Course Correction Studio

Author: Brandie

  • Return to Normal – Chapter 7

    It was by chance that Will Riker looked down in time to see a little girl sitting on the deck. He was glad he’d seen her. He would hate to have stepped on her by accident. It was a strange sight, uncommon even on this ship. People didn’t just go around sitting on decks. He stopped walking and looked down at her.

    Eight-year-old Dani Janeway looked at the pair of feet that’d just stopped beside her. She followed the legs up to the face of the tallest man she’d ever seen in her life. He was even taller than her dad. He had a beard, wore a red uniform, and was looking down at her curiously.

    “Well, hello,” the man said.

    “Hi,” Dani replied. When he squatted down, Dani thought that she was going to get yelled at for being somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be without an adult. Instead, he looked at her with kind, blue eyes and smiled. That put Dani at ease.

    Will watched as the girl visibly relaxed. Good, he thought. He didn’t want her to be upset. “What’s your name?”

    “Dani.”

    “I’m Will.” He held out his hand. Dani took it and shook it as an adult would. Her eyes fell to the man’s collar. 1, 2, 3 full pips she counted. He was a commander. Commander Riker. She’d never seen him up close before, but she remembered her parents and others speaking of him.

    “What seems to be the problem here?” Will asked.

    “I hurt my ankle,” Dani replied.

    “Oh, really? How did that happen?”

    “I fell.”

    “Oh,” Will nodded. “Well, can you move it?”

    “I think so,” Dani said, tentatively moving her foot. “Ow. Okay. I think not.”

    “All right, okay,” Will said. “I don’t want you to hurt it anymore. Here, put your arm around my neck.” Dani did as Will instructed, and he scooped her up into his arms. He stood with her. “You all right?” Dani nodded. “Okay. Here we go.” He started to walk with Dani.

    A few minutes later, Will walked into Sickbay with Dani in his arms. He looked around.

    “Hello, Commander,” Nurse Ogawa said approaching them. She looked at Dani. “Hi, there,” she greeted the girl cheerfully.

    “She injured her ankle,” Will said. “My guess is that it’s sprained.”

    “Well, we’ll get you fixed right up,” Ogawa said. “Let’s get her on a biobed.” Will walked over to the nearest biobed and placed Dani upon it.

    Dr. Beverly Crusher walked out of her office and sighed with relief as she saw who her newest patient was. “There you are,” she said, joining the little group at the biobed. “Everyone has been looking all over for you.” She looked at Will. “Where was she?”

    “I found her in the corridor,” he replied. “I think she has a sprained ankle.”

    Beverly passed her medical tricorder over Dani’s injured ankle and confirmed Will’s diagnosis. “You’re correct, Commander. This little girl has some way or another sprained her ankle.” She looked at Dani, who sheepishly looked away. As the doctor began to heal Dani’s ankle, she asked, “How, might I ask, did this injury occur?”

    Dani hesitated before answering. “I was…running in the corridor, and I fell,” she admitted.

    “Mm-hmm…” Beverly said, finishing up the treatment. She turned the little device off. “Ms. Janeway, we’re going to have to do better than this.”

    Will’s eyebrows raised. Ms. Janeway? He’d heard that name before. Why did that sound familiar? He looked at Dani. “What’s your mother’s name?” he asked her rather straight-forwardly.

    “Commander Kathryn Janeway,” Dani said proudly. Will was amazed. It always amazed him when he met the children of people he’d known before they were parents. He and Kathryn had been in the same Academy class. He looked at Beverly, who had an amused expression on her face. He looked down at Dani. He could see it now. She resembled her mother a great deal, save for a few exceptions here or there.

    Beverly looked down at Dani and continued. “We want you in one piece when we meet your mother next week.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Dani said.

    “That means being where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be,” Beverly said, in a mildly scolding tone.

    “Yes, ma’am,” Dani said again.

    Beverly looked Dani over. She reminded her so much of Wesley at that age- bright-eyed, intelligent, and always looking for an adventure. “Will, would you be so kind as to escort our little adventurer back to school room three?” Beverly requested.

    “Certainly,” Riker said. He helped Dani off the biobed.

    Xxx

    Dani looked at Clements. She’d gotten so wrapped up in telling the story that she hadn’t been keeping an eye on him.

    “Don’t worry; I’m awake,” he said.

    “You were a bit quiet,” Dani said. “I was just checking.”

    “So, continue with your story,” Clements said.

    “What more is there to say?” Dani asked. “We ended up together, so it’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it?”

    “I don’t know…people don’t just go from having this buddy-buddy relationship to being lovers,” Clements said.

    “It happens all the time, Clements. And yeah – that is pretty much what happened. I was twelve when Voyager became stranded in the Delta Quadrant. When we got back to the Alpha Quadrant, I was 19. We hadn’t seen each other in seven years. I wasn’t the little girl I’d been when we’d left.”

    “You can’t tell me your parents were okay with this,” Clements said in disbelief. There was no way. It was a known fact that Riker liked the ladies. There can’t be any way Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay would have let their 19-year-old daughter walk into that one.

    “You’re right,” Dani conceded. “They had a few qualms. My dad, mostly. He knew about Will’s rep.” She snorted. “Who didn’t? He liked Will. He thought he was a good guy – just not good for his daughter. He was trying to protect me because he didn’t want me to get hurt. I think he probably had a problem with his daughter’s boyfriend being that same age as he. I don’t know. It all worked itself out.”

    “What about Dukat?” Clements asked.

    Dani looked at Clements. She’d told him earlier that she didn’t want to talk about him, but the tone of that conversation had been different. He’d been attacking her. Now, though, he seemed to have a sincere interest.

    She sighed. “Marac Dukat,” she said. “That’s a whole different story. You know, I just don’t know what it was about him. Guess he just had one of those magnetic personalities. I couldn’t explain what drew us together if I tried. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him at first. I hated him. But I didn’t even know him. After I got to know him, it was different.” She shook her head. “It was just one of those things that you can’t explain. I know we loved each other.” Dani lowered her head. Talking about him brought back all those memories of the day he’d been taken away from her.

    Clements realized that Dukat was apparently still a difficult subject for her to discuss. He decided a change of topic was in order, but he didn’t know what to change it to. He couldn’t think of anything to talk about. It was this damn concussion. It was fogging up his mind.

    Clements was unexpectedly rescued from his predicament by Dani. “Don’t worry about it, Clements,” she said. “You didn’t know. No one does.” She left it at that. Clements took his cue from her and did the same.

    Xxx

    Fifteen minutes later, Will and Ensign Shields walked back into the room. Dani looked at them. She stood and walked over to them. “What did you find?” she asked them.

    “Most of the other passage ways are blocked by large rocks at some point,” Will replied. “There are a few more openings, but most don’t go anywhere. They’re little more than rooms resembling this one.” Will’s gaze flicked to Clements and back to Dani. “How’s he doing?”

    “He’s doing okay,” Dani answered. “He’s just got to stay awake. If he falls asleep, he could possibly slip into a coma.”

    Will nodded. A loud clap of thunder sounded. Dani felt the ground vibrate slightly beneath her feet. She looked up at Will.

    “This storm’s getting worse,” Will observed. He looked at the room’s opening as a young officer very excitedly ran inside.

    “Commander, the ceiling’s caving in!” he exclaimed. As he said it, rocks began to fall around Will, Dani, Shields, and Clements.

    Will and Dani looked at each other in desperation. Will had a decision to make. They could stay put, go deeper into the caves, or leave the caves. Dani had a good feeling that the first option wasn’t going to be chosen. Staying here amidst falling rocks would eventually mean certain death. Dani turned and looked at Clements. He was already getting dressed, with Shields assisting him.

    Will looked at Dani, his decision made. “Alright, everyone – let’s move!” he said walking to where the rest of the officers were. “We’re moving deeper into the cave! Let’s move! Quickly!”

    Dani turned and looked at Clements. He was fully clothed, and Shields was helping him out of the room. “I’ve got him, Lt.,” she said. Dani nodded at her. She walked out into the main area. Everyone was quickly filing out into another area of the cave system. She could see Will in the front, with a Lt. scanning for a suitable area as they moved.

    Dani made sure that everyone was in line and moving out of the area before she joined in at the end of the line. They entered a long narrow corridor, the only passage from the main room that actually went anywhere. The passage was pitch black, and no one had any palm lights. They had to slow down and feel their way along the passage by following the wall.

    “Everyone, grab hold of the person in front of you,” Will instructed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re holding hands or holding on to their uniform, just make sure you’re in contact with someone else.”

    Dani clasped hands with the person in front of her and followed along. It was so dark. She couldn’t see a thing. She tried not to think about the fact that each successive step could be a step to her death. Meanwhile, the cave’s ceiling was still coming down around them. Little rocks and dust were constantly raining on her head. She knew that, because she was still wet, the dirt would turn to mud in her hair and on her clothes.

    Just when she thought she was going to go crazy with the darkness, she could distinguish a small pinpoint of light in the far distance. Every few minutes, Dani noticed that the point of light grew larger. She wondered if they were coming to an exit from the caves. She hoped not. That meant they’d go back into the rain and wind. But if that’s where it led, then they wouldn’t have much of a choice. They couldn’t stay in the caves with them falling in around them.

    As they drew closer to the light source, Dani began to doubt that it was an opening to the outside. She suspected that if they were heading outside, they would’ve begun to feel some of the wind they’d experienced earlier. She also suspected that the thunder they’d been hearing would be getting louder. No, this wasn’t an exit. What was it then?

    Dani’s question, which she was sure was everyone else’s question as well, was answered as the passage became more illuminated. The passage opened up into a large room with a large illuminated body of water in the middle of it. It resembled a fountain. Dani would’ve instinctively taken a step forward if the officer in front of her hadn’t warned her to watch her step. Dani immediately looked down at her footing. That step she would have taken would have been her last. A deep, dark ravine separated her and the away team from the fountain. She looked at the rest of the team in front of her and realized the peril they were in. The amount of ground they were afforded to walk on was laughable. No more than a collection of scattered foot- and handholds. One wrong step would send someone falling to his or her death.

    Dani’s eyes eventually fell to Will. He was looking directly at her. He looked at the room around them. There was an opening to another passage on the other side. He studied the route they would have to take to get there. It was going to be dangerous, no doubt. He thought back to their journey through the dark corridor. Lt. Varak’s tricorder hadn’t indicated any additional openings they might’ve passed by on their route. No. This was the only way. Will looked to Varak, the young Vulcan officer who’d been taking sensor readings for him. “Are these footholds and handholds stable?” Will asked.

    Varak scanned the room with his tricorder. “Yes, sir,” he replied. “Sensors indicate the rock in this room is stable.”

    Will nodded. “Okay, everyone,” Will began, “just watch your footing and your handholds. Be careful, cautious. And take your time. You’ll be fine.” Will turned to the first foothold and said a silent prayer as he stepped onto it and reached out for the first handhold. He had to reach back and remember his rock climbing skills. It’d been a long time since he’d last rock climbed. And even then, there’d been safety measures. Here, there were none. It really was life or death.

    Before Will knew it, he was moving along the wall. His next goal was to reach the little landing a few feet away. There were a few of them settled along the wall en route to the passageway. They would be good for rests.

    Dani was the last to begin the task of braving the rock wall. Her heart was thudding wildly in her chest as she fought the urge to look down. She took a few deep, calming breaths to regain control as she left the security of the landing. Now the only thing keeping her from plummeting into nothingness were the few jutting rocks her hands and feet clung to. She continued slowly and steadily.

    Will’s next step took him to that first landing/resting spot. It was only big enough for two or three people at a time, so Will wouldn’t have very long to rest. However, any rest was better than no rest. There was no way he’d be able to make it all the way around that wall non-stop. When he noticed a third person joining them on the landing, he began to get a move on. He stepped out for the next foothold and reached out for the next handhold. He moved off the landing and began moving again.

