Chapter 10

"Oh boy that feels good." He moaned as he was torn from his sleep. She was writhing naked on top of him, chanting in Orion. With a heady mixture of horror and intense pleasure he realized she was still asleep and they were making love. "Taryn?" he reached up and cupped her cheek. "Taryn, wake up Sweetie." She gazed at him earnestly, took his hand and sucked slowly on his finger, then whispered in Orion again before she returned to chanting as she pumped up and down. "Computer, activate the Universal Translator." he grunted.

"Yes, sex yes. I'm approaching the summit. Sex my love hole you sexing male equine used for breeding purposes. Sex me. Fill my feline companion animal with your seed." The computer translated in a cold, dispassionate voice.

Reg sneered, clearly something was lost in translation and he suspected the computer was replacing the expletives. Either way it wasn't exactly doing much for him.

"You are driving me to the summit with your velvet spear, sex me with your beautiful male domesticated fowl." the flat tone of the computer continued in bizarre counterpoint to her rapid bouncing and the passionate lyrical tone of her voice.

In fact, it was beginning to put him right off. It reminded him of Data's poetry and he briefly wondered if he'd ever tried to write erotic fiction. "Er Computer…."

"I need to summit, I'm so close to the summit…. Sex I'm cresting, oh sex I'm cresting hard…" She was indeed cresting hard as she gave a plaintive wail, her body shaking until she collapsed on top of him, kissing him desperately. She rolled over, pulling him on top and grasped his buttocks. "Give me your love juice, only your sacred water can extinguish the fire in my love hole. Plunge my feline companion animal till your male domesticated fowl bursts with excitement. Take me to the summit again?" she pleaded, her face filled with desperate yearning.

He complied, overwhelmed with lust for his beautiful Green Woman.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Taryn glared at him with a horrified expression.

"I'm sexing your feline companion animal with my male domesticated fowl?" he ventured nervously.

"What?" she sneered.

"Do you mind if I just get to the summit and crest?" he pleaded desperately.

"Get off me!" she shrieked, pushing him away. "Christ Almighty I was asleep Reg. How could you?" she pulled the sheet over herself protectively.

"How could I? I woke up with you riding my dick and talking dirty in Orion!"

"I don't talk dirty." she protested. "I never talk dirty."

"Well obviously you do in your sleep. Do you want me to play back the translation?" She shook her head. "I tried to calling your name and waking you up, but…" he looked guilty. "I'm not a machine you know." He pulled the other side of the sheet over his chest looking hurt.

"Did I really start it?" her lower lip quivered.

"I had a raging horn when I got into bed. I may have prodded you in the back with it while I was asleep." he speculated. "But you really did wake me up riding me like a cowgirl."

"So now I'm sleephumping?" she bit her lower lip. "Oh God, I'm going to need to be medicated on Away Teams. The sleepwalking is bad enough. And the night terrors."

"You speak Orion in your sleep most nights."

"What do I say?" she asked, looking worried.

"I don't know, a lot of its mumbling and I never turned on the translator before today. I was worried you might be saying 'stop raping me you monster' although you seemed to be pretty into it." He smirked as he noticed his t-shirt and underwear in the bedclothes. He held them up to show her they were ripped apart.

"Oh Christ." She began to cry and he took her in his arms. "No, you don't understand. I'm not safe on a Starship. I'm going to have to resign my commission. I'll have to leave…"

"Let's not jump the gun. This may have been a tequila fueled one off and the last thing I'm going to do is lodge a complaint." He turned her face up to his. "We're lovers, we're a team now." He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her softly. "If you have to leave the ship, I'm going with you."

"Speaking of tequila fueled…" she cast her eyes at his groin.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem to be going off duty any time soon." Reg smirked. "I usually get the opposite problem when I drink." he admitted reluctantly.

"It's the same problem really. The blood vessels constrict and prevent blood flow. If you're already engorged when it happens… Do you want me to relieve it?"

