”Different Choices II”

Author Pia Pedersen

Summary: The conclusion … what choices do Will & Deanna make?

Disclaimer: It’s not mine; it never was, and it never will be.

******************

I sense him again.

Finally.

He’s relieved.

So am I.

I step into his quarters.

He’s right behind me; I can feel his hands on my shoulders.

It feels so wonderful … so right.

I turn around and relax against him, settling into his embrace.

He tightens his arms around me, holding on.

Holding on …

So do I.

***

To hold her like this, to have her in my arms again …

It feels more right than I can ever say.

And I know she knows; she always knows.

So I don’t say anything.

I just thank the gods that I got another chance.

And I hold her.

I don’t ever want to let go again.

“Will,” she says. “You know I would never marry him, don’t you?”

I close my eyes.

The lump in my throat robs me of the ability to speak.

“Will?”

She’s whispering, and I crush her to me.

The truth is, I wasn’t sure.

I wasn’t sure.

“I didn’t know,” I tell her. “I was afraid that maybe you would.”

***

His answer leaves me at a loss.

“We are Imzadi,” I say.

It sounds like something I’ve said a thousands time over.

And I have.

But he’s smiling.

“I know,” he answers, softly.

His heart is beating against my hand on his chest.

I close me eyes, losing myself in its rhythm.

Nothing has ever been more comforting to me.

“It’s all for you.”

His voice has fallen to a throaty whisper.

I look up at him.

“My heart beats only for you, Deanna.”

No one has ever said something like that to me before.  

“I love you, Will.”

There’s nothing else I can say, no words can express my feelings in this moment.

***

She loves me.

We are Imzadi.

I guess fate didn’t abandon me, after all.

“I love you,” I say, letting my hands run through her hair.

And I kiss her, again and again.

“I missed you,” she says, breaking the kiss for a moment.

“So much,” I reply, letting her know that I feel exactly the same way.

I love her smile.

She’s a vision.

And her eyes ...

They shine – for me.

I treasure the sight; take in her beauty in silence.

“I am in awe of you.”

She’s smiling, doing her best to hide her surprise.

“What happened to you?”

“You did,” I tell her.

It sounds so … corny.

But it’s the truth.

I would do anything for her.

***

I kiss him again, letting my feelings flow to the surface.

His lips capture mine with a sudden passion that sets my soul on fire.

No one else ever made me feel this way.

I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want him.  

I take a step back from him, locking my eyes with his.

He’s incredibly handsome.

I love his smile.

He’s lifting me up in his arms, carrying me to the bed.

I lose myself in his embrace, waiting … wanting.

But he withdraws from me.

***

“Will?”

She looks up at me.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” I assure her, kissing her deeply.

“Good.”

I smile and let myself fall on the bed next to her.

There’s nothing I’d rather do than love her.

 In fact, I ache to make her mine again.

Of course I do.

I’ve waited for years to feel her against me again.

I burn for her with a passion that I never knew existed.

Until I met her.

“Deanna?”

She nods, letting a hand caress my cheek.

I see it in her eyes.

She’s in love – and I thank the gods that it is with me.

I love her with every fiber of my being.

And she is mine.

“Let me love you.”

***

“No.”

My response takes him aback, and I kiss him reassuringly.

“Let us love each other.”

There it is, that famous grin.

He will always be Will Riker, the incurable flirt.

But he is mine.

He will call out someone’s name tonight – and it will be mine.

Someone will hold me tonight – and it will be him.

He draws me back into his arms, and I return his loving kiss.

We still have a long way to go, I know.

But I feel the walls tumbling down and hold him close.

This time we made the right choice; the only choice.

We chose to love each other.

[-end-]