    When Dani reached the landing, she was grateful for the rest. She was a little winded, and the urge to sit down and rest was great, but if she sat down now, she knew it would be all that much more difficult to get up and get moving again. She looked at the path that lay before her, at the number of people climbing and realized that something seemed different somehow. Someone was missing. But she was sure that she’d been the last one. She looked back at the landing they’d all left. That’s when she saw Q standing at the edge looking like a scared little animal.

    “Q,” Dani shouted, “come on!”

    “I-I-I can’t,” Q stuttered.

    “What?”

    “I…can’t,” Q repeated. “I think-I think I’m afraid.”

    Dani looked up at the ceiling, not believing this. A scared Q. But he wasn’t Q now, Dani remembered. He was mortal. A mortal who’d never had any rock climbing training before.

    “I can’t do it,” Q said again.

    “Yes, you can, Q,” Dani insisted. “Just take it one step at a time, Q. You’ll be fine.”

    “No, I won’t! I could fall, and there’s not even an end to where I could fall to.”

    “Q, you have to do this. We can’t leave you behind! Now come on – one foot, one hand at a time.” Q was still frozen on the ledge. “Q, you wanted to experience being human. Well, this is it. This is what it’s about. Taking chances, survival. We all have to do it at some point. I can’t come back there and get you, and I can’t stay here forever and wait on you. If you want to live, if you want to accomplish something, you’ll climb this wall.” Dani really didn’t want to leave Q behind, but she couldn’t afford to stay behind all day and wait on Q. She had to keep up with the rest of the team. She knew Q’s father would come and get him eventually if she left him. That was last resort, though. She’d rather he come with them. She stood staring at him, waiting for him to make a move. When he didn’t, she gave up on him.

    “See you later, Q,” she said turning her back on him and preparing to retake the wall.

    “Wait!” Q exclaimed. Dani turned back around to face him. “I’m coming,” Q said. Dani smiled internally. Something had clicked with Q. She watched as he took the first tentative step to the jutting foothold in the wall.

    “That’s it, Q – one step at a time,” Dani encouraged. She watched him slowly make his way over to the ledge. Dani reached her hand out to him, offering it as the final handhold of that leg of the journey.

    Will, who’d made his way to another ledge, was watching on. He hadn’t realized that Q had been left behind. He was practically willing him to make it across. This kind of climbing was difficult for those who’d had training. He knew it had to be ten times harder for someone who’d never done it before.

    Will wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead. It was burning up in here. He looked at the other members of the group. Many of them had already shed various layers of their uniforms. Will decided to take a lesson from them and do the same. He unzipped the jacket of his uniform and discarded it on the ledge he was on, making sure to transfer his comm badge to his newly-exposed vest. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. He instructed the members of the team who arrived on the ledge to continue along the wall without him. He had to make sure Dani and Q caught up with the rest of the group okay.

    Q had made it. With one hand, he reached out and took Dani’s hand. He stepped onto the ledge with one foot. When he brought his other foot to the ledge, however, the rock crumbled beneath him, and he lost his footing. He fell and would’ve kept on falling if Dani hadn’t been holding his hand. When Dani almost went over with him, Will nearly jumped off the ledge to try to get to her. His heart beat in his ears, and his stomach turned to jelly.

    Dani gripped Q’s hand with both of hers as he dangled from the ledge. She was in a squatting position, pushing away from the edge with her legs and using her body as leverage. “Give me your other hand!” she grunted. He obeyed and brought his other hand up and grabbed Dani’s wrist. Q was no feather weight, Dani realized. He’d grown since they’d last met. Dani mustered all the strength she could and pulled with all her might. She closed her eyes and pulled, not letting up at all. When she realized it was working, she opened her eyes. She was pulling Q back onto the ledge. She continued to pull until Q was safely on the landing. Once he was, she sat back, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Her whole body ached from that exertion. She looked at Will and saw him breathe a sigh of relief and lean against the rock.

    Dani looked at Q. “Are you all right?” she asked him.

    Q nodded. “I think so,” he said. “I’ve never been so petrified.”

    The common response to that was usually ‘neither have I.’ In Dani’s case, that wasn’t exactly true. She’d been that petrified before on more than one occassion. So, she simply said, “I know.”

    “I almost died,” Q realized. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

    Dani nodded, acknowledging Q’s apology. “That’s what cousins do,” she said. She unzipped her jacket and left it admidst the pile of jackets and uniform pieces other’s had discarded. She took off the vest, too. She was hot. She pulled her communicator off her jacket and placed it on the chest of her red tunic.

    She looked at Q. “You ready?”

    Q looked at her and nodded. They both stood.

    Xxx

    By the time 45 minutes had passed, everyone had safely made it around the wall to the other tunnel. The team followed the same procedure it had used to navigate the last tunnel to make it through this one. Once again, they were in pitch black darkness. Will was once again at the front of the group with Varak taking sensor readings on directions. Dani had Q’s hand. She was going to make sure he wouldn’t be left behind again.

    This tunnel was significanlty shorter in length than the other. After only a few minutes of walking, they ended up in a cave, different from the one they’d originally taken shelter in, but still a cave. And, dark, although, not as dark as the tunnel. But colder. Much colder.

    “Sensors indicate a sharp drop in temperature,” Clements quipped, rubbing his arms.

    “Noted,” Will said. He looked past the cave’s entrance. Night had fallen. That might account for the dip in temparature. And it was still raining. There wasn’t quite as much thunder or lightning, but it still wasn’t safe. Judging by the erratic motion of those plants, the wind was still pretty high.

    “It feels like we’ve stepped into a freezer, sir,” Clements said.

    Will looked around at the team. Most of them had stripped out of their jackets, including himself. Many of them had also left the vests behind.

    “We can’t stay here,” he said. “Everybody back into the tunnel.”

    The group abandoned the cave for the dark tunnel. Immediate warmth greeted them. “Just get comfortable everybody,” Will said. “It looks like we’ve found another place to wait the storm out.” Everyone sat down, some leaning back against the walls.

    “So, is this what Starfleet is?” Q asked Dani.

    “Part of it,” Dani replied. “Not all the time, though.”

    “They train you for all this?”

    “Officers are trained for many different scenarios. It’s all about thinking and learning how to make it many different situations. A lot of the stuff you encounter, though, you’ve never been trained for before. It’s totally new. Like when Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. There’s no training for that. You just kind of have to…wing it.”

    “Wing it?” Q asked.

    “Yeah,” Dani said.

    “What’s that?”

    “Improvising. You know, making it up as you go along. You can’t really know how to be prepared for species you never even heard of before. But that’s what my mother did. And she got us home in one piece.”

    Dani rested her head against the rock wall. She didn’t care that it was hard. To her, it was as comfortable as a pillow. She was so exhausted. Her body was a giant knot, and she was sleepy. And she had to pee. She stood. “I’ll be right back,” she told Q.

    “Where are you going?” Q asked.

    “To the bathroom.”

    “Oh.”

    Dani began to walk away. Then she heard Q ask, “Can I come with you?”

    “No!” Dani said. She walked away before Q could protest.

    Dani walked toward the cave’s opening. She would have to brave the cold if she wanted to pee in privacy. She didn’t mind. She walked into the cave and found a little aclove that afforded her a little bit of privacy. She quickly took care of her business and walked out again. She would have liked to have washed her hands but realized what a silly thought it was when she looked down at her uniform. She was the picture of filth. Caked mud and dirt adorned her uniform pants. Her shirt was fairly clean, since it’d only recently been exposed to the elements. It was marred only by a few dust patches and sweat spots. She imagined that her hair was a mess with dirt and who knew what else.

    And on top of all that, she was getting a headache. Probably from hunger and all the work her body had been through. She walked around a corner and was surprised to find Will standing there. His hair was muddy and in a state of disarray. His face was dirty. His uniform was soiled with dirt and mud.

    “Are you okay?” he asked.

    “I’m fine,” Dani replied. “What about you?”

    “I didn’t almost fall off a cliff,” he said, taking a few steps closer to her.

    “I’m fine. We’re both fine,” Dani insisted. “I’ve got a headache, I’m a mess, and my body hurts like hell, but I’m fine.”

    “It’ll be over with in a bit,” Will comforted.

    “I hope you’re right. When I get back to the ship, I just want to take a long, hot bath.”

    “You know what could make your bath ten times better?” Will asked with a hint of a smile.

    Dani had a feeling she already knew what at least part of his answer would consist of, but she asked anyway. “What?”

    “Me,” Will answered. Dani knew it. Will had said exactly what she’d thought he would say.

    “Is that so?” Dani asked. “Well, we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

    “Is that an invite?”

    A bright light flooded the two of them. Both of them instinctively held their hands up in front of them to shield from the light. It was blinding them, and they couldn’t see who was on the other side of the light.

    “Commander? Lieutenant?” It was Data’s voice.

    “Data?” Will said, unsure because he still couldn’t see. His eyes were still adjusting. “Is that you?”

    “Yes, sir,” Data replied. “I have a rescue team here. There was a break in the storms. The captain sent us down to retrieve you.”

    Dani and Will looked past Data at the cave’s opening. More Enterprise officers were entering, they noticed. What’s more, the rain, wind, thunder, and lightening had also stopped. Dani and Will looked at each other, smiling.

    Data, for the first time noticed their appearances. From the looks of it, they’d had quite a time. “I’m eager to hear your story,” he said. “Judging by the state of your appearances, you had quite an adventure.”

    Dani sighed. “You have no idea.”

  • Return to Normal – Chapter 6

    A light sprinkle began to fall on the team as the dark storm clouds approached the area.

    “We need to find shelter,” Will said. “Those clouds don’t look very nice.” He looked around. “I need everyone to scan for any kind of cave or structure we could use for shelter,” he announced. The officers didn’t hesitate to begin their search. They began roaming the area, searching with tricorders for a place of refuge from the coming storms.

    Dani instinctively reached for her tricorder, and with a frustrated sigh, remembered that she hadn’t been issued one due to the nature of her assignment to guard Q.

    Will turned to Ensign Clements. “Mr. Clements, I need you to keep track of our environmental readings. I want to know of any changes, no matter how small.”

    “Aye, sir,” Clements said, nodding and opening his tricorder. He programmed it to detect meteorological readings and began monitoring the planet’s atmospheric changes.

    “Is there anything I can do?” Dani asked. She hated feeling useless, which was how she felt now.

    Will looked at her and then at Q. “Yes. Keep an eye on him.” Dani and Q exchanged looks. This wasn’t the reply Dani wanted.

    “Sir, I’ve found something!” Shields proclaimed.

    “What is it, Ensign?” Will asked, walking over to her.

    “A system of caves, sir, only about a kilometer east of here,” Shields explained.

    “Sir,” Clements began, “precipitation is beginning to fall at a faster rate.”

    Will looked up at the darkening sky. As he did so, a drop of rain hit him squarely in the eye. He looked to Clements. The ensign hadn’t yet given him a report on the composition of the precipitation. Although this stuff looked and felt like water, it could very well burn his eye out for all he knew.

    “No toxins or dangerous elements of any kind detected,” Clements said, reading from his tricorder. He looked at the commader. “It’s harmless.”

    Will nodded. “Let’s go!” he ordered, as a light rain began to fall on the group. Ensign Shields led the way as the group journeyed to shelter.

    “This is a peculiar sensation,” Q observed. “I’ve never been wet before.”

    “You’re going to be a lot wetter if this rain picks up before we reach the caves,” Dani informed him. As if it had been waiting on Dani’s cue, the sky burst open, it seemed, and rain started to pour down upon the group at an unbelievable rate. Everyone was drenched in a matter of seconds.

    Dani looked at Q. “See what I mean?” she asked him.

    Q regarded himself with disgust. “This is not a pleasant feeling,” Q said.

    “Why do you think we’re looking for shelter?” Dani asked

    “This is it, Commander,” Shields announced. Dani and everyone else stopped walking. They had reached the entrance of what looked like a cave. Shields looked at Will, who gave her the go-ahead to enter the cave. She cautiously stepped into the cave while the rest of the group waited outside, cold and wet. Some of the crew were even sneezing.