"Oh God yes." he whispered and pinned her to the bed.

"I meant medically…never mind…" she said as she returned his desperate kisses with ardent fervour.

…

She was lying face down on the bed, her chin propped on her elbow. "You could try and look a little less bored." Reg said as he leant over and kissed her ear. "I'm giving you my all back here."

"You've been giving me your all all night." She looked at the chronometer on his nightstand. "It's eight o'clock! You're supposed to be on duty!"

"Screw duty." he informed her as he carried on thrusting and suddenly stopped. "What happened to your back?"

"What?" she asked.

"I never noticed before but in this light…" he ran his hand over the crisscross pattern of scars on her skin.

"It's nothing, really." she said brightly.

"It doesn't look like nothing." he frowned and kissed her shoulder. "Did someone hurt you?"

"I don't like this position, I can't see your face." she twisted and put her hand on his neck. She kissed him intensely.

"I love sexing your love hole." he whispered. "I think I'm reaching the summit."

"I wish you'd let me in on the joke." she smirked.

"Computer, playback translation files from this location last night." He smiled as he turned her over.

"Oh dear God." she put her hands over her mouth on hearing the recording as he pulled her hips so they were resting on his lap with his knees parted. "I'm guessing the UT it doesn't cope well with idiomatic Low Kolari." she giggled. "You must have the parental controls on too. I clearly meant I wanted you to fuck me with your velvet spear."

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" He was moving slowly, his hands exploring her body.

"I should get you to sickbay. You really shouldn't have a priapism this long." she told him looking worried.

"Are you kidding? This is the best time I've had in my life." he protested.

"You won't be saying that when you permanently lose function, or get gangrene or necrosis."

"Gangrene!?" he said with alarm. "Necrosis!?" He sighed. "I don't think I'm going to crest anyway. You've drained me of all my sacred love water. I'm spent, dehydrated." He flopped beside her on his back dejectedly. He watched as she walked over to the replicator and returned with a hypospray. "Wait, where are you putting that?" he asked looking concerned.

"Your neck." she informed him and pointed to his groin. "Leave it alone and you might not need to have the blood aspirated. I'll update your notes later."

"Okay." he agreed and she curled up next to him and kissed the spot where she'd pressed the hypospray. "Remind me to write to Dr Crusher commending you on your bedside manner." He smiled and sighed deeply. Before long they returned, the thoughts and images he'd pushed away in a haze of sex and booze and he could avoid facing them no longer. They were overwhelming. "Do you always see them after?" he asked softly.

"Who?" she replied with a frown.

"The faces of patients you lose."

"It's haunting you? The things you saw?" she asked and he nodded.

"They tell you at the Academy that losing people is be part of the job, part of the risk you take when you apply. They tell you the fallen are heroes, to be honoured and…" he trailed off, unable to fully articulate what he felt.

"Nothing they say, no training can prepare you for it. Even medical training." she said in a whisper. "I'm not going to lie to you. Some are still with me. But they fade like old scars over time." She took his hand. "Maggie Renner will be with me for a while I think. Not because of how she died, although it was distressing. It was the way she tried to report what she saw to you, her devotion to duty. It touched me."

"She was a good kid. Had a great career ahead of her. She had a great life ahead of her." He wrapped his arm around Taryn and pulled her close as he began to cry. "I sometimes wonder if they're teaching the right things at the Academy."

"What do you mean?" she said as she rubbed his chest.

"Four years and no one told her to roll lengthways under a closing blast door?" he asked desperately. "They taught her how to reconfigure a power grid and tune up a warp core but not the stuff that will keep you alive out here. Stupid things you only think of if you're neurotic." he sobbed into her hair.

"I don't want to relieve you of duty. But promise me you'll see the ship's counsellor?" she whispered. "I know you don't know the new counsellor very well and you're wary, but Kayla's lovely you know. I can support you as your woman. I'm here for you, whatever you need but it's not the same."

