did only minor damage." Beverly looked up at Will. "She was lucky the Enterprise was there, or she might not have made it. But she'll be just fine. A few days of bed rest to let her wounds heal, and then she will need a little bit of physical therapy to strengthen her left knee – the bullet and phaser did some extensive damage there. I imagine the toughest part for her will be not rushing her recovery."

Will felt a mixture of relief and anger flow through him. Relief that Tasha would be ok, and anger towards the raksi rebels that shot at them. Deanna sensed this, and placed a comforting hand on his arm. He turned towards her, meeting her eyes. He sighed, and shook the anger away. Beverly started to leave, pausing at the door. "You are released from sickbay Commander, even though I sense you're not going anywhere. Tasha will be sedated for at least six more hours if you want to go get something to eat and change your clothes." Will glanced down at his ruined uniform. "That's probably a good idea. Thanks Bev," he said, giving the doctor a smile. Beverly returned his smile and left them alone. Deanna squeezed his arm. "C'mon Will, lets get you something to eat." He looked at her, and back to Tasha, obviously reluctant to leave her. Deanna felt his concern, sensing there was more to this than she knew. Will stared at Tasha a few seconds more, brushing stray hair out of her face, before allowing Deanna to lead him from sickbay.