    Dani released her wet hair from the low ponytail it had been confined to and raked her fingers back through it. She waited for word from Shields.

    Will tapped his comm badge. “Riker to Ensign Shields,” he said hopefully. He didn’t know if they still had ground communication or not, but it was worth a try.

    After a few seconds delay, Shields voice sounded over the comm. “Shields here, Commander,” she said.

    “What’s it look like in there?” Will asked.

    “It’s habitable, sir,” was Shields’s reply. “It should suit our needs sufficiently.”

    “Very good, Ensign. We’ll be joining you shortly. Riker out.” He turned to his group. “Everyone, let’s move in!” he ordered. The group members gladly followed him into the caves. Someone sneezed.

    “Everyone’s going to be sick by the time we get back to the Enterprise,” Dani predicted, walking further into the cave. Everyone settled near the cave’s entrance, hoping for a quick end to the storm.

    Will turned to Clements who was sitting close to the cave opening, still taking readings, as ordered by the commander. “Can you project an end to this storm system?” Will asked the ensign.

    “The tricorder isn’t detecting an end to the system, yet, Commander,” Clements replied.

    “What about any possible breaks?”

    “No, sir. According to the sensors, it’s a long line of storms with no forseeable end in sight.”

    Will didn’t like the sound of that at all. If they were trapped down here for too long, things were going to get serious. With no food or water…he didn’t want to think about it right now.

    Dani looked at Will. He was worried, that much was obvious. She walked over to him. “Maybe the storms will move through quickly,” Dani offered optimistically.

    Will nodded. She had a point about the speed of the storms. There was no telling how long it would take them to move through the area. If they were lucky and the system turned out to be fast-moving, it might only take a few hours before the Enterprise would be able to beam them up. On the other hand, if the system was a slow one, they could be trapped in this cave for days. That was the worst-case scenario.

    Will looked at Clements. “Is there any way to determine the speed of these storms?”

    “Not with these sensors, sir,” the ensign responded. “We’d need a computer the strength of the Enterprise computer to determine something like that, sir.” Will nodded.

    “I don’t think we’re going to be able to do much more than wait and see what happens,” Dani said. She sneezed. “Excuse me.”

    Looking concerned, Will looked at Clements. “Clements, keep monitoring those storms.”

    “Aye, sir,” Clements said.

    Will turned back to Dani, his face still expressing concern. “You’re right. Everyone is going to be sick. These wet clothes.” Will looked down at his soggy uniform. “We’re going to be chilled to the bone.”

    “I wish we could get out of these things,” Dani said, referring to the uniforms.

    Will was tempted to reply to that statement with innuendo, but decided against it. This was neither the time nor the place for it. “As long as the temperature doesn’t drop, it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll probably all end up with colds.”

    “OW!”

    Will and Dani turned to look in the direction of the yell. Q was rubbing his cheek, and a young female ensign was angrily glaring at him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

    Dani walked over to him. “Q! What are you doing?”

    “I was just-“

    “Never mind. I don’t want to hear it. Just-“

    “Dani,” Will summoned her. She walked over to him. “Maybe you should just let him do what he wants.”

    Dani looked at Will as if he’d just suggested that she eat dirt. “What? If I did that, he-” Dani stopped for a moment and thought. Will was going somewhere with this, she could see it in his eyes. With realization, she continued. “He would get what was coming to him.”

    “Exactly.”

    Dani nodded and turned her attention back to Q. “Q, you just do whatever you want to. Do whatever comes natural.”

    Q actually looked surprised. “Really?”

    “Yeah,” Dani said. “As long as it doesn’t place anyone in danger, go right ahead.”

    “Commander Riker,” Ensign Clements began, “the storm is picking up in intensity.” Will rejoined Clements at the cave’s entrance. “I’m picking up severe winds, torrential rain, and lightning.” Clements looked at Will. “It’s a regular disaster area out there, sir.” As he looked back down at his tricorder, a large tree limb came flying from out of no where, it seemed, and struck Clements across the head. The impact of the hit knocked the young man off his feet.

    “Eric!” Ensign Shields was at Clements’s side in an instant. Clements looked dazed for a moment before losing consciousness completely.

    Dani picked up Clements’s tricorder and scanned him with it. It wasn’t a medical tricorder, and it wouldn’t be able to give her detailed information about Clements’s condition, but it would give her a general idea of what was wrong. “He’s got a concussion,” Dani determined. She attempted to get a more detailed reading from the tricorder, but was unsuccessful. “If that’s the only major injury, he should be okay.” She looked up at Will. “We should probably get him away from the entrance.”

    “That’s a good idea,” Will said. “In fact everyone should probably stay clear of the entrance.” He crouched down and grabbed hold of Clements’s underarms. Dani held on to Clements’s right leg, and Shields, his left. They each stood, lifting the young man. They carried him deeper into the cave. They sat him down on the floor of the cave, next to a wall.

    Dani stood next to Will. “We should get him dry,” Dani said, lowering her voice. “I can’t be sure of what other conditions he might have, but I do know that he does not need to get too cold. He could go into shock. And the cold combined with the concussion could give him a fever.”

    “I know. I’d thought about that,” Will said, also in a quiet voice. “I don’t know how we can do that while leaving Mr. Clements with some semblance of dignity.” If it came down to it, Mr. Clements’s dignity may have to be a secondary concern to his health. Will looked at Shields and called her over.

    “Yes, Commander?” she said.

    “Are there any nearby room in these caves?” Will asked.

    Shields looked puzzled as she pulled out her tricorder and began a preliminary scan of the area. “Yes, sir. The closest is a few meters north of this room.” She looked up at Will. “Why, sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”

    “Mr. Clements cannot remain in his wet clothes,” Will began to explain. “He could go into shock or develop a fever. We have to get him dry, which means we have to remove his clothes.” Shields nodded. “Milsap, Gomez.” The two men appeared in front of Will. “We need to move Ensign Clements. We need your help.” Milsap and Gomez nodded. They bent down and picked up Clements. “Follow Ensign Shields,” Will directed. Shields led the way to the adjacent cave, and Will, Dani, Gomez, and Milsap followed.

    Once they all entered the room, Will directed the two men to lay Clements down near the cave wall. They stood and awaited further orders. “That’ll be all.” The two men left the room.

    Dani walked over to Clements and kneeled. “Help me,” she said. Will and Shields walked over and keeled beside Clements. They all began to remove his boots and uniform. After a few minutes, Clements had been completely disrobed. Will, who had acquired a phaser from one of the security officers, fired on a nearby boulder until flames erupted from the rock.

    “That should keep him warm,” Will said. “Dani, I want you to stay here and keep an eye on him. You’ve got more medical training than most of the others here. Keep me posted.”

    “Aye, sir,” Dani said.

    Will turned to Shields. “We need to map the rest of this cave system.”

    “Yes, sir,” Shields replied. Will cast one more glance at Dani before leaving the room with Shields.

    Dani looked down at Clements. She took off her uniform jacket, balled it up, and placed it underneath his head before scanning him again. Nothing much had changed in his condition. He still had a concussion, his temperature, at the moment, was normal, and she still couldn’t discern whether he had additional, more serious injuries. She leaned back against the rock wall and looked down at him. He had a nice body. Nice pecs, nice abs. She studied his face a little more closely. He seemed familiar. It was probably that she’d seen him around the Enterprise. But no, she’d only been onboard a few days. Eric Clements…Clements. It then struck her. Eric Clements had been in her graduating class at the Academy. Come to think of it, so had Shields. And Milsap. They’d never been friends, but they’d all been familiar faces around campus.

    The Academy. Friends at the Academy. She wondered if Clements, Shields, and Milsap had been friends at the Academy. She wondered if they were friends now. She knew Shields and Clements were, but were they friends with Milsap?

    All this thinking about friends made Dani think about her own friends from the Academy. Kyle Hicks, Rane Skara, Emery Bell. She made a mental note to look them up and find out what they were up to when she got the chance.

    Clements moved. Dani snapped to attention and opened her tricorder. She began to scan him. He was regaining consciousness. His eyelids began to flutter, and he moaned a little. He began to sit up, but Dani gently pushed him back down.

    “Whoa, take it easy,” she said.

    Clements breathed deeply and brought his hands to his forehead. “My head,” he said.

    “Relax,” Dani said. “You have a concussion.”

    He sat up slowly. “What happened?”

    “You were taking readings by the cave’s entrance, and a large tree limb hit you on the head. It knocked you out cold.”

    “Oh,” Clements said. He looked around the room. “The cave looks different. Where is everyone?”

    “We had to move you to a different room,” Dani informed him. She lowered her eyes to his body for a brief moment to alert him of his state. Clements followed Dani’s gaze and realized, for the first time, that he was completely naked. Dani turned away from him so they could both avoid any kind of awkwardness. “Your clothes are over by the fire,” she informed him. “We had to get you out of them so you wouldn’t catch a chill.” Dani turned back to him, making contact with his eyes and his eyes only. “You need to stay relaxed. You still have a concussion. It’s not as bad as it once was, but it’s still a concussion, nonetheless.”

    Clements relaxed noticeably and leaned against the wall. He looked at the ground where his head had rested and noted the uniform piece balled up in the form of a pillow. Janeway was missing her uniform jacket, so he put two and two together and surmised that it was hers. He picked it up and tossed it back to her. “So, is there anything you don’t do?” he asked.

    Dani caught her jacket and immediately picked up on the bitter tone in Clements’s voice. “You’re welcome,” she said. She tossed the article of clothing back to him, which he picked up. “Keep it. You shouldn’t be resting your head on the hard rock.”

    Clements balled the jacket up and placed it under his head as he rested against the craggy cave wall. “I suppose I should be thanking you. Are you our resident medic now?”

    “No, but I’m the closest we’ve got down here.” Dani really could do without the crappy attitude this guy was giving her. What was his beef with her, anyway?

    “So, how is it that you have the honor of being my doctor?” Clements inquired.

    “I trained as a medic onboard Voyager,” Dani told him.

    “Of course,” Clements snorted. “Mommy and Daddy’s ship.”

    “Look, I really don’t like the attitude you’re giving me.” Dani had never had the opportunity to pull rank before. She was, after all, only a Lt. JG, but she would do it if the situation called for it. This was quickly becoming one of those situations. “You should remember that you’re talking to a superior officer,” she said.

    “Permission to speak freely, then, Lt.?”

    Dani knew that she would be inviting a verbal bashing by agreeing to give him permission to say whatever he wanted, but she was interested.

    “Granted,” she said, responding to his request.

    “You’re not a superior officer,” he said. “Just one of a higher rank.”

    Dani smarted at the jab she had just been dealt by Clements. She was more curious, than upset, by the remark, however. She wanted to know how he had come to this conclusion.

    “And why do you feel this, Mr. Clements?” she asked him. She decided to offer answers for him, because she had a good idea of what he was going to say next. It was the same thing people had been saying about her since she’d started the Academy. “Is it because Starfleet runs in my family? Because I’ve been around it all my life? Maybe, because of all that, I’ve had it a little easier than most of the other officers? People let stuff slide because of who I am. Maybe I caught a break here or there. Is that it? Because I got special treament?” She looked at Clements.

    Clements wondered why she was gloating. Everything she was saying was nothing to be proud of. She hadn’t earned anything. Right now, he was utterly disgusted with the woman.

    “You don’t know anything about me,” Dani said, her tone of voice changing. She got up and walked across the room. Clements thought what everyone else thought. The problem was, what everyone else thought was wrong. “You don’t know about my life, what I’ve experienced,” Dani continued. She slid to the ground and sat across from Clements, watching him through the dancing flames of the little fire between them. “That’s my main problem. It’s been my main problem for years. Everyone thinks they know when they really don’t.”