"I know." He kissed her forehead. "I'll make an appointment after I've got some sleep. I might actually be able to now I'm less…turgid." He wiped his eyes.

"I'll let Geordi know you're indisposed." she whispered. "I'll check on you later." she said softly and got out of bed.

"Do you have to go?" he asked plaintively.

"I told Beverly I'd start early, today. We're giving the refugees inoculations and genetic scans now everyone is stable. It's all hands to the pump." she explained. "Is it okay if I shower here?"

"Of course, you don't need to ask." he said as he pulled up the bed clothes.

She smiled as she emerged from the bathroom in a clean uniform. He was finally sleeping, fitfully but he was asleep. "Shh, sweet dreams lovely man." She kissed his temple tenderly and stroked his hair until he settled and headed off to work.

"How's your head this morning?" Geordi asked as he caught up with her in the corridor. "Dan and I woke up on Data's floor with hangovers from hell. I don't know what that program you wrote was but Data had one too. I've never seen a guy so thrilled to feel like death warmed up. How's Barclay?"

"He's a different kind of mess. He's not handling the trauma well. He's depressed…I came close to relieving him of duty but he said he'd see Kayla after he gets some sleep. Don't count on him being much use today."

"I was afraid of that, the view of the Warp Core Compartment was horrendous. No one should have had to see that and poor Renner..." Geordi stopped, clearly also traumatized by the events of the day before. "Any more ideas on getting this old girl to talk to you?"

"A few, but I have my doubts on whether we should proceed." she cast her eyes around to check they were alone. "Enterprise may be hiding her light under a bushel for a reason. There have been rumours among my graduating class at Daystrom. I wasn't sure I should take them seriously but if the Enterprise had such an important message to impart why do it in a covert way?"

"It was important all right, if the articulation frame blew at warp we could all be so much dust floating in space right now. The safeties have their limitations." Geordi confirmed. "So what are the rumours?"

"Investigating scientists from Daystrom suddenly pulled off ships with computer malfunctions and self-destruct initiated. Cyberneticists and engineers redeployed at a moment's notice and never heard of again. Specialist equipment built and dispatched to no apparent location." She stopped as a crewman passed them. "Since Haftel was made Commander in Chief there's been a culture of fear at the Daystrom Institute."

Geordi froze and considered her words. If Haftel was the Commander in Chief of Starfleet they were in serious trouble in this timeline. Andrews may consider it viable but no way would Data. "I'll talk to Data and the Captain in private about this. Okay?" He squeezed her upper arm. "And don't worry about Reg. He may wobble from time to time but he'll get through it." She nodded and he watched her walk away.

…

The small Bajoran child ran along the corridor at full pelt but stopped when she saw Reg. "Hello, where's your Mommy?" he said, crouching. She had a mop of dark brown hair that hung in her eyes and was barefoot although her clothes appeared new. Taryn had mentioned some of the refugees had found shoes uncomfortable as they had gone without so long. This girl couldn't be much older than four and may never have worn footwear in her life.

"I don't know where my Mommy is. The Jem'Hadar took her away." the tiny girl told him. "My Daddy too."

"I see." he whispered. "Are you supposed to be in Sickbay? In there," he pointed.

"It's scary, they stab people and you put your finger in this machine and it comes right off." she told him earnestly complete with an accompanying mime.

"Did someone bigger than you tell you that?" The girl nodded. "I think they're playing a joke on you. How about I come along and be your bodyguard? We'll investigate together, okay?"

"Okay." the girl agreed and he picked her up. Sickbay was full of children of various sizes queueing for medical staff. Reg spotted Taryn and headed for her.

"Let's see this green lady, she looks nice don't you think? Not too scary?" he asked the little girl.

"She looks pretty," the small child said, "but she's very green. Like a plant."

Reg laughed. "I think she's pretty too. Her name is Taryn, she's my girlfriend." he told her proudly.

