InsaneJournal

Will couldn’t believe it when he’d seen her name on the arrival list. He had been hoping that she’d come back but when months passed and she didn’t, he’d stopped wishing for it. He’d read the list three times to make sure he wasn’t imagining things and then he’d spoken to her on the network and told her that he would come and get her. She was in Medical where everyone ended up after their arrived and he waited impatiently outside the door for them to release her. He couldn’t help but wonder just exactly where she came from as it pertained to their relationship. How he greeted her depended a lot on that and he was a little bit nervous but when the door opened and she stepped into the hallway, he forgot all that.

“Deanna,” he said and walked over to hug her. No matter where she came from, he knew he’d be able to get away with at least that much. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s not the same without you.”

Deanna’s arms slipped around Will as she sunk into his embrace for a moment. However complicated their relationship could be at times, Will Riker was one of her best friends and just knowing he was here had made her feel better about being here. It was the Enterprise, at least, but it was still a century in the past and feeling the emotions of the other new arrivals had only made the experience more disconcerting.

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” she said as she pulled back and looked up at him with a smile.

She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and there was a part of him that would always love her. No matter what else might be happening in their lives, somehow they always found their way back to one another even as friends. “There’s a lot to take in at first, it took me a bit to get used to it.” Reluctantly he stepped away from her and gestured down the hall. “Come on, I’ll show you around. Where did they put you? I hope in the Crew quarters, they’re pretty nice and you don’t have a roommate although I had a very interesting one when I first arrived. Lucifer himself and he’s nothing like the stories you might have heard.”

Deanna glanced down at her datapad before looking back at him. “C-15,” she said as she read the assignment. She was still trying to wrap her head around not just all of this, but learning about the loss of their Enterprise, about Worf’s transfer and the end of their relationship. It was surreal to find out the person you were still dating from your own point of view was married to someone else. Curiosity colored her feature and she was happy to focus on something else for a moment. “The Lucifer?” she asked him.

“One and the same. Very nice guy actually. He runs the lounge here which by the way is on Deck Five and features free drinks all the time. I guess Starfleet decided that if people were going to come from all over the multiverse, they might do better if they were a little drunk for it.”

They were walking toward the turbolift as they spoke and his face lit up when she mentioned her room number. “Looks like we’re going to be neighbors. I’m in C-14.” The thought of her living next door to him made Will much happier than it probably should have and he couldn’t help but grin.

“Not a bad policy,” Deanna said with a grin, remembering all the time she had spent Ten Forward during her time on their Enterprise. “I could certainly go for a drink right now. It might make all of this easier to adjust to.”

She rolled her eyes at his comment about being neighbors. “Don’t think this means you can come by whenever you like,” she teased him, even though she was sure he knew he could. She wasn’t likely to turn him away anytime he wanted to see her.

“I promise that I will always give you fair warning before I knock on your door,” he laughed. “Even though you’d know I was there before I knocked.” Despite the years that had passed, the bond they had formed was still there. Maybe it wasn’t as strong as it had been when they were together but she could still sense him better than most and could communicate with him telepathically. Her mention of adjusting made him realize something.

“How are you doing? With all these different people, I mean. I know it can get overwhelming sometimes with a lot of new stimuli.”

“It’s been a lot to take in,” she admitted. “Beverly is from 10 years in our future. Ten years, Will! And I spoke with Worf’s future wife. Four years from now, he’s married.” She shook her head. Maybe she shouldn’t be talking to Will about the end of her relationship with Worf, given their history, but through the course of their friendship, they had never shied away from uncomfortable topics. There were few people she felt as comfortable talking to as she did with Will.

Will wasn’t going to say it but part of him was glad to hear that Deanna’s relationship with Worf hadn’t worked out. Maybe in the future there was a chance for them but that was somewhere else, right now there was the present to take in. “I knew that he transferred to Deep Space Nine,” he replied. “I learned that from Jadzia Dax but I didn’t realize he’d gotten married.”

Deanna nodded. “That’s what she told me, too, that he transferred after our Enterprise was destroyed and that ‘things happened’.” She made air quotes with her fingers, clearly irritated by the situation. Maybe they’d parted ways in her future, but that wasn’t the present for her and she hadn’t likes finding out that way.

“I’d say if they got married, ‘things happened’ is a bit of an understatement,” he said drily. “I suppose I should say I’m sorry things didn’t work out for the two of you so consider it said.” Will grinned at her. “But I never understood what you saw in him. I mean he’s a good guy and all but I wouldn’t have thought you’d fall for a Klingon although admittedly Worf isn’t your typical Klingon.” What he really wanted to say was that he had always hoped she’d come back to him but he wasn’t saying and he was trying to remember how to block his thoughts so she didn’t read that thought.

“Hey, be nice!” she said, but she couldn’t help laughing as she playfully smacked his arm. She knew Will cared about Worf, albeit in a different way than her, and truthfully he didn’t have to understand their relationship. She had fallen for Worf and it hurt to find out so suddenly that it hadn’t lasted.

“I'll do my best to be nice but it’s not easy, you should know that by now,” he laughed as they stepped into the turbolift and he pressed the button for C Deck. Growing serious for a moment, he looked down at her. “I meant it when I said that I’m really glad you’re here. I’ve missed having you around.”

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” she said and she meant that. With all of today’s other revelations and the jolt of unexpectedly ending up in the past, it was nice to have something so familiar to her. It was comforting.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive on C Deck and a few moments later, they were standing in front of the door marked C-15. “This is me,” she said with a small smile, lifting up on her toes to press a quick kiss to his cheek before she went inside. “Thank you, Will.”