    Her gaze shifted from him to the flames and she began. “From the moment I returned to the Alpha Quadrant with Voyager, I’ve been in the public eye. It’s not something I was used to. Even before Voyager, I lived a pretty ordinary life. And on the ship, there was no public. We were a family. But when I got back to Earth, it was like I was thrust into this role of…celebrity or something. I don’t know quite how to describe it. What I do know is that I wasn’t ready for it. My parents had tried to prepare me for what it might be like, but there’s only so much you can prepare for. I dealt with it, though. In fact, looking back now, I realize that was the easy part. The difficult part was the backlash of all the attention.”

    “What backlash?” Clements asked ruefully. “You seemed to have benefitted well from it.”

    “You’re making my point exactly,” Dani said. “It’s that kind of attitude. That’s the backlash I’m talking about. People assume that those who are in the public eye get freebies, so to speak, because they’re famous. Now, because they assume that everyone else is giving this popular person special treatment, they want to do everything in their power to make sure that person doesn’t get any special treatment from them. In other words, they hate you because you’re famous. This is what I’ve had to learn, and it’s been a hard lesson. In the Academy, I had professors who were mean simply because they didn’t like who I was. I had other students constantly at my back because of jealousy and contempt. Most of them held attitudes similar to yours. So, you see, the actuality of it all is that my life has been quite the opposite of what you and most others think. The only ones who really know what my life has been are either the ones who’ve known me for a while or the ones who’ve taken the time to actually listen to me and get to know me.”

    A few moments of silence followed. Clements broke through it and asked, “Do you tell that story to everyone you meet or just special cases?” That had been a wonderful story, but Clements wasn’t going to let some sobstory manipulate him.

    “I don’t have to justify myself to you,” Dani said. “I didn’t tell you this story so that I could win you over. I told you because it’s the truth. I couldn’t care less about what you or anyone else thinks about me.”

    “That’s a lie,” Clements countered. “Everyone cares about what people think about him a little. I don’t care who you are. That’s just a part of being human.”

    “Well, I don’t do things to gain other people’s approval.”

    “Obviously. Or else you wouldn’t have been with that spoonhead, Dukat.” Clements had struck a nerve with that one. He could tell. Even through the flames and the smoke, he could see her expression change from one of anger to that of a sad little girl.

    “I don’t want to talk about him,” she said quietly.

    But Clements was unrelenting. “Why is that, Lt.? Are you ashamed? You should be. Wallowing with the low-life of the universe. You know, they should’ve court-martialed you for that. You were sleeping with the enemy.”

    “I said that’s enough, Ensign,” Dani said sternly. “My relationship with Dukat is a personal, private matter.”

    Clements nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But your relationship with the commander surely isn’t. You flaunt that relationship like some kind of a flag . It seems very strange how a person could go from someone as detestable as Dukat to someone as upstanding as the commander.”

    “What are you getting at, Ensign?” Dani inquired. She had a good mind to shut him up by pulling rank again, but she was genuinely interested in what he had to say.

    “You’re attracted to power,” Clements concluded confidently. “It’s no surprise, you’ve been around it all your life. It’s like a drug.” He looked her over, disgustedly. “You want to be as close to it as possible, and if that means falling into the beds of those in power, so be it.”

    Dani shook her head and released a rueful laugh. “You’re deluded.”

    Clements was silent for a few moments. He closed his eyes. Dani looked over at him, suddenly alarmed. “Clements?” she said. “Ensign Clements?” She stood and walked over to where Clements sat. She kneeled beside him, checking his pulse. He still had one, of course. She checked its rate – good. “Clements?” She shook him gently, and he stirred. “You’ve got to stay awake. Keep your eyes open. You can’t go to sleep. Do you hear me?”

    “Yeah,” he said, nodding weakly.

    “Stay awake,” Dani said firmly.

    Clements breathed in and out deeply. “So, how did you and the commander hook up?” he asked after few more intervals of deep breathing.

    Dani watched him intently, glad that he was talking. That was a good sign. The more she could keep him talking, the less chance of him drifting off to sleep. She kept her eyes on him as she answered, determined not to let her voice lull him to sleep. “Will and I have known each other for a long time, since I was a little girl. I don’t even remember how old I was when we first met. Seven, maybe eight. When my parents were away on missions they deemed dangerous, I spent some time on the Enterprise. During the school year, I stayed on Earth with my grandmother. But during the summers, I’d be on the Enterprise. We had a family friend who served onboard and agreed to be my guardian.”

    “I don’t understand,” Clements said. “Why not just stay with your grandmother all the time?”

    “My parents wanted me to have fun and experience things. Not that Grandma wasn’t fun or anything. It’s just that after nine months of seeing her, I usually needed a change of scenery. Besides, being on the Enterprise made it easier for me to see my parents. If the Enterprise and one of my parents’ ships were rendevousing at the same starbase or something, I could transfer and be with my parents.”

    Clements looked at the dirt ground. Janeway had grown up being bounced around from place to place. He hadn’t known that.

    Dani recognized Clements’s demeanor and quickly interjected before he got the wrong idea. “Don’t get me wrong, now. It wasn’t as crummy as it sounds. My parents weren’t complete work-a-holics. They did have shoreleaves, which is when they’d come back to Earth. And my dad didn’t work on starships all the time. When I was 11, he started teaching archeology at the Academy. Which meant I could see him a lot more.”

    “So, how does Commander Riker play into all this?” Clements asked.

    “Well, one day, I remember I was running in the corridor, which I wasn’t supposed to be doing, by the way. I was supposed to be in one of the school rooms, but I’d sneaked out. Well, I tripped over something, and fell and hurt my ankle. Will, thankfully, was coming around the corner… “

  • Return to Normal – Chapter 5

    Dani awoke the next morning in Will’s arms. The alarm that had ripped her from her peaceful slumber was still blaring. “Computer, alarm off,” she said groggily. The alarm ceased and the room was blanketed in silence. “Computer, time.”

    “The time is 0700 hours, two minutes, 24 seconds,” the computer chimed.

    Dani sighed. “Will,” she said. “Will?” Will groaned. “Will, it’s time to get up,” Dani said in a sing-song voice.

    “No reminder needed, thanks,” he said, struggling to open his eyes.

    Dani sat up and looked over her shoulder at a yawning Will. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his vision. Slightly dazed blue eyes stared up at Dani as she leaned over and kissed their owner.

    “Mm…” Will moaned. He wrapped his arms around Dani’s waist and pulled her closer. “We’ve got time for just a quick one, don’t we?” he asked.

    “No, no, no,” Dani said, pulling away from Will. “Time is ticking.” She snorted. “I would’ve never thought I would ever be more concerned about the time than you are.” She sat up. “I’ve got to go shower.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.

    “Mind if I join you?” Will asked, rising to a reclining position on the bed.

    Dani pretended to ponder over the decision. “Hmm…it would save time.” She looked at him. He was so cute when he woke up in the morning. His hair was disheveled, sticking out every which way, and a slightly sleepy gaze still graced his blue eyes. She realized then just how much she’d truly missed him these last few months.

    “Come on,” Dani said, inviting Will to join her in the bathroom. Will smiled and didn’t waste any time in following. As he was following her, he noticed the little triangular mark on her lower back. Her very lower back.

    “What is this?” Will asked. “I’ve never seen it before.” He hadn’t noticed it last night or any other time before that.

    “What?” Dani asked, as she turned on the sonic shower.

    “This,” Will said touching the little design at the base of her back.

    Dani looked over her shoulder and down at the spot Will’s finger was touching. “Oh. It’s just a tattoo.”

    “A tattoo?” Will repeated. Was she trying to be funny? “I can see that,” he said. “What is it of?”

    Dani turned and faced Will. “You have seen it before,” she insisted.

    Now, Will was downright confused. He’d seen Dani naked about a million times, and he’d never seen that mark on her before.

    Dani, deciding to finally put an end to Will’s confusion, told him what he wanted to know. “It’s the mark of my father’s people. It’s the same mark that’s on my dad’s forehead.”

    His curiosity piqued, Will turned Dani around and kneeled to have a better look at his new discovery. It was the same mark that he’d seen on Chakotay’s forehead. He traced it lightly with his finger, causing Dani to giggle a bit. He rose to his feet, and she turned around to face him once again.

    “When did this happen?” Will asked.

    “The night of the Academy graduation,” she replied. “I had a little too much to drink and had a Klingon buddy of mine draw it on for me.”

    At this confession, Will’s eyebrows rose in amusement. A grin instantly appeared on his face. “You? Drunk?”

    Dani ignored Will and the turn he was taking with that last comment. She instead turned her attention back to the sonic shower.

    “How long has it been since you had a real water shower?” Will asked her as he changed the shower from the sonic setting to water.

    Dani leaned back against the vanity and thought. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s probably been a few years.”

    Will stepped up to her. “Too long,” he said, moving in and kissing her deeply. She gently pulled away from him and stepped into the shower. She held out her hand for him. He took it and joined her inside the little stall. She kissed him again and realized she didn’t care where this would lead to.

    Will steered her into the stream of falling water droplets. The surprise of the forgotten sensation made her yelp.

    “Don’t worry,” Will said, smiling. “Water doesn’t bite. But I do.” Dani smiled. The sensation of the water on her skin had a therapeutic effect, and it was evident by the relaxed expression on her face. “This is why I prefer water showers,” Will said.

    Dani smiled again and played with the dark, damp hair on his head. “There’s no cleansing agent,” she observed. “You have to provide your own soap, don’t you?”

    “You could do that,” Will said. “Or you could just tell the computer to add it for you. Computer, add cleansing agent number 33 to the water, please.” The computer chirped as it complied.

    “I didn’t know you could do that,” Dani said, with wonder. Almost immediately, she began to notice a difference in the texture of the water. It became more like an oil. A sweet citrus scent invaded her nostrils as she looked down at the floor of the shower and saw that a slightly foamy lather had formed.

    “Is that better?” Will asked.

    Xxx

    When Will and Dani went on duty at 0800 hours, the Enterprise had arrived at Garessa II, a large, uninhabited M-class planet. The Enterprise was currently on a survey mission of recently charted star systems. The away teams’ assignments were of a variable nature, from simple science surveys of the mineral and metallurgic make-up of the planets to tactical surveys of the layout of the planets and their possible uses as Federation bases or colonies. Garessa II was one of these survey planets.

    “Will, I think it’s an honor to be sitting in on the senior staff mission briefing,” Dani said. She and Will were on their way to the observation lounge. “But I don’t understand my purpose for being present.”

    “All I know is that the captain wants you there, so you will be,” Will said.

    They both walked through the doors of the observation lounge. Will took his customary seat in the chair beside the captain, who was always at the head of the table.

    Captain Picard sniffed. The air around him had taken on a mildly fruity flavor just as Will had sat down. Picard looked at his Number One. “Is that a new cologne, Number One?” he asked.

    Will froze. He’d already forgotten about that aspect of the shower he’d shared with Dani earlier that morning. Next time, he’d have to pay more attention to the scent of the soap before he chose it. He looked at the captain, intending to reply to his question, but he found that Picard’s attention was already on something else.

    Dani took a seat much further down the table. As she sat, she pondered over why she was in on this mission briefing while no other junior officers were.

    “Goodmorning, everyone,” Picard began. “As you all know…” As the captain began to explain the purpose of the mission, the methods, etc., Will allowed his mind to wonder back to the bliss of the morning he’d shared with Dani. Her body was incredible. Those long legs…he was getting excited just thinking about them.

    “…Commander?” Picard waited for Will to reply. When he didn’t, Picard called his name again. “Commander?” This brought Will out of his reverie.

    “Sorry, Captain,” he said. “My mind was…somewhere else.”

    “Let’s try to remain here and in the present, please, Commander,” Picard said, a little annoyed.

    “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Will stole a glance at Dani. She smiled and lowered her head.

    “Now, I was just saying that the away teams will be organized into groups of ten,” Picard said.

    “That’s right,” Will said. “The first two groups of ten will be the science teams. Tactical teams will follow, and after that, medical.”