"What's your name?" the little girl asked. "I'm Dora."

"I'm called Reg Barclay. Nice to meet you Dora."

"Hello." Taryn smiled at them both.

"This is Dora. We've come to investigate reports that you're stabbing people and removing their fingers." Reg said earnestly and sat her on the biobed.

"I see. I can see why you might think that, but I promise we aren't. Have you seen anyone with missing fingers today?" The girl paused and shook her head. "I'll tell you what. Let me show you both what we're doing, so you know there's nothing to be worried about." She picked up a tricorder. "This machine shows me what's going on inside you." she scanned her and showed her the readout. "That's your heart beating."

"Really?" the child asked incredulously. "Inside me?"

Taryn nodded and smiled then showed her the hypospray. "This thing, it puts special medicine inside you. Medicine to stop you getting sick. It stings a little bit. You have to be brave but being sick is a lot more horrible."

"It stings?" she asked with a pout.

"Only a little bit. Look?" she pressed a hypo filled with saline to Reg's neck. He guessed they'd had to show a lot of the children there was nothing to be scared of and had saline handy just in case. "And between you and me, he's a wimp about shots." She winked at Reg as the girl allowed her to give her the inoculant. "How was that?"

"Not too bad." Dora replied.

"This part, you put your finger in like this and it tells us all about you. Watch?" she put her own finger in and her spiraling DNA appeared on the screen in a few moments, he noticed hers looked a little unusual, but she was the product of three disparate gene pools after all. "This tells us about your family too. Who you're related to."

"Could this help find my Mommy?" she asked.

"I can't promise that Dora, but if you have any family we'll do everything we can to help you find them." Taryn assured her. "Want to try it?"

The little girl nodded and put her finger in the machine. She watched wide eyed as her DNA helix formed on screen.

"Do you know what your family name is Dora?" Taryn asked as she looked at the other screen.

"No." she replied.

"It's Tian." Taryn stated.

"It is?" she asked.

"Yes, you are Tian Dora, remember that." Taryn smiled and chucked her under the chin. "That's everything done. Here's a special sticker for being such a brave girl and you can have a treat from the jar." she held it for the tiny girl to grab a sweet, the sticker was so they could tell who they'd scanned at a glance and had their full name on it and a locator chip.

"Thank you." Dora smiled. "Thank you for helping me be brave." she told Reg. "I don't think you're a wimp."

"Take care Dora." Reg said as he lifted her down and she followed the other children that had been processed. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. A little malnourished but they all are." Taryn stated. "She's lucky. She has two flags on her DNA. Her parents are alive and looking for her and each other, but in different refugee camps. No one's made the connection yet. I'll send word to them and we should be able to reunite their family."

"Where are all the adults?" he asked looking around the room.

"All these refugees were from a camp filled with children under fourteen. They found the parents worked harder without childcare responsibilities and took them away. We have a handful of Vedeks that they put with them to care for them, but they aren't in good health, many of them died of starvation. They fed the children first and went without." she explained. "We're doing the DNA scans to reunite families wherever we can."

"I didn't realize." Reg whispered. "I can see you're busy, I just wanted to let you know I saw the new counsellor."

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Well, I think. She said to take today to process what happened and see her again tomorrow. She said it was good I'm talking about it, not bottling it up." He fidgeted with his fingers

"Good." she rubbed his arm. "I'm stopping for lunch soon. Did you want to meet up?"

"That'd be great. I'll probably be in my quarters."

"I'll come and find you." she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "See you soon." He kissed her cheek in return and made his way out through the crowd. "Hi, what's your name?" Taryn smiled at her next patient.

…

He was pacing nervously in his quarters when she arrived.

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing how perturbed he seemed.

