Things Old and New
Lao-ma
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For the past few hours, Deanna Troi had been looking through old boxes of her belongings. Things that she had brought with her years ago from her home on Betazed, but never gone through. This was the day she and Will had decided to move in together. Another great step in their relationship. First, there was the flirting in the library, which led to the bubble bath, and then the inevitable, when it came to Will Riker and his ways. Now they were going to share quarters. The entire situation made her laugh. She couldn‹t help but think, Why in the world did it take us eleven years to realize what we've been missing out on? "Oh well," Deanna said, giggling, "So much for remaining 'just friends' through the years."
So far, she'd had been through four boxes, all recalling specific memories from her past. In the first few, she found small tokens from her childhood. Pieces of handmade jewelry Deanna had created with her maternal grandmother. The woman otherwise known as 'Ma-ma' to her and only her. Despite the elder Troi's torrent relationship with her daughter, Lwaxana, Deanna and her grandmother were very close. She was the apple of her grandmother's eye. Cleopatra Troi spoiled her only grandchild whenever she had the chance. Even the mention of the name made the counselor smile. Once, when Deanna had brought up Cleo to Will in one of their casual conversations, he looked at her sideways in disbelief.
"Cleopatra Troi? As in like, the famous Cleopatra of the Nile, in ancient Egypt?"
"One in the same. And just as demanding," she giggled.
"Now I know where your mother gets it from."
"Yeah, but my grandmother had her soft spots," she grinned in recognition, "I was one of them."
"I can't imagine," Will said, smiling.
Deanna remembered the day she made the various necklaces and braclets with her grandmother in front of her. They had been sitting in the living room of the Troi mansion, near the magestic fireplace. Deanna was no more than five or six years old.
Cleopatra guided her granddaughter's hands as she braided thin strands of vine together, and wove tiny flowers in between. She had the honor of placing the finished product on Deanna's miniature wrist. It was beautiful. Her grandfather could not stop complimenting her on what a marvelous job she had done of crafting the band. Now as she held the dried braclet in her hands, Deanna smiled. She looked at it in amazement. It seemed so much smaller than it was all those years ago. Another item she came across was a soft, white mink blanket. She picked it up and pressed her nose against it, inhaling. The quilt still smelt of talcum powder. It had once been used as her crib blanket when she was a baby. Deanna's mind wandered at the very thought of her having children. She fondled the cover and envisioned herself cradling her own baby in it. She cuddled the delicate fabric against her cheek, grinning happily. Someday soon... Deanna quietly told herself.
The chime to her door chirped, bringing her out of her private state of mind. "Come in."
In strode her Imzadi, still ever-so-handsome, even in his standard uniform. "I see you're un-packing." He grinned at her.
"Yeah. I was just looking over a few things. I wouldn't want to overload your cabin with all my junk." She said with sarcasm.
"You know, if I had a heart, I might be laughing right now."
He crossed his arms and stared back at her. "Oh aren't you just so pitiful. Really, it doesn't suit you, my love." Deanna turned her attention back to her things scattered in front of her. When she felt him feigning to pout, she looked up again, and saw a pathetic puppy-dog eyed expression on his face. It made her laugh.
"Stop it," Deanna teased, shaking her head, "or I just might give in to your demands."
"Demands? Who said I had any demands?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't have to say anything. Pointing to her head, she added, "I hear everything, remember." When she gave a mischievious grin, it was he that laughed.
"Alright, fine. Well, in case you were wondering, I did actually come down here for something. You wouldn't happen to need any help moving all this stuff, do you?"
Deanna shrugged, "You know?" she looked around her, "I don't. I'll just have the rest of this transported straight to your quarters..." She looked up at him, "I mean, our quarters." She stressed the term for both their benefit. "Ah, the many uses for transporters. What would we do without them?" Deanna glanced at the chrono behind her, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be back on duty in five minutes?"
Will gave her a smug grin. "Maybe. Unless you decide to help me get out of it and give me the best five minutes of my life right here and now."
"Will!"
She grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him. He chuckled, "Okay, okay, I get the message."
He found a clear pathway to her among her things, and helped her up (she had been sitting on the floor the entire time). He held her and whispered in her ear, the playfulness from a minute ago gone from his voice. "I'm so glad we‹re doing this...finally."
Deanna smiled back at him, caressing his cheek. "So am I, imzadi. Now you better get going. It's not like Captain Picard isn't familiar with your stalling methods by now." He gave her a kiss, and slowly let her out of his embrace, "I know. I'm going to have to do something about that." He flashed another grin, and was out the door.
She took a moment to reflect on the atmosphere around her. The luxurious cabin that would be hers and his to share for years to come. This would be where she returned to every night after a log duty shift. The king size bed in the next room would be theirs to yield endless nights of undying passion. These were the windows she would stare out of in times of deep contemplation over whether they should have children. For the slightest moment, Deanna closed her eyes, made a wish with all her heart, and easily heard the laughter of her offspring, calling to her. She sighed in complete content. The thought of seeing his face, Will's face smiling at her, come through that door every day for the rest of her life was a notion of something she had waited all too long for. A committment, someone to share her thoughts and dreams with, every waking hour, for eternity. And it all started here, in this place. Their home.
Deanna went to a box that wasn't far from her and quickly recognized the items inside. One in particular caught her attention. A single photo of them, together, from the jungle. They stood at an opening at the base of the falls, in a passionate kiss. One single moment captured in a frame. Now as she looked at it, it seemed to sum up the passion of their lives. It was a symbol of their youth, their time together in the jungle, the begininning. She set it on a table nearby, and smiled at the memory.
Deanna continued to look on in admiration for a few more minutes. "Here‹s to many more memories, imzadi." She grinned to herself, and went back to going through what was left of the boxes. The day couldn't have turned out better.
For all things, old and new, they make up the past and the future...two things we cannot live through before the other.

END