    “Each group will also be accompanied by a security team,” Picard added. His eyes scanned the faces staring back at him. He stopped at Dani’s brown eyes. “Which brings me to you, Lt.” Everyone turned to look at her. “I know you’re wondering why you were summoned to take part in this briefing, Lt.” Picard said.

    “Yes, sir. It had crossed my mind,” Dani said honestly.

    “Lt. Janeway, your sole purpose on this mission will be to accompany Q to the surface.” Picard could see the puzzled, surprised, and wary looks on the faces of his officers. “If Q really is here to observe what being human is all about, I believe this would be an extremely valuable opportunity for him to observe human interactions within teams. Teamwork is the key word here.” He watched the concept sink in with his crew. He directed his attention back at Dani. “You are to be with him at all times. Understood?”

    “Yes, Captain,” Dani said. She was more than just slightly perturbed. She hadn’t transferred to the Enterprise to babysit. That was her job for this mission, as she saw it. She was to babysit Q. And she wasn’t responsible for Q, she thought sarcastically, her mind going back to the conversation she and Will had had the night before. She looked down the table at him. He was smiling.

    “Now,” the captain said, “everyone has his orders. Make it so, everyone. Dismissed.”

    Everyone stood and began to file out of the room. “Lt. Janeway, a moment, if you would, please?” Picard requested. Dani stopped and turned to face the captain. Will, who’d been on his way out, also stopped and looked at the captain. He looked at Dani again before walking out of the room, leaving her with Picard.

    “Yes, Captain?” Dani said.

    “Dani,” Picard said, taking a few steps toward her, “I know this isn’t exactly the assignment you’d like to be given, but you’re the one whom I believe best-suited for the task at hand.”

    “I understand, Captain,” Dani said.

    “I just think Q will be more likely to listen to you than anyone else aboard.”

    “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

    “I thank you for doing this, Lt.”

    Dani nodded. “You’re welcome, Captain.

    “Dismissed.”

    Dani turned and walked out of the observation lounge. Will was waiting outside the door. Before he could say anything, she spoke. “Don’t say anything,” she said, sternly.

    In the observation lounge, Picard noticed that after Dani left, there remained the scent of citrus fruit. He sniffed. Yes, that was it. Orange or tangerine, it smelled like. He wondered what this new-found affinity for fruit-scented colognes and perfumes was. First, Number One, then Dani. Who was next? Data?

    Xxx

    The first away team materialized on the planet’s surface amid conditions akin to those in paradise. Dani looked around. The temperature was perfect, and the sky was blue. If she hadn’t known that this was going to be a survey mission, she’d have mistaken the planet for a shoreleave planet. It was beautiful there.

    “All right, people, let’s get to work,” Will announced. “Standard away team procedures. No one goes anywhere alone.” The officers fanned out and began to conduct their surveys.

    Will tapped his comm badge. “Enterprise, this is Riker. We’re ready for the second team down here whenever you’re ready to transport.”

    “Aye, Commander,” came the tinny voice through Will’s communicator. “Stand by.”

    Dani and Q left Will and started walking toward one of the survey team pairs. The team had already ventured a good distance away, so Q and Dani, at the leisurely pace they were traveling, had a little walk ahead of them.

    “This is so humiliating,” Q said.

    “What?” Dani asked.

    “I don’t need a babysitter,” Q said defiantly.

    “You think I wanted this assignment?” Dani asked Q. “Believe me, this is not my dream job. I’d much rather be performing some of these surveys. But an order is an order, and I intend to follow it to a tee.”

    “Why? If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.”

    “Q, there are certain things you’re going to have to learn about our society. I thought you’d already learned them from your time aboard Voyager, but apparently, you’ve forgotten them. Sometimes, you have to do things you don’t necessarily want to. You do them because there’s a bigger picture, and because it’s probably the right thing to do. You don’t disobey orders. Especially from the captain. So, here I am. Stuck with you.” The euphoric feeling Dani had first experienced after beaming down to the beautiful planet was quickly dissipating with the presence of her charge, Q.

    “Well, thank you for making me feel so welcome,” Q said flatly. “I’m honored.”

    “No,” Dani said apologetically. She was being mean to Q, and this situation wasn’t even his fault. He was just as innocent as she was. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault you’re here – it’s your father’s fault.”

    The two walked over and joined a team that consisted of Ensign Paul Milsap and Lt. Nina Carter. Milsap and Carter looked up from their work at the new arrivals.

    “Don’t mind us,” Dani said politely. “We’re just observing – if that’s all right.”

    “Of course it is, Lt,” Carter said politely.

    Meanwhile, Ensigns Eric Clements and Marta Shields were a few paces away taking soil and plant samples.

    “Is there no end to it?” Clements asked. “It isn’t enough that she’s in good with half of Starfleet’s hierarchy. No. She’s got to be in good with the Q, too. Who knows what kind of predicament she’s put us in, bringing Q’s son here? It’s only her second day, and already, I can’t stand her.”

    “Well, you can take comfort in the fact that she doesn’t have all of Starfleet in the palm of her hand,” Shields said.

    Clements looked at her. “What do you mean?”

    “There’s a rumor going around that Nechayev was this close to court-martialing her during that whole mess with Dukat,” Shields said, holding up her index finger and thumb.

    “That’s my whole point, though,” Clements said. “The only reason Nechayev didn’t go ahead and court-martial her was because she’s Dani Janeway. If it’d been anyone else, they would have been gone. If not that, they damn well wouldn’t be serving as a bridge officer on the ‘Fleet’s flagship. You know I’m telling the truth.”

    “Yeah. Well, she will have to prove herself at some point,” Shields said. “She won’t make it far on her connections alone. If she is all she’s cracked up to be, only time will tell.”

    Xxx

    An hour later, all the survey teams were down on the surface. There were about 40 people total on the surface taking surveys on the different physical aspects of the planet. Dani and Q had managed to visit at least one two-person team for each survey group, and in many circumstances, they had made it to more than one team.

    “I still don’t see the purpose in all of this,” Q said. “Why come down here and physically take samples when you’ve got the Enterprise and the ability to do all this from the ship? From where I’m sitting, this just looks like a big waste of time.”

    “Well, it’s not,” Dani said. “Believe me. Yes, we could do this all from the ship, but we get much better information if we do it first-hand. You get to see it with your own eyes and touch with your own hands, instead of letting sensors and transporters see and do for you.” She looked at Q. He still wasn’t getting it. “The point is teamwork. You’re supposed to be observing how people work together and what makes a team successful.” She looked up in time to see Will walking toward them.

    “There’s a system coming this way,” he said.

    “A bad one?” Dani asked.

    “The Enterprise sensors indicate that it’s only a line showers at this point, but it has the potential to develop into something more serious,” Will explained. “The captain has ordered that we return to the ship.”

    Dani nodded. She looked past Will at the first group of ten as they assembled and awaited transport. Will’s comm badge chirped. “Enterprise to Riker.”

    “Riker here,” Will said.

    “Stand by for transport,” the transporter technician’s voice came through Will’s communicator.

    “Standing by. Riker out.” He turned and watched as the first group of ten dematerialized. He turned back to Dani and Q. “You’ll be transporting with the last group.”

    Dani nodded. She saw the next team assemble for transport. After a few moments, the group dematerialized in the transporter stream.

    “Observe anything interesting today?” Riker asked. He smiled at her. A few paces away, the third group of ten assembled for transport. A few seconds later, they disappeared from the planet’s surface.

    Dani returned Riker’s smile. “Not lately,” she said. “But this morning…well, that’s a different story.” Riker’s smile broadened as he, along with Dani, Q, and the members of the last team assembled for their turn to transport. He tapped his comm badge. “Enterprise, this is Riker. The last team is ready for transport.”

    “Stand by, Commander,” the transporter tech replied. A moment later, the transport process began, and Dani began to feel the familiar tingling sensation associated with teleportation. A few seconds later, she, along with everyone else in their group, rematerialized and found that they were still on the planet’s surface. They all looked around, puzzled.

    Riker tapped his comm badge. “Riker to Enterprise,” he said. “What seems to be the problem. Why are we still on the surface?” There was no answer. “Enterprise, come in.” When there still was no answer, Will instinctively looked to Dani. She tried her comm badge, but got the same result that Will had.

    Xxx

    On the Enterprise, the transporter tech worked frantically to find the signals of the 10 crew members on the surface, but to no avail.

    “It’s no use, Captain,” the woman said. “There’s too much interference.”

    Xxx

    On the Bridge, Captain Picard was beginning to worry. He turned to Data, who was now second in command because of Riker’s absence.

    “Data, prepare a shuttle for launch,” Picard ordered. “It looks like we’re going to have to go in and get them.”

    “Sir, I would advise against that course of action,” Data said. “The storms approaching the location of the survey team have grown in intensity and strength. They are quite severe, now. Attempting to pilot a shuttle to the surface would be dangerous, sir.”

    Picard took this in and reconsidered. “Suggestions, anyone?” he asked after turning the situation over in his mind. No one offered up any ideas. “Well, then, I suppose we’ll just have to wait this one out.”

  • Return to Normal – Chapter 4

    Captain Picard sat at the head of the table in the observation lounge with his senior staff seated around him. Dani and both of the Qs were also present.

    “Absolutely not,” Picard said staunchly. “I refuse to let my ship be used as some sort of playground for the Q.”

    “Picard, be reasonable,” the elder Q said in his gently pleading tone. “All I’m attempting to do is instill my son with as comprehensive a look at humanity as possible. I want him to get as accurate a look at humans as he can. Is that so wrong?”

    Will cast a wary glance at the captain.

    “But why this ship?” Picard asked.

    “Mon Capitan,” Q elder began again, “you, among all people, should recognize that each ship, each crew, is unique. One cannot be expected to generate a fair concept of humanity after only experiencing life aboard one ship – a ship that, might I add, was thousands of light years away from home. You must agree that Enterprise’s situation and the large size of her crew makes her much more ideal for studying interactions between people.”

    “He does have a point there, sir,” Geordi admitted.

    Picard looked around at his staff and mentally turned over the prospect of actually allowing a Q onboard. He leaned back in his seat and tugged at his uniform tunic. “Just how long would this lesson in humanity take?”

    “One week,” Q replied quickly.

    Picard thought it over. There was no telling what kind of trickery Q was up to. This could be some elaborate ruse, which it more than likely was. He looked at Dani. He also had to consider what had happened on Voyager. That time, Q had been sincere in his intentions, and Voyager had come out with little more than a few frazzled nerves. Q could be telling the truth. Thinking back, Picard remembered that there had been a few instances when Q had been sincere, and everyone had benefited from his presence.

    Picard leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table as he made his decision. “My ship will, under no circumstances, be turned into a circus,” Picard directed to Q.

    “Q will not have his powers while onboard,” Q senior assured. “I give you my word.” Picard shot Q a dismal look.

    “Captain, you won’t regret this,” Q2 said cheerfully. “I promise.”

    “Let’s hope you’re right,” Picard said.

    “Wonderful!” Q exclaimed. “Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve got some errands to run. Good day, everyone. Son, I’ll see you in a week.”

    “Wait – Q!” Picard began, but he was too late. Before the words were even out of his mouth, Q was gone in his customary flash of light.

    “So,” Q2 said, beaming, “where do I sleep?”

    xxx

    “Cousin, I’m so glad we have this opportunity to see each other again,” Q said. He and Dani were walking to the guest quarters he’d been assigned to for the duration of his stay on the Enterprise.

    “I don’t know if I can say the same, Q,” Dani said. “I’m still really peeved about you and your father peeping on me and Will.

    “Hey, it was my father’s idea,” Q explained. “I didn’t know he was going to bring me here, and I didn’t know he was going to spy on you. Besides, he doesn’t see it as spying. He even brought your mother-“

    “My mother?!” Dani stopped walking and glared at Q. “Do not tell me my mother was in that room, Q. Don’t tell me she saw me and Will…together.”

    “Well, she did,” Q said.

    “Oh, my gods,” Dani said, resuming her walk to Q’s guest quarters. “You brought my mother to spy on me.”