"Yes, I mean no, I mean…Come and sit down." he took her hand and lead her to the table he had set for lunch. She took a seat and looked up at him with an expectant look on her face. "I was going to wait for t...tonight, but I'm a nervous wreck already." He forced a smile and fidgeted with his hands nervously. "Um…okay…" he dropped to one knee and pulled out a small box. "I wrote a speech but…Will you marry me Taryn?" He frowned, her face was ashen as she stared at the ring he held out to her. "I…I can change the ring if you don't like it…I didn't know if you'd prefer a solitaire or…"

She took his hands in hers and swallowed hard. "It's not the ring, it's beautiful…a trilogy setting is perfect…" She drew a deep breath. "There's something I really need to explain…."

…

Geordi looked up from his lunch as Reg stalked into the bar and began arguing with the barman. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.

"Yes there's a problem. The damn counsellor had my replicator limited and I need a drink." Reg shouted.

"I tried to explain I'm not allowed to serve real alcohol…" the barman explained.

"Okay, come with me." Geordi told Reg. He knew Guinan would probably have handled him better than her subordinate but that was beside the point. Bar staff weren't there to be shouted at no matter how rough a time you were having. "That's an order Commander." he added as Reg didn't follow him. "Spill it." Geordi stated as soon as they were alone in the corridor.

"Sir?"

"Well, either you've turned into a raging alcoholic while I wasn't looking or something is bothering you. Which is it?"

"I proposed." he admitted. "She said no." He looked away, pain evident on his face.

Geordi resisted the urge to smile, he couldn't exactly tell him he'd proposed almost daily in the other timeline before Taryn had agreed to marry him. "Maybe she needs more time to get used to the idea. Wait a while and…"

"Waiting a while won't alter the fact she's married to someone else." Reg snapped.

"What?" Geordi asked incredulously. "Who to?"

"I don't know and I don't really care." Reg clenched his jaw. "I threw her out when she said there was no chance she'd ever ask him for a divorce to be with me. So now I know where I stand with her and it's nowhere." He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "Can I go sir? I won't cause any more trouble."

"Uh…yeah." Geordi mumbled feeling more than a little shocked.

…

"Hey!" Geordi shouted when he caught up with her in a corridor. "I don't know what the hell you think you're playing at…are you okay?" he asked on seeing her puffy eyes and distressed expression.

"No I'm not okay. He wouldn't let me explain. I never thought he'd propose, not this soon." she sobbed, her lower lip quivering. "I thought I had time to tell him and…It's not how he thinks it is at all…"

"Okay, let's find somewhere to talk." Geordi told her softly and began walking with her. "But he's my friend and I don't like the idea of you leading him on…"

"I'm not, I swear." she whispered. "I love him. I'm in love with him...it's such a mess." She broke down and sobbed, making a keening noise with her face buried in her hands.

Geordi sighed. To think he thought their relationship was less complicated in this timeline. "You'd better start from the beginning."

…

"Get out." Reg glowered as Taryn entered his quarters, he was sitting slumped on the couch. Geordi stopped her leaving with a hand on her shoulder.

"Reg, you really should listen to what she has to say. All of it."

"I've heard all I need to. She's a lying, cheating bitch. Does your husband know what you get up to? Is he joining you here soon?" He snorted. "That'd be the icing on the cake. Seeing you together. I won't give you the satisfaction of laughing at me. I'd rather resign my commission than stay on this ship if you're here with him."

"This is hopeless." she said and went to leave again but Geordi grabbed her arm.

"You're going to sit and explain." He stated, shoving her onto the couch beside Reg. He was little rougher than he'd intended but he knew if he didn't apply a little tough love this rift would become permanent. "And you're going to shut up and listen." he pointed to Reg. "After it's all in the open if the pair of you want to call each other names, beat the crap out of each other or throw away your careers that's up to you." Geordi took a seat opposite them in order to act as referee if need be. "Go on." he prompted her.

