DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount Studios, Inc and Viacom. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2002 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG.
Chance Encounter
by Djinn
From her seat at the bar,
Deanna Troi kept a watchful eye on the door of the
lounge while trying to appear as if she were completely absorbed in enjoying
her hot chocolate. She noticed the doors
opening across the corridor and saw the conference delegates begin filing past,
a few leaving their colleagues to duck into the lounge for a quick break, a
chance to talk in more privacy or just enjoy a raktajino
or coffee in peace.
She saw Picard and Will as
they walked past, both absorbed in whatever the Vulcan ambassador was
saying. They didn't see her. Not that she was doing anything wrong. So what if she didn't
have any business that required her to be in this section of Starfleet
Command? So she was looking for one
person in particular—that wasn't wrong. .
"Get us some raktajinos, Worf. I think that last speaker could bore the horn
off a targ."
Chancellor Martok pushed past the bar and her,
heading for a bank of replicators.
"Why did I let you talk me into coming to this outreach
conference?"
Worf turned to the replicator by the bar, ignoring all but
his task. She studied him as he ordered
the drinks. He seemed wilder now, less
civilized, less Starfleet. More Klingon. She looked away so that she could look up
again as he turned, this time to say in wonder, "Worf?"
His eyes widened. "Deanna."
"It's been a long
time."
He nodded, the two cups he
held in front of him seemingly forgotten as he looked at her.
"Whoever this is, she
better be interesting enough to keep your Chancellor waiting," Martok said, his voice laced with amusement.
She turned to look at him and
held out her hand. "Commander
Deanna Troi.
Ambassador Worf and I were shipmates on the Enterprise."
Martok took her hand.
She braced herself, but his grip wasn't crushing, was instead surprisingly
light. "I believe he may have mentioned
you a time or two." He looked at Worf, who still seemed at loss for words. Taking one of the raktajinos,
Martok smiled at her.
"I'll give you some time to catch up. Worf, I'll see you
back in the conference room."
Worf nodded.
She smiled, as Martok strode confidently into the crowd in the
corridor. "He indulges you."
"I am from his
house. And I did make him
Chancellor."
She laughed. "So that story is true? You really were Chancellor of the Klingon
Empire?"
"For a very short time,
yes." He stood stiffly.
"Worf,
sit down. I won't bite." She blushed then, remembering a time when he
bit her.
He smiled, obviously
remembering it too. "Hopefully, you
can say the same for me."
"A joke? My, you have come a long way. Deep Space Nine must have agreed with
you?" His smile faded and she felt
hers die also. It hadn't been his time
on the station that had taught him to tease; it had been Jadzia
Dax. "I'm sorry, Worf. I wasn't
thinking."
He looked down. "It has been nearly two years. I cannot let every mention of her upset
me."
"It's a testament to how
much you loved her that it does."
Deanna studied him and read the swirling emotions she felt coming off of
him. "I never got a chance to tell
you how sorry I was."
He nodded.
"It was a senseless
death."
He stiffened. "She is in Sto-Vo-Kor."
"I didn't
mean..." Deanna stared down at her
chocolate. "I'm sure she died
bravely." She looked over at him. He too was staring down into his drink. Reaching over to touch his hand lightly, she
said, "But too soon. Too
young."
The rush of sadness, of
loneliness that she felt as she touched him nearly sent her reeling. So sad.
How could one person be so profoundly sad?
"I heard that the Dax
symbiont didn't die?" she ventured cautiously, as she let go of his hand.
"It lives on."
"On the station, I
think?"
He nodded. Then, before she could ask anything else, he
said with forced cheerfulness, "You would be proud of Alexander,
Deanna. He is on the Ya'Vang,
serving as weapons officer."
"Yes, I know." At his look of surprise, she laughed. "Alexander and I became quite good
friends, you know. He's kept in touch
with me. Lets
me know how he's doing from time to time."
"I did not know."
"Why should
you?" She smiled softly. "You're proud of him then?"
"He does not dishonor
our house."
She shook her head. Nothing had changed. "Wouldn't it be easier to just say,
'yes'?"