    “No. I didn’t bring her here, my father did,” Q corrected. “Plus, I already told you, he doesn’t see it as spying.”

    “I know. To him, it’s an ‘educational experience’,” Dani said, repeating the elder Q’s excuse. “That still doesn’t make it right.” Dani and Q stopped walking in front of a set of doors. “This is it,” she said. She entered a code on the key pad next to the door, which released the locking mechanism and allowed them entry. The doors slid open, and Dani and Q walked in.

    “Will this do?” Dani asked.

    “I suppose it’ll have to,” Q said. “I’ll have to get used to sleeping again. Without my powers, I’m subject to the limitations of humanity.”

    “Poor you,” Dani dead-panned.

    “It’s not all bad, though. It means I get to try this sex thing all you humans are raving about.”

    Dani regarded Q like a child who didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He was obviously eager to learn more about the subject of sex, but Dani knew he hadn’t the first inkling of what it was really all about.

    “Q,” she began, “there’s a lot you don’t know about sex.” This was becoming a little awkward for Dani. She felt like she was talking to the little brother she never had, trying to educate him about the ways of the universe. In reality, this “little brother” had probably seen more and done more than she would ever dream of. She continued. “It’s not like something as simple as eating or sleeping. It can get complicated.”

    “You can teach me,” Q said eagerly, stepping to Dani.

    “Whoa,” she said taking a step back.

    “What’s the matter?”

    “I can’t teach you what you want to know.”

    “Why not? You did it with Commander Riker, and he’s almost an ape. I’m sure you and I would be more than compatible.”

    Dani sighed. Q’s father had obviously been influencing Q’s opinions of Will, but she let it slide. “Q,” she said, leading him to the couch. They sat. “A lot of times two people who have sex are in a relationship with each other. Most times, in this relationship, the two people involved sort of mutually agree to only have sex with each other and nobody else while they’re a couple. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

    Q looked thoughtful for a moment. “So, you’re saying we can’t have sex because you and Commander Riker are a couple.”

    “Right.” Dani was beginning to think that explaining this might not be so difficult after all. This was a Q she was talking to. The Q aren’t exactly what one would call dunces.

    “Well, are there people who aren’t couples who have sex?” Q asked.

    “Yes…”

    “Are there some couples who aren’t exclusive to one another?”

    Dani could see where this was headed. “Some,” Dani admitted slowly, “but it’s not exactly looked upon as being a good thing. It’s actually kind of bad. It’s really bad, depending on who you talk to. It’s called cheating.”

    “Cheating?” Q asked. “I wasn’t aware this was some sort of game.”

    “It isn’t. It’s just a word that people decided could be used in more than one context. It fits the situation. If it’s been agreed upon that you’re only supposed to be with one partner, and you have two, it’s wrong.”

    “Oh. Well, it seems to me that if both parties want to stray, it shouldn’t be considered cheating,” Q countered.

    Dani sighed. “In some cases it’s not. But that’s kind of rare. There are a few cases, though, such as the one in your example. I told you this could get complicated.”

    “Right, which is why we should have just gone with my first suggestion.” Q moved in to steal a kiss from Dani, who immediately rose and walked to the other side of the room.

    “No, Q, I’m not going to be your partner,” she said sternly. “Why can’t you just do this with one of the females from the Continuum?”

    Q sat back on the sofa and thought for a moment. “I’ve never thought about that. Maybe…”

    “Good.” Dani was relieved. She only hoped that Q was going to give this sex thing a rest for good – at least for the duration of his time aboard the Enterprise. “Are you hungry?” she asked him. Dani’s stomach was reminding her that she hadn’t finished her dinner and that it might be a good idea to get something to eat.

    Q had to contemplate for a minute on whether he was hungry or not. “I think I am,” was his answer to Dani’s inquiry. “My stomach is rumbling.”

    “You’re hungry. Come on – I’ll show you to Ten-Forward so we can catch a late dinner. I didn’t eat much the first time I had dinner today.”

    “I know,” Q quipped.

    Xxx

    Dani and Q walked into Ten-Forward at about 2100 hours. It wasn’t too crowded, but there were a good number of people in the room. Dani spotted Will sitting at a table with Deanna. Dani and Q walked over to the two.

    “Mind if we join you?” Dani asked.

    Will looked up. A little smile spread through his beard. “Not at all,” he said. “Please do.” Dani sat down next to Will, Q next to Deanna.

    “Q, this is Counselor Deanna Troi and Commander Will Riker,” Dani introduced. “Will, Deanna – Q.”

    “Well, it’s nice to have been formally introduced,” Will said, hinting at the evening’s earlier incident with a bit of obvious displeasure.

    “Nice to meet you, Q,” Deanna said with a warm, friendly smile. “How do you like your quarters?”

    “It’s going to take some getting use to,” Q said. “I don’t usually sleep.”

    “Well, then this should be quite and experience for you.”

    “I’m hoping it will be.” Q studied the woman who’d been introduced to him as Troi. She was quite attractive, by human standards, and she was very polite.

    A waiter walked over to the table and took Will and Dani’s orders.

    “What would you like, sir?” the waiter asked Q. Q looked from Will to Deanna to Dani. “What should I get?” he asked them.

    “Hmm…” Dani searched her mind, trying to think of the perfect meal choice for a Q. It wasn’t often that she had to pick out a meal for someone who probably hadn’t eaten in years. It was a more daunting task than would be initially thought. “Well, pasta’s always a good choice. How about a plate of fettucini alfredo?”

    “You’re the ones who do this everyday, so, whatever you say,” Q said. He looked up at the waiter. “What she said.” The waiter nodded and walked off to retrieve their meals.

    “One of the joys of being human is eating,” Deanna commented. “Given the choice between eating and receiving all my nutrition via other faster, more efficient methods, I ‘d choose eating any day.”

    “I agree,” Will said. “Although, for me, preparing the meal is also a big part of the draw.”

    “Replicating it?” Q asked.

    “Cooking it,” Will clarified.

    “Cooking? I always thought that was considered a primitive waste of time among humans.”

    “For some, it is,” Dani said, “but those are the ones who’ve never had a real home – cooked meal before. Ask anyone whose ever had real fruit and replicated fruit which is better. The real fruit wins everytime, hands down.”

    Will added, “The replicator’s a nice convenience, but nothing beats the real thing.”

    The waiter returned with the table’s orders. He placed an omlette in front of Will, a bowl of vegetable beef soup in front of Dani, a plate of fettucini alfredo in front of Q, and an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce in front of Deanna.

    Q looked curiously at the plate of pasta before him.

    “Go ahead-” Dani urged, “-dig in.”

    Q awkwardly picked up his fork. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” he said. He turned to Dani. “What if I don’t like it?”

    “It’s no big deal,” Dani assured him. “If you don’t like it, we’ll just have the waiter take it away, and he’ll put it in the recycler. No love lost there.” She gave Q an encouraging smile. “But you’ll never know if you like it or not until you try it.”

    Q looked back down at the pile of sauce-covered pasta. He timidly immersed his fork in it and brought it out covered in the stuff. He opened his mouth, shoved the pasta-loaded fork in, and chewed. He realized that, although the food had a slimy texture, it was quite good. It didn’t require much chewing at all and was very easy to eat. He looked at his table mates to find that they were all staring at him in anticipation, as if they’d themselves cooked the meal and were now awaiting his approval.

    “This is absolutely…” Q had to search for the right word. He wasn’t quite sure how to describe this sensation. Then it came to him. “…Delicious.”

    Deanna, Will, and Dani smiled and looked at one another. Now, they could commence with eating their own meals. Will cut a square out of his omlette and shoved it into his mouth. Dani sampled a spoonful of her soup. And Deanna scooped a spoonful of her sundae into her mouth.

    “So, Counselor,” Q said, his mouth full of pasta, “have you ever had sex?”

    Will choked on his omlette. Dani nearly spit out her soup. Deanna seemed to retain her composure. She calmly swallowed the spoonful of sundae that’d been on her tongue. “That’s an interesting question, Q,” she said.

    Dani and Will looked at each other. They both felt like parents whose child had just said something he wasn’t supposed to say.

    Xxx

    “I can’t believe he asked her that,” Dani said. “I mean, we’d just finished discussing how it’s an intimate act between two people. I thought it was over. I’m so embarrassed.”

    “Why should you be embarrassed?” Will asked. The two were back in her quarters. It was approximately 2230 hours the same night.

    “Because…” Dani began, but found that she couldn’t spit out an answer. Why was she embarrassed by Q’s actions and words? She chuckled and sat down on the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t have any logical reason to be embarrassed by Q. We’re not related, not biologically, anyway. I didn’t bring him onboard. I’m not responsible for him while he’s here. I’m not his caretaker.”

    Will sat down beside Dani on the couch. “Look, it probably has something to do with the fact that you met Q before anyone else here did. You’re probably feeling like you’re responsible for his being here, which is completely absurd. Besides, and I can’t even believe I’m saying this, maybe Q is only here to learn about human relationships. There’s no guarantee that he’s going to cause any trouble.”

    “Yeah,” Dani acquiesced. “Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions.” She turned to Will. “Are you the assistant counselor or something? When did you start handing out consolation like that?”

    Will shrugged. “Tonight,” he said.

    Dani sighed. “What a first day,” she said, leaning back. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a first day with this much activity.”

    “Me either.” He leaned back and rested on the sofa as well. “It wasn’t all bad, though.” He looked at Dani. “Was it? I seem to remember that right before this whole Q mess started, we were having quite a good time.” He smiled.

    “Yes, it was okay,” Dani said dismissively.

    Will’s expression fell. “Just okay?”

    “There’s something else I didn’t tell you about our run-in with Q,” Dani said, ignoring Will’s question.

    “What more could there possibly be?”

    “Q wants to experience life,” Dani said.

    Will regarded her quizzically. “He has been relieved of his powers. I don’t know how much closer to human he could get.”

    Dani sighed. Will didn’t understand. Dani would have to do a little explaining on this subject. “He wants to experience all the aspects of life.” She looked into Will’s face, but only saw more confusion. She sighed and finally said, “He wants to have sex with someone. That’s why he asked Deanna what he did. He would have asked her to be his partner if I hadn’t told him he was tired.”

    “Oh, great,” Will sighed. “Just what we need-a horny Q onboard.” He rested his forehead in his hand. He could feel a headache forming at the prospect of having to deal with the ramifications of Q sewing his wild oats with the female crew. “I’m just glad he didn’t have enough experience at being human, yet, to know that he wasn’t really tired.”

    “He wanted me to be his partner,” Dani revealed.

    Will looked at Dani, surprise written all over his face. “You said no, didn’t you?” he asked.

    “Of course I did. Do you know how weird that would be? He’s supposed to be my cousin. Even if it isn’t by blood, it’s still…” Dani shivered. “Besides, mating with the Q is not exactly high on my list of things to do.”

    “Good thing I’m not a Q,” Will said, his mood becoming more serene.

    Dani looked at him. “It sure is,” she said moving closer to him. “Because I would never do this to a Q.” She kissed him on one cheek. “Or this.” She kissed him on the other cheek. “Or this.” She delivered a generous kiss to his lips. “Or this…” she said, as she began to unzip the front of his uniform.

  • Return to Normal – Chapter 3

    “Bridge to Lt. Janeway. Lt. Janeway, report to the bridge.”

    Dani rolled over, and her eyelids slowly fluttered open.

    “Lt. Janeway, report to the bridge immediately.”

    Dani blinked a few times and yawned.

    “Bridge to Lt. Janeway. Lt. Janeway, come in.”

    Dani’s eyes popped open. “Computer, time.”

    “The time is 0820 hours,” the computer said in a seemingly cheerful tone.

    “Shit!” Dani exclaimed as she bolted out of bed. She’d overslept. ‘What the hell happened to my alarm?’ she thought frantically before coming to the conclusion that she must’ve forgotten to set it.

    “Shit!” she exclaimed again.