"My aunt, great-aunt really, Straveen is a Tahedri, the patriarch of an Orion Great Family. She'd promised the Tahedri of another Caj, the Corsti a bride of the Barin bloodline as part of a non-aggression pact. The problem was she didn't have one, aside from my biological mother, Tira and me. I'd never even met my Orion relatives other than my grandmother and my two cousins that she raised when I was little more than a baby. Tira's been on the run for decades, no one knew where she was. So the…honour fell to me. Straveen sent men to snatch me from Earth. I was on my way home from school when they grabbed me."

"School?" Reg asked incredulously.

Taryn nodded. "They took me to Barin Prime, her…well it's her planet really. Bylar, Tahedri of the Corsti was livid when he saw me. There's no age restriction on marriage under Orion law but for an arranged marriage it's customary to wait until you've… there's a ritual at fourteen where you reach womanhood and eighteen is more the norm for taking a mate these days. Not only was I seven, I wasn't a pure Green Kolari. Can I have some water please?" she asked and Reg went to get her some from the replicator, blanching as he registered how old she was. "Straveen blamed me. She said I was ugly and imperfect, a quarter-breed disgrace not good enough to be a Tabadi, that's the wife of a Tahedri and…that I was a mongrel freak corrupted with Human filth." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she accepted the glass and took a sip. "She was furious that her treaty was going to go belly up and…um. She grabbed the plasma whip that she used on the korgasant, slethi and marakos she trained…they're predatory beasts."

Reg's eyes widened and he turned to face her.

"I thought she was going to kill me. She would have but Bylar's youngest, Neriya, his daughter heard me screaming and fetched her father. She's the same age as me, she's very brave. I'd thought Bylar was angry before but that was nothing compared to his face when he saw what Straveen had done. He said, I was promised to him but she said I was a Barin daughter. Her property, her chattel to sell, marry off or kill as she saw fit. I remember Bylar holding my face in his hands and urging me to sign the treaty with him and he would give me his protection. Vows were made too but I was in too much pain to remember them clearly and… I was married. Bylar was widowed. He already had an heir and a spare and four daughters and didn't need or want another mate. He'd have gone ahead with the treaty with or without me but by marrying me he changed my status. Not only was I Tabadi, I was a Corsti and no longer subject to Straveen's control. My new husband contacted my Dad and rushed me to the nearest Starbase for medical treatment. Bylar said he would be beside himself if someone took his Neriya from their home planet by force and he had to act, as both a Tahedri and a father. My back was a mess, you noticed the scars last night. It hardly shows now, you wouldn't know I was reduced to a bloody pulp. I can even get away with backless dresses in the right light but I know the scars are still there. The worst ones are the scars you can't see and never could, the flash of that…the whip and the sound it made…the searing pain…the scars in my memory…does that make sense? I still have nightmares after years of counselling." she admitted and wiped her eyes. "I was paraplegic, she severed my spinal cord and I needed over a year of intensive and painful regenerative and physical therapy. Then there was the soft tissue damage. Most of the muscles in my back needed to be genitronically replicated, they had to painstakingly replace the musculature over multiple surgeries. I lost count of all the hours I spent in the hydrotherapy pool. Just as well I'm not scared of water really." She smiled and Geordi realized if all this happened when she was seven she couldn't have tripped and fallen into her uncle's pool on Earth. "It cost me a promising career as a gymnast but at least I'm alive. I can prove all of this, I have medical records, the report made when I was kidnapped…"

"No…I…I believe you, there's no need. Did you consummate your marriage? Is there no divorce under Orion law?" Reg asked.

"No we never, he's like a second father to me and…you have to understand that you just have to both declare that someone is your mate in front of a witness to be considered bonded under Orion law, consummation isn't a requirement. But I'm bonded to him as part of a peace treaty, a contract that will have to be dissolved if I'm to be released from my promise to him. It's not in either Caju's interests to restore hostilities but that doesn't mean there won't be blood-shed and I'm bound by the Hippocratic oath too. Not only that I'll revert to the Caj Barin and my aunt will be free to marry me off to someone else...or worse. She'll also have control over any children I may have. It's a privilege few Tahedrin exercise these days but it's her right and she's a sadistic shit."