He looked down. "Apparently not for me. Jadzia used
to..." He trailed off and the
silence between them was oppressive.
Deanna turned in her
stool. "You can talk about
her, Worf. It
might be better if you did."
"Better?" He looked at her suspiciously. "Better than what?"
"Better for
you." She sighed. "You don't talk about her, do you?"
"I honor her
memory."
"In silence?" She held up a hand as he turned to her with
an argument. "I withdraw the
question."
"I am not like you. It is not my way to"—he seemed to be searching
for the right word—"emote about her."
He gulped down his raktajino then busied
himself with ordering a new one. He
glanced over at her cup. "Hot
chocolate," he said with a grimace.
"Do you want another?"
"Yes, please."
"You still have a sweet
tooth."
"I will go to my grave
with one."
He shot a look at her.
"Worf,
it's a figure of speech. You can't take
every comment so personally."
He seemed to relax. "Martok tells
me the same thing."
"The Chancellor is a
wise man." She took the mug from him, set it down, and stirred it
gently. She could tell that Worf was staring at
her. After a few seconds, she looked up at him. "What?"
"You are well? I have not even asked."
She smiled gently. "I'm fine."
"You are still with
Riker?"
She nodded.
"He treats you
well?" He scowled, as if willing to
do something about it if she said that Will didn't.
"He and I are
fine."
Worf nodded.
"I was at his table for lunch yesterday. He seemed...uncomfortable around me."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I think I remind him of
a time when he almost lost you. It is
not easy to have to face that."
"No," she
agreed. "It's not." She waited for him to take a sip of his drink
and put the mug down before she said, "It couldn't have been easy seeing
the new Dax on the station?"
He didn't look at her. "It was not."
"Is she very like Jadzia?"
He shook his head. "She is her own person." Then he frowned. "Except there are all the memories of
the previous hosts, including Jadzia, inside
her. It can be very
confusing." He looked at
Deanna. "She is a counselor
too."
"Not a warrior like Jadzia?"
"Jadzia
was not a warrior."
"She was more of one
than I ever was." Deanna grinned as
she remembered all the times Worf had tried to teach
her to fight.
"You did all right. For a Betazoid." He smiled, then the expression faded.
She could read some new
emotions coming from him. "I never
regretted it. Our time
together." When he looked over at
her, she leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I treasure it, in fact."
He lifted his hand and
stroked her face gently. Then he turned
back to his drink. "I too never
regretted it."
Deanna smiled. "No, you just forgot it once you met Jadzia." At his
look, she raised her hand. "That's
how it should be, Worf. That's what love is. What it does.
It makes us forget everyone else that came before." She considered that. "Well, not forget. But they fade a bit to the background, and
only the one we truly love is there for us."
He nodded.
"She's still there, isn't
she, Worf?"
He didn't bother to argue,
just nodded. "I don't want to let
her go. I can't."
Deanna turned back to her
chocolate. "When it's time, you
will."
"Will I?" He was looking at her, eyes almost
beseeching. "Do I dishonor her by
not allowing her to rest?"
She smiled gently. "No, Worf. There's no dishonor."
He looked down. "She would not be angry with
me?" His voice sounded very
tentative.
"Not if she loves you, Worf. She'd only
want you to do what's right for you...in your own time."
"She would tell me to
move on. To find another to love."
"Would she?"
"I told Ezri that." He
saw Deanna's look and explained, "Dax's new host. I...we are friends
now. I did not stand in her way when she
fell in love."
Deanna grinned. "From the sound of your voice, you
didn't approve exactly either."
Worf glared at her.
"He is childish...not the man I would have chosen for
her." His look softened. "Yet he appears to make her happy."
She smiled in understanding. "Sometimes that's all that
matters."
He stared at her, his look
becoming even gentler, more familiar.
"We were happy once?"
She nodded. "We were." She took the hand he held out to her.
"You are happy with
him?"
"I am." She felt him squeeze her hand, then he let
go.
"Then I am happy for
you." He drank the rest of his raktajino. "I
must go. Martok
will be waiting."