    “Lt. Janeway, please report!” Will’s voice came boomed through her comm badge.

    Dani looked to her nightstand. Not there. “Where is it?” she asked aloud. She dropped to her knees and crawled around on the floor looking for her badge. She crawled over to her dress uniform top and picked it up. ‘Bingo!’ she thought. She picked the badge up as another summons from Will was coming through.

    “I’m on my way,” Dani replied, hurriedly.

    Dani was dressed in 15 minutes. As a result of her hasty dress, however, her hair was, simply pinned up, in a condition a little lacking of its usually pristine appearance, and she’d forgone any make-up at all.

    In another 15 minutes, it was nearly 0900 hours, and Dani was just walking onto the bridge. When the turbolift doors opened, Dani hesitated a bit before stepping out onto the bridge. All eyes were on her. She looked at Will. He was giving her a highly-peeved gaze, and he wasn’t kidding or exaggerating in the least.

    As Dani stepped onto the bridge, Will quipped, “Glad you decided to join us, Lt.”

    “I apologize, Commander,” Dani said walking to her station. “It won’t happen, again.”

    “See to it that it doesn’t,” Will almost yelled. “Man your post.”

    “Yes, sir,” Dani said, sitting down at the Ops station.

    “Current operational status, Lt?” Will requested brusquely.

    Dani’s fingertips danced over the station’s console. “All systems functioning within acceptable parameters, sir.”

    Xxx

    During her lunch break, Dani found herself in Ten-Forward, alone at a table near a viewport. She hadn’t even been on board 24 hours, and she was already screwing things up. She’d been threatened with court-martial by an admiral the night before, and this morning there had been the whole ordeal with her being late for her very first bridge shift.

    Dani looked up from her lunch and saw Will walk by with Deanna, Geordi, and Data. Dani was overcome by an wave of embarrassment. All of them had been present this morning to witness her incident. Dani quickly switched chairs so that her back would be to the newly-arrived group.

    Deanna sensed an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment coming from someone in the room. She sat down and scanned the room, curious to discover who the embarrassment was originating from. Her eyes fell on a lone person sitting at a table near a viewport across the room.

    “Will,” she started, “isn’t that Dani?”

    Will followed Deanna’s gaze to the person she had determined to be the producer of the dismal emotions. His heart sank. He imagined she must feel terrible.

    “Excuse me,” he said to his lunchmates as he stood and abandoned their table in favor of Dani’s. “Hi,” he said to Dani. She looked up at him briefly before returning her attention to her cold lunch. Will took the seat across from her.

    “Hi,” Dani said.

    Xxx

    Deanna turned her attention to Geordi and Data.

    “You don’t think Will was too harsh on Dani this morning, do you?” she asked the two of them.

    “On the contrary,” Data replied.

    “You think he was too lenient?” Deanna asked.

    “It’s hard to say,” Geordi contributed. “I’d say she got off a little easily. Anyone else, and he’d probably have been on her case all morning.”

    “I would have to concur with Geordi’s assessment,” Data said.

    Deanna was surprised to learn this. The last thing she wouldn’t thought of Will’s treatment of the situation was that he was being lenient.

    “I’ve seen officers get busted down to maintenence duty for tardiness before,” Geordi commented, taking a sip from his beverage.

    Deanna comtemplated this for a moment. “You’re saying Will went easier on Dani than he would have on other officers.”

    “I don’t think he did it on purpose,” Geordi said, “but I do think he was a little easy on her.”

    Xxx

    “What happened to you this morning?” Will was asking Dani.

    “I forgot to set my alarm last night, I suppose,” Dani said. “Either that, or it’s malfunctioning. I don’t know. Whatever it was, I overslept. I’m sorry.”

    “It happens to just about everyone at least once during their career,” Will said, attempting to comfort her. “At least the captain wasn’t on the bridge at the time.”

    “Yeah, I know. I don’t even want to imagine that scenario.” Dani continued to ponder her cold slice of pizza. “I’m such a screw-up. You were way too easy on me.”

    “Nonsense. I would have done the same for any officer who’s late for his shift,” Will insisted. “Besides, there are people on this ship who have screwed up much worse than you have, believe me. Remember when Reg Barclay was serving aboard the Enterprise?”

    Dani smiled and said, “Of course. There was that time when I was onboard and he had that holodeck addiction.”

    “Exactly. And he was always late for his shifts.”

    “Yeah. Not to put Reg down or anything, but I don’t want to be compared to him.”

    “You wouldn’t want to be compared to a person who helps bring long, lost star ships back from the Delta Quadrant?” Will asked, turning the tables.

    Dani looked at Will. He did have a point. If it hadn’t been for Barclay, Voyager wouldn’t have established communication with Starfleet when they had. “I guess you never really know what people are capable of,” she said.

    “No, you don’t. But I like to think I know what you are capable of.”

    “Well, if today so far is anything to go on, that isn’t not much.”

    “You’ve had a rough morning; that’s all.”

    “I guess.”

    “You’ve got to learn the ropes of a starship again. It’s a lot different than being on a station.”

    Dani nodded and sighed. “I guess.”

    “I’m really excited to have you onboard,” Will said, his tone softening. “I’ve missed you so much.”

    “I’ve missed you, too, Will.” Dani looked into Will’s clear blue eyes and smiled for the first time that day. When she noticed a group of her peers walk by and give her less than friendly looks, however, her smile disappeared.

    Will noticed her change in demeanor immediately. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

    “I’m getting this vibe that the other junior officers don’t really like me,” Dani admitted.

    “How could you know that? You haven’t even been onboard two days.”

    “I know. It’s small stuff. Looks in the corridor, remarks behind my back that they think I don’t hear.”

    Will thought this would be the perfect time to bring up the conversation he’d had with Deanna before Dani had boarded. “Dani, yesterday, Deanna told me she’d been receiving reports from people who were worried about you,” he revealed.

    “Why would they be worried about me?” Dani asked.

    “They’re questioning your loyalty to Starfleet.”

    Dani laughed resentfully. “Just like the admiralty, huh?”

    “They’re also worried about you receiving special treatment from the command staff.”

    Dani shook her head and let out another little laugh. “It’s like being back at the Academy again. I can’t get away from it.”

    “I’m going to meet with the department heads today to remind them of a few…policies.”

    “About special treatment,” Dani surmised.

    “Yes,” Will admitted. “We don’t want to give anyone an excuse to make your life aboard the Enterprise more difficult.”

    Dani nodded. She understood perfectly. “Thanks.”

    “I’ve got to get back early for my meeting with the department heads. I’ll see you back on the bridge a little later.” Dani nodded. “Don’t be late this time,” Will added with a smile.

    “I won’t,” Dani said, adding a little smile of her own.

    As Will stood there looking down at Dani, he contemplated whether or not he should kiss her. Would it make things more difficult for her if he did? Would she care if it did? As he gazed at her, he realized that he was going to kiss her, regardless of what everyone else thought. He bent down and briefly pressed his lips against Dani’s. “I love you,” he quickly whispered into her ear.

    When Will stood upright again, both he and Dani realized that some of the people in the room were staring. Among them were the group Will had walked in with and the group of junior officers who’d walked past Dani’s table with less-than-enthusiastic glares.

    “I’ll see you on the bridge,” Will said to Dani.

    “Okay,” Dani nodded.

    Will gave final glances to his group and the group of junior officers as well. They all returned their attention to the conversations at their respective tables as Will left Ten-Forward.

    Xxx

    Nearby, the small group of junior officers sat across the room, watching with disdain as the ship’s first officer interacted intimately with a mere junior officer.

    “There’s got to be some kind of protocol against that,” Ensign Eric Clements said to his peers at the table. “Officers shouldn’t be allowed to go around seducing their commanding officers that way.”

    Ensign Marta Shields nodded in agreement. “She’s been working on him for a long time,” she said. “They started seeing each other before she even got into the Academy. She’s got the one-up on all of us. We were all in the same class, and we’re all still ensigns while she’s smooching it up with the first officer and is on a first-name basis with the senior staff.”

    “One bar of gold pressed latinum says she’ll reach full lieutenant before six months,” Clements wagered.

    “I’ll second that,” Marta said.

    “Well, we can’t all bet for the same thing,” Clements joked. “Wouldn’t be a real bet then.” He chuckled.

    “We don’t know what’s going on in her or the commander’s lives,” Ensign Paul Milsap said, speaking up for the first time during the conversation.

    “I guess we know who his bet’s for,” Clements said.

    “I just don’t think it’s fair, what we’re saying about Commander Riker and Janeway,” Paul said.

    “Oh, jeez!” Clements exclaimed.

    “What?” Paul asked innocently.

    “Don’t give me that crap.”

    “What?” Paul pressed. What was he saying that was so wrong?

    “She’s a spoiled brat, and that’s all there is to it,” Clements concluded. “It’s people like her, the people who haven’t pulled their own weight, who are dragging Starfleet down.” He took a final sip from his drink and stood. “I haven’t even mentioned that whole business with that spoonhead.”

    “Yeah,” Marta said, standing as well. “She’s probably a spy.”

    “Let’s go. Don’t want to be late,” Clements said.

    “Yeah. With her onboard, we don’t need to do anything that ‘s going to make her look better than she already looks in the eyes of the senior staffers,” Marta added.

    Paul looked up at his two friends. He didn’t agree with them that Dani Janeway was simply a spoiled ‘Fleet brat, and that was it. There had to be more to her than that. After all, she had made it through the Academy and command school.

    He stood and walked out of Ten-Forward with Eric and Marta. Paul didn’t care who she was, he’d never believe that those Academy instructors would simply pass Janeway because of who she was. It wasn’t likely at Starfleet Academy, and it was sure as hell impossible in the Command School sequence. In fact, they’d probably all given her a harder time because of her familial connections, Paul guessed. Having to constantly prove that she was worthy, Paul figured she was probably a better officer than most of the people walking around this ship.

    Xxx

    Dani’s shift was over at 1600 hours. When she reached her quarters a little after that time, she was surprised to find that her dinner table was set.

    “Now, I know I didn’t leave my quarters like this when I left this morning,” Dani said aloud. When Dani’d rushed out, she’d barely unpacked. Now everything was neatly decorated and in its place as if she’d been living there for years.

    “That’s right.”

    Dani looked to her right and realized that it was Will who had spoken to her. He was walking out of Dani’s bedroom toward her with a warm smile on his face and a glint in his blue eyes.

    “This place was a mess when I first walked in here a few hours ago,” Will said.

    “You cleaned all this up?” Dani asked

    “I sure did,” Will said. He kissed Dani gingerly on the lips. “I also have a meal waiting for you.”

    “Ooh…”

    “It’s replicated, though. Would’ve been freshly cooked if I’d gotten off my shift a little earlier.” Will led Dani over to the dining area.

    “Smells delicious,” Dani said as she sat down in the chair will had pulled out for her. She watched as he walked around to the other side of the table and seated himself.

    “I know you haven’t exactly had the easiest first day,” Will said. “I just wanted to do a little something special for you. It isn’t much, but I didn’t want your first memory of serving aboard the Enterprise to be all bad.”

    “My day hasn’t really been all that bad,” Dani said. “No worse than some of my days at the Academy. It’s just been a little bumpy is all.” She gave Will a reassuring look. “Nothing I can’t handle.” She looked at the food already on her plate, prepared to be eaten. “So, what do we have here?” she asked, unfolding her napkin and spreading it over her lap. “Steak, brown rice, rolls …”

    “Those are still among your favorites, right?” Will asked. “Or some of them, at least?” It’d been so long since they’d last dined together. He hoped her tastes in food hadn’t changed too drastically in three months.

    “You’re damn right.” Dani easily cut into the thick, juicy slab of replicated meat. She stabbed the little square of meat with her fork and raised it to her mouth and chewed it with great ease. “It’s so tender,” Dani marvelled, chewing.

    “I know you like it like that,” Will said. He watched her eat, realizing that he wasn’t really hungry, himself. He’d spent the time to prepare the meal for two people, but all of a sudden, it occurred to him that he didn’t have an appetite for food. He had an appetite for something else.