"What if, you could preserve the peace but be released of your obligations? You could marry me straight away? Legally she couldn't do anything about it."

"She'd have you killed. Her word is law. Barin Prime is like Game of Thrones with more bloodshed and nudity."

"I don't know what that means." Reg whispered.

"It doesn't matter." She forced a smile. "I'm free to live my life as I wish, Bylar has granted me complete autonomy…not that monogamy is necessarily a prerequisite of marriage for Orions anyway."

"But you can't marry anyone else." he reasoned and she nodded sadly. "What if your husband died?" She looked scandalized at the suggestion. "I don't mean I'll murder him. Would you be a Barin again?"

"I have an agreement with my stepchildren. We're friends, I've spent a fair amount of time with them over the years. My parents were always happy for me to explore my cultural heritage. In theory Bylar could make me Tahedri, not that it's likely but if he does I'll retire in favour of his first born. Otherwise I'm not to contest the accession or produce any children with Bylar that may have a claim. That part is easy." She smiled. "If I stick to the bargain I can live out my days as the dowager and I'd be free to marry again as a widow." She looked at him earnestly. "He saved my life and gave me my freedom, he's treated me like a daughter and I owe him more than I can ever repay and asked nothing in return besides the fact it aggravated Straveen and he finds that amusing. He's a good man."

"And if your aunt dies first?"

"Everything depends on who is her successor. She has no children and she could name anyone she wants anyway. She could even appoint a committee."

"So, where do we go from here?" Reg asked dejectedly.

"That's up to you." She shifted in her seat. "If a commitment is what you're looking for I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I'll happily fall asleep in your arms and no one else's every night and bear your beautiful children. I hope that after a long and happy life together your eyes will be the last thing I see. I'll even wear your ring as a token of my commitment but as things stand I can't legally be your wife."

Reg sighed. "Maybe a long engagement wouldn't be such a bad idea." he stated. "No need to rush into anything." He pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry I acted like a jerk." he whispered. "I thought…I thought maybe I was just…I thought you lied…about how you felt…about everything between us. When you said you had feelings for him and there was no chance of you divorcing him to be with me…I thought you loved him and I was just a fling. I'm sorry I never let you explain but…it hurt."

She rubbed his arm. "I meant to tell you, but there never seemed to be a right time to do it and… it's to do with the law, not how I feel. I've never mislead you about that. It's the very definition of a marriage of convenience. I can't say I don't have feelings for Bylar but it certainly isn't love. I love you. I want to be with you for all eternity."

"It's the commitment I really want I suppose, not the wedding or the legal stuff." He pulled away and began searching the floor. "It's here somewhere…" he pounced on the ring he had thrown across the room. He sat beside her and slid it onto her finger. "You already made some lovely vows… I picked a trilogy setting, three diamonds that symbolize our past, our present and our future. I promise to love you as much as I do today for the rest of my existence, just as I have from the moment I met you. I'll always be your lover, your partner and your friend. I hope that I will be as good a parent to our children as both your father and husband seem to have been to you." He kissed her tenderly on the lips and held her tight.

"I'm sorry I can't make an honest man of you. I really wish I could, more than anything." she whispered over his shoulder. "I need to get back to work. Beverly will be frantic."

"Don't go." he whispered.

"I have to." she kissed him softly. "Duty calls."

"Resign." Reg stated. "I'll resign too. I'm not cut out to be a Chief Engineer and I hate the direction Starfleet is taking. You can work anywhere, you're a doctor. Better yet we'll work together, like we said."

"Are you serious?" she asked with her eyes wide. "Okay." she agreed. "But I do need to go back and help out. You saw what Sickbay is like today."

"I'll see you tonight though? We'll talk about everything. Make plans?"

"Try stopping me." she said as she left the room.