She slid off her stool and
pulled him into a quick embrace.
"Take care of yourself, Worf."
He held her very tightly an for a moment buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled away, his voice all business,
his bearing proper. "It was good
seeing you, Commander."
"Goodbye,
Ambassador." She straightened and
nodded formally. Then ruined it all by grinning.
For a moment, she thought she
saw a twinkle in his eye, a tiny lessening of the sadness she felt coming from
him. They stood staring at each
other, then with a slight curl of his lips, he turned and left the room.
She watched the door for a long
moment before sitting back down to finish her chocolate.
##
She was tired by the time she
got back to her temporary quarters. She
took a quick shower before sitting down to read her messages. There were several from her mother, long and
full of gossip as usual. She was almost
through the last one when her door chimed.
She called out absently, "Come."
"Am I
interrupting?" Will's arms snaked around her, as he leaned over the back
of her chair and nuzzled her neck.
She smiled. "A very important letter."
He read over her
shoulder. "Trixen
did that? I'd have done more than just
grounded him."
Deanna laughed. "Well, for once, you and my mother
agree." She felt her smile fade,
said in a more serious tone, "But I don't want to talk about my
cousin."
He let go of her, walked over
to the couch and sat down. "What do
you want to talk about?"
She turned in her chair,
looked over at him. "I saw Worf today."
"How did you find that?"
"He thrives professionally. It's clear that Chancellor Martok is quite fond of him."
"Like a father."
Deanna nodded. "That's what I thought too."
"And emotionally? Does Worf thrive
emotionally?"
She got up and walked over to
the couch, curling in beside him. "No." As he pulled her closer, she turned to
look at him. "You were right. He is very sad."
He nodded. "Yesterday at lunch. I just felt as if he was floundering. Not that he wasn't in charge of himself. It was more..."
"What was going on
inside him." She nodded. "Maybe you should be the
counselor."
He shook his head. "I wouldn't be any good at it. Could barely talk to him at lunch. I kept trying to think of what I would want
people to say to me, if I'd lost you.
And since I couldn't come up with any anything that didn't seem trite, I
settled for saying nothing." He
smiled softly. "But I knew enough
to send you."
She smiled. "Yes, you did."
"Did you help him?"
"A little." She leaned back in his arms. "Most of it is just going to take
time. He loved her profoundly. He won't get over it quickly. But he'll be all right." She sighed.
"That's as much as I'll be able to do for him, short
of..." She trailed off in
embarrassment.
"Short of
what?" By his voice, it was clear
he knew exactly what she meant. And that
he wasn't having any of it.
She smiled. He was still jealous of Worf
after all these years. She remembered Worf's expression and thought that the sentiment might cut
both ways.
He leaned down and kissed her
cheek. "I'm afraid if it's a choice
of making Ambassador Worf feel better or keeping you
with me, then Worf is on his own."
"I had a feeling you'd
say that." She looked up at him and
smiled at how concerned he'd been when he told her of running into Worf, how worried he'd been. "You're a good man, Will Riker."
As he leaned in to kiss her,
he said, "Don't spread it around."
"I won't. Especially not to Worf." She grinned as she watched Will blanch at the
thought of Worf learning that he'd meddled in the
Klingon's affairs.
Then Will smiled at her again
but his eyes looked very sad.
"What is it?"
"Just thinking what it
would be like...to lose you." He
studied her face and touched her cheek lightly.
"To not be able to wake up beside you ever again."
She could feel the sadness
rolling off him at the thought; it felt much as Worf's
had. She felt tears threaten as, in a
moment of sheer indulgence, she let his emotion overwhelm her. He loved her so much. It was important to be reminded of that—too
easy to lose sight of it in the face of everyday life. Blinking hard, she touched his face and said,
"I'm right here."
He nodded, pulling her to
him. "And that's where you're
staying." He kissed her. As he lost himself in her, she heard him
whisper, "Forever."
She thought of Worf. Felt a
moment's sadness overpower her, even as she responded to Will's kisses. Forever.
Forever didn't always last
very long.
FIN