    In a few minutes, Dani had worked her way halfway through the eight-ounce steak.

    “I can’t eat another bite,” she said pushing her plate away from her a little. Will looked slightly alarmed. Dani was usually such a hearty eater. Tonight, she hadn’t even finished her steak. She’d barely touched the side dishes.

    “Is there something wrong with it?” Will asked.

    “Oh, no. It was absolutely intoxicating,” She assured him. She stood.

    “Well, what’s the matter?” Will probed.

    “I just don’t want to get too full,” Dani informed him, walking around the table to join Riker on his side. He followed her stride with his eyes. She walked around the back of his chair, tracing her finger along his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to have to skip desert.”

    Will looked up at her with sudden panic. He hadn’t thought about providing a dessert at all.

    “I forgot about dessert,” he said sadly.

    Dani leaned down so that she was face to face with Will. “I didn’t.” She traced her finger through his beard.

    Will was suddenly made aware. He still recognized that look in her eyes, even if it had been a while since he’d seen it last.

    He smiled and asked, “What are we having?”

    “It’s one of your favorites,” Dani purred.

    “Oh, really?”

    Dani nodded. “Mm-hm.” She worked her fingers to the inside of Will’s uniform collar and gently pulled. Will obediently stood. Dani led him to her bedroom.

    Xxx

    “Watch what happens next, son. See how the female seduces the male? Human males are so weak. Especially this one.”

    “He’s such an ape. What does she see in him?”

    “That’s always been a mystery to me, son. But it seems that women are overwhelmingly attracted to this particular one.”

    “Maybe human females like ape-like men. Like Aunt Kathy – her husband resembles this male. Only less hairy.”

    “I see your point.”

    “Look at this. This is such a primitive, inefficient way of reproducing. I don’t see the point of engaging in this sort of act.”

    “Apparently, reproducing isn’t the only reason humans engage in this activity.”

    “What other reason could there be?”

    “Who knows? Why do you think I keep watching them? I’m trying to find out.”

    Xxx

    Will and Dani kissed each other hungrily

    “Oh, Dani,” Will sighed, “I’ve been waiting to do this all day.”

    “You’ve been planning this all day?” Dani asked.

    “No.”

    “Oh.”

    “I’ve been planning it all week.”

    “Oh!” yelped a delighted Dani, as Will hit a nerve somewhere.

    “Let me take a look at you, at what I’ve been missing.”

    Xxx

    “My, my…Danielle certainly has matured, hasn’t she? I can’t wait to tell your Aunt Kathy what her daughter’s doing.”

    “Dad…”

    “Better yet, why don’t I show her?”

    “Dad!”

    “Just a moment, son. I want you to watch this.” A moment later, Admiral Kathryn Janeway appeared. She looked around the room puzzled for a few moments because only a moment ago, she’d been in her office, preparing to leave for the day. She quickly realized what had happened, though.

    “What are you doing here?” she inquired. “Where are we? What have you done now?”

    “My dear Kathy, it’s not what I’ve done, but what your daughter is about to do.”

    Kathryn thought for a few seconds. She turned, looked over her shoulder, and saw a naked Will Riker moving toward her equally naked daughter. Once it clicked with Janeway what was going on, she clapped her hand over her eyes and quickly turned back around.

    “Why are you showing me this?” she asked removing her hand from her eyes. “And why are you showing this to your son?”

    “I’m trying to teach him about human interaction.”

    “I’m sure there are other ways to do this.”

    “Of course there are. But this way is the best.”

    “You’re invading their privacy. This is an intimate act between two consenting adults. You should not be watching this.”

    “Well, you don’t have to watch if you to want to.” Before she could say anything else, Kathryn disappeared in a flash of light.

    Xxx

    Will and Dani were now wrapped together in the bedsheets, moving together. Will, on top of Dani, kissed her deeply, burying his hands in her long, dark locks.

    Xxx

    “Why are they making those noises?”

    “You know, I always wondered about that. You see, son, from what I’ve seen, heard, and been told, what they’re doing is supposed to feel good.”

    “Why do they sound like they’re in pain, then? And those faces their making – you’d think they’re killing each other.”

    “I don’t know. I don’t understand it.”

    Xxx

    Will sat up, pulling Dani to him. She sat with her legs on either side of him. They pulled closer to one another as he nuzzled and kissed her ear, her neck, her collar. Dani moaned breathily and writhed on top of Will, each movement and noise she made driving him closer to the edge.

    “Oh, Dani. Dani…Dani,” he moaned.

    Xxx

    “Watch what happens, son.”

    The couple disappeared from the bed and bedroom in a quick flash of light. They reappeared, again in a quick flash of light and still drapped in the bedsheets, on the deck of the bridge, in front of the captain’s chair

    “Oh, Will,” Dani cried in the throes of ecstasy. “Will, Will.”

    “Dani…” Will murmured.

    Dani threw her head back, opened her eyes, and was thoroughly alarmed to find that she was no longer in her bedroom. She was on the bridge, and all eyes, including the captain’s, were on her and Will. A yelp of surprise escaped her lips and she clung to Will even more.

    “Oh, yeah, sweetheart,” Will said, totally unaware of the fact that his and Dani’s intimate act of love was being witnessed by the entire bridge crew of the Beta shift.

    “Will,” Dani whispered into Will’s ear.

    “Dani…” Will murmured.

    “Will,” Dani said a little more forcefully.

    “Oh, Dani,” Will said.

    “Will!” Dani exclaimed.

    “Yeah…”

    “Ahem.” Captain Picard stepped away from his chair and toward the couple on the deck. Will immediately ceased kissing Dani and opened his eyes. When he did that, he realized, just as Dani had, that they had somehow ended up on the bridge.

    “What the hell…” Will muttered, instinctively pulling Dani closer to him. “What is this?”

    Everyone turned his head at the sound of clapping. What they found was Q walking around to the front of the bridge.

    “Very good, Commander,” Q said. “Very good show.”

    “Q!” Will hissed. He and Dani struggled to rise together while remaining wrapped in the bedsheet. They were finally successful and able to stand.

    “Q!” Picard began, “What the devil do you think you’re doing?!”

    “Nothing, Mon Capitan,” Q said innocently. “Just giving my boy a little lesson in human interaction.”

    “Q, what are you talking about?” Picard asked.

    “Q’s here?” Dani asked. Q snapped his fingers, and his son appeared. “Q!”

    “Hello, cousin,” the younger Q greeted cheerily. “You’re looking well.”

    “Q, what is going on?” Dani demanded.

    “Nothing,” the two Qs said in unison.

    Picard was confused and was quickly losing his patience. “Q, I want you and your Q friend here off my bridge, and I want my officers back in their own clothes this instant!”

    “Temper, temper, mon Capitan,” Q warned playfully. “I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to my son.”

    “Your son?” Deanna asked, taking a step forward.

    “Yes. Everyone, this is my son – Q. Q, meet everyone.”

    “Well, well, Q, it seems you’ve been busy since we last met,” Picard dead- panned. “And he’s a spitting image of his father. Now get off my ship.”

    “This is all good and well, but it doesn’t explain why I’m standing in the middle of the bridge wearing nothing but a bedsheet,” Will said, obviously growing madder by the minute.

    “My, my, you are dull,” Q-senior said. “Obviously, you can’t do what you two were doing with your clothes on. But that’s beside the point. I’m teaching young Q, here, about the nature of human relationships. You and Dani were the perfect example. Simply put, you were in the right place at the right time.”

    Dani’s eyes grew wide. “You spied on us?” She looked from one Q to the other. “How dare you!” At this point, she was ready to pounce on them, the sheets be damned. If Will hadn’t placed a calming hand on her arm, she would have.

    “She’s obviously inherited her mother’s temper,” Q whispered to his son.

    “Q,” Dani said, addressing the younger Q, “put us back in my quarters NOW!”

    “Oh, all right,” Q agreed reluctantly. He snapped his fingers, and Will and Dani disappeared from the bridge in two flashes of light and reappeared in her bedroom in her quarters.

    “I can’t believe that little creep,” Dani said, dropping the bedsheet and moving to get dressed. “Spying on us!”

    “I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life,” Will said.

    “People are going to be talking about this for weeks,” Dani said. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to look anyone on this ship in the eye again. The nerve of him! Invading our space and our time like that. I never thought Q – the younger one – would be capable of anything like this. I thought he’d learned his lesson when he was onboard Voyager.”

    “I suppose we can’t blame him as the sole party responsible,” Will pointed out, also dressing. He pulled on his pants. “This was Q’s idea – the older one. He did bring his son here.”

    “I know.” She pulled on the different layers of her uniform’s top portion. “That doesn’t make it any less traumatic, though.” She plopped down on the bed and, with an exasperated sigh, dropped her head in her hands. “This is not what I need right now. I do not need this now.” Before she could stop them, tears were welling up in her eyes and falling down her cheeks. Will sat down beside her. “I’m never going to live this down, Will. I don’t know what to do. If it isn’t one thing, it’s going to be another. People are never going to leave me alone.”

    Will put his arms around Dani, and she leaned into him. “I’m not going to be able to do this. No one’s ever going to accept me for me. They’re always going to see me as one thing or another that’s not me.”

    “I know this doesn’t make things any better,” Will said. “I know it has the potential to make things a lot worse, actually. But you can’t give up. You’re strong, a fighter. You made it through the Delta Quadrant, Academy, Command School. I know you’re not going to let a few obstacles stop you. You know I’ll be here for you to help you. But you can’t give up. This is the stuff that’s going to make you even stronger than you already are. It’s supposed to be tough.”

    “I know, but I don’t think I’m cut out for this. I can’t handle it.”

    “You know, everyone goes through rough times in their lives, and there are plenty of people who simply give up before they even start to fight. It’s the greats who come through those hard times without folding. You are one of the great ones, Dani.”

    “No.”

    “Yes, you are.”

    “NO!” Dani got up and walked away from the bed. “No, I’m not. Everyone just thinks I’m supposed to be because who my grandfather was, and because of who my parents are, and because you are. But I’m not. I’m not! And I don’t want to be.”

    “Dani-“

    Dani shook her head and looked out the viewport. “I’m just going to end up being this big disappointment to everybody.” She looked down at her feet. “What if what everyone’s saying is right? What if I’m not making it on my own merits?”

    Will stood. “How could you say that?” Will asked walking over to Dani. “After all the hell Nimembeh put you through? After Command School? Come on, Dani. You know that’s not true. You’re letting them inside your head. They don’t know you. They’re going on assumptions. Part of your job is to prove those assumptions wrong. The only way to do that is to keep being the officer I know you are. Alright?” Dani nodded. “I’m surprised at you, wanting to give up like that.” He gently lifted her chin with his fingers. “It isn’t like you.” He walked over to the bed and picked up the red tunic of his uniform.

    “Q with a son,” Will mused. He sat down on the bed and began to pull on his socks and shoes. “I never would have dreamed it.”

    “Neither would I – until I actually saw the baby.” Dani walked over to Will. “You know, he wanted my mother to be the mother of his child.”

    Will looked up at Dani, obviously unaware of this little tidbit of information. “You’re kidding,” he said.

    “No. He gave up when he realized my mother would never concede. He convinced a female Q to mate with him and, well, the result is standing on the bridge. He named my mother the baby’s godmother.”

    “And you’re his ‘cousin’.”

    “Exactly.”

    “I understand now.”

    “And then, when he was older, his father dropped him off on Voyager so that he could learn a little something about maturity. Seems he was a little too wild for Q.” This earned another surprised look from Will. Dani continued. “He wreaked havoc on the ship before my mother brought him back down. And now he’s back.”

    “What does he want now?”

    “Q said he wanted to teach him about human interaction,” Dani reminded Will.

    “I know,” Will said. “But if the first thing that involves is spying on us and placing us in a compromising position on the bridge, I’m a little wary of what more this little lesson could involve.”