"Wow." Reg whispered. "Thank you, I know it's not a proper wedding but I'm glad you witnessed it." he told Geordi.

"It was an honour and a privilege, but… you're going to resign your commission?" Geordi asked. "Give up Starfleet? Reg, you really need to give this more thought…"

"No, I think I just made the best decision of my life." Reg stated. "You know how hard it is to just stay at the same posting as an unmarried couple in Starfleet. We won't be able to live together officially and even if one of us resigns we can't be the other's dependent. What happens when we have kids? It makes more sense to make a fresh start somewhere new." He smiled broadly. "I'm going to make babies and androids and holograms with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Screw Starfleet, screw Haftel and his… intellect limiting algorithms. We're going to redefine life together."

…

"You have to kill her." Andrews intoned darkly.

"We will not kill her." Data stated.

"Seriously. He has to stay in Starfleet and she's surplus to requirement. In the other timeline she's dead anyway." Andrews stated coldly.

"He doesn't have to stay in Starfleet to end up teaching at Daystrom." Geordi stated.

"As you said, certain concessions will have to be made." Data reminded him.

"He needs to be in Starfleet to teach at the Academy." Andrews explained. "The knowledge he will impart there will save countless officers in the future, countless ships. That neurotic, stammering nerd is the deciding factor that prevents the fall of the Federation."

"Maybe if you'd told us that we could have steered him in that direction." Geordi replied. "How were we to know you expected him to stay in Starfleet?"

"Maybe if you weren't so busy trying to get the guy laid you'd have this situation under control by now." Andrews snapped angrily.

"If you need him to teach you need her. He will not find the confidence without her support." Data stated.

"And while I'm on the topic of non-disclosure don't think the fact Haftel is ruling the roost escaped our notice." Geordi said with venom. "He's Section 31, he tortures and kills sentient inorganic life to the point of multiple genocide."

"A certain amount of collateral damage is inevitable when the timeline gets this badly corrupted."

"No." Data informed him flatly. "While I am able to accept that I am the property of Starfleet with no rights I will not condemn others to that fate and worse. This timeline is beyond redemption."

"Tough titties gentlemen." Andrews stated. "You have to cut your cloth according to your means, play the cards you're dealt and stop whining like babies. She ends up dead or I'll do it myself."

"If you had the balls to kill her you'd never have asked us to do it." Geordi intoned. "Data's right, if it wasn't for her he'd never have accepted the job at Daystrom. He gained confidence working with Dan as his holography tutor and he coached Galatea, all because of Taryn."

"It was a unique set of circumstances that led to him becoming a lecturer. Ones not easy to replicate. The presence of Haftel and the injustice it has caused has united them, given them something to rail against and given the choice I too would resign and go with them. I believe they are doing the right thing." Data reasoned.

"I'm tempted to work with them myself." Geordi stated. "Being First Officer is okay, but it's not where I belong."

"Oh boo-hoo." Andrews said sarcastically miming turning his fists in front of his eyes. "Woe is me. Starfleet's finest my hairy bean-bag. You two need to man up. There's a greater good at stake here." He pointed at them angrily. "Kill her, don't kill her. I don't give a shit but keep that big dorky geek in in the service and ship his screwball ass back to Earth pronto." He shimmered out of sight.

"Back in the Academy I wrote a term paper on Archer and the Temporal Cold war. This guy isn't at all what I expected from a 31st century Temporal Agent." He looked at Data. "What do you think?"

"To quote Taryn; Fuck him, this sucks. We are going to find another way back to the 19th century and resolve the situation there."

"Yeah but how?" Geordi asked.

"That is a good question, and I believe you are the ranking officer at present." Data smirked.

"Thanks Data, thanks a bunch." Geordi scowled.

Author's Note.

I do not own Game of Thrones, I wish I did. That's life I suppose.

Thank you MissMelysse for all your reviews. As always any and all comments are appreciated.