Part 3 (2/2)
Deanna was doing much the same thing. Worf s thoughts seemed in a turmoil, which was somewhat surprising. More often than not, his emotions were as straightforward as a tossed spear. Also, when Worf walked he usually did so with such long strides that Deanna had to scurry slightly to keep up. This time, however, he automatically walked slowly enough that she had no trouble pacing him. That alone was enough to surprise her.
When they'd distanced themselves from Alexander, although he was still within visual range, Worf faced her and said, ”Do you really feel that I have been... distant? Guarded?”
”I wouldn't say so if I didn't think it,” she replied. ”I didn't mean it as a criticism, really, Worf. More of an observation that you can simply take as you will.”
”Be that as it may, I find it disturbing that you would feel that way. I have been endeavoring to be more ...” He hesitated, as if he were about to utter a profanity against his will and finally managed to eject the word. ”... vulnerable.”
”I've noticed. You've practically developed a soft, squooshy center.”
”I am serious, Deanna.”
”I'm sorry,” she said, physically wiping the smile off her face. ”I shouldn't joke.”
”I have been trying because of Alexander ... and because of you... but it has not been easy. Sometimes”-he presented his back to her so that she could not see the clear frustration in his face-”I envy Data. In order to develop his personality, he merely has to place a new chip in his head and he immediately has the entire range of human emotions.”
”A situation that has been very difficult for him,” Troi immediately pointed out. ”Nothing worth having is ever easy, Worf.”
”Concepts such as leaving oneself open to hurt, physically or emotionally ... or even humor ... these are not simple things to grasp. Not for me. I have strode two worlds for so many years, you would think it would be second nature for me. But it is not. Nothing is second nature, since I have never fully decided upon what my first nature is.”
”Klingon by nature, human by nurture,” Deanna observed. ”I don't envy you, Worf.”
”No. But you help me. For that... I thank you,” he said. As she had earlier, this time he touched her face and she was surprised at the gentleness of it. It was a stark contrast to the roughness of his hand.
”You have such a sensitive touch,” she told him.
”Of course. Most Klingons do. It enables us to properly search out pressure points, to stop the blood flow and disable or kill an...” His voice trailed off as he saw her expression, her skin paling slightly, the darkness in her eyes suddenly looking much wider. ”That was ... the wrong thing to say, wasn't it?”
”It's okay.” She patted him on the upper shoulder. ”Fortunately enough, when one is romantically involved with a Klingon, one learns to have a sense of humor.”
”I have a sense of humor as well,” Worf told her. ”It is simply... dissimilar from yours.”
”Really. How dissimilar?”
”Well...” He gave it a moment's thought. ”There was a time I attended an exhibition of proficiency with the bat'leth,” he said, referring to the curved, formidable Klingon sword, ”being given by K'Plok, one of the foremost bat'leth experts in the Klingon Empire. Unfortunately, K'Plok had a cold on the scheduled day, but no self-respecting Klingon would cancel an obligation simply over a minor illness. In any event, as he was demonstrating the famed overhead reverse thrust, he sneezed and accidentally cut off” his own head.”
”Oh, my G.o.d,” gasped Deanna. ”What did you do?”
”We laughed. It was the single longest, most sustained laughter in the history of the empire. K'Plok was immortalized as the greatest comedian ever known to Klingons. In fact, his name was officially changed to K'Plop in our annals, in commemoration of the sound his head made when it struck the-”
She held up a hand. ”I... get the picture, Worf. And did you truly think that was ... funny?”
”If I did not think that, would I have kept the head when it ricocheted and flew into my lap?”
At that, Deanna visibly blanched. ”You ... you didn't...”
He paused only a moment, and then said, ”That was a joke, Deanna.”
She let out a sigh of relief that even resulted in a small chuckle at the realization that he'd fooled her.
”You see?” he pointed out triumphantly. ”I do have a sense of humor. I made you laugh.”
”Yes, you did.” She hugged him affectionately. ”Go be with your son now. I think he could use your company.”
”You are very likely right... as you often are.”
Worf headed off toward Alexander and, as he did so, made a mental note to send word to the Klingon homeworld, where many of his most treasured effects were in storage, and arrange for the prompt disposal of the head of K'Plop before Deanna found out. The Klingon Comedy Museum had been after him to donate it for years anyway, since they had an understandable dearth of displays.
He pa.s.sed Beverly Crusher, who was talking to Data. Data appeared to be asking Crusher whether or not she had happened to see his cat in all of the confusion. Worf found it strange that, with everything that had happened, Data was remotely concerned about some animal. He called out, ”Data...”
”Yes?” Data turned his attention to Worf as Beverly glanced over her shoulder at him.
”Remember the other day? When you pushed the doctor into the water?”
”Yes.”
He stabbed a finger at Data. ”That was funny. d.a.m.ned funny. And do not let anyone else tell you otherwise.” With that, he walked off, leaving a slightly confused Data and a rather teed-off Beverly Crusher.
The lake looked remarkably inviting.
The air was uncommonly warm. Deanna felt remarkably grungy, what with the crash landing (but at least they'd landed, dammit!) and her own overall sense of exhaustion. She had been ministering to the needs of the crew for some time. Rescue vessels were reportedly on their way, but-and it was vanity, she hated to admit it-she was reaching a point where she felt self-conscious just having people looking at her. She felt so disgusting, so ...
”Yucch.” She studied her reflection in the water and shook her head, discouraged. She picked up a few palmsful of water and splashed them on her face, but all she managed to do was take the dirt smears on her face and transform them into larger dirt smears. Meantime she became aware that there were no sounds nearby. Everyone was quiet, tended to. She wasn't particularly needed at that moment, and she was reasonably sure the area was secluded. Then again, it wasn't as if Deanna Troi were the most modest individual in the galaxy in any event. Even if she was discovered paddling around, well... she had certainly attended her share of Betazoid marriages, during which the bride, the groom, and all the guests traditionally go naked. In fact, she had met William T. Riker, second-in-command of the Enterprise, at one of those exact functions.
And the water, to her surprise, was actually fairly warm.
There was probably an underground spring somewhere helping to heat it up.
”Oh, why not?” she said to no one in particular. Within a minute, her uniform lay in a crumpled heap on the sh.o.r.e and Deanna was paddling through the water with quick, sure strokes. The moment that she submerged, she felt revitalized. She burst from the water, throwing her head back, droplets spraying the air, and she laughed joyously, just happy to be alive.
She sensed that she was not alone before she saw him. But the moment she sensed it, she knew who it was.
”Counselor,” came the amused voice of William Riker, ”I believe that you're ever-so-slightly out of uniform.”
She dove beneath the surface again, turning around under water and coming back up facing the direction from which the voice had originated. She rubbed the water from her eyes and saw Riker seated on a large rock overlooking the lake. He was grinning widely and had her uniform neatly folded in his lap.
”You should try it yourself, Will,” she suggested with merriment twinkling in her eye. ”The water truly is wonderful.”
”Oh ... I don't think so. Thanks all the same.”
At the far end of the lake, water cascaded down via a rather impressive-looking waterfall. As Troi backstroked in a most relaxed manner, she called out, ”Does any of this remind you of anything?”
He looked around a moment, trying to think what she might be getting at, and then he laughed as he realized. ”The Janaran Falls, in the Jalara jungle back on Betazed. How could I forget? It was after I'd rescued you from the Sindareen raiders, and we were heading back to the rendezvous point. Trip should have taken us three days, even though we were on foot. Took us five.”
”Well, we kept getting... distracted,” Troi said teasingly. ”And we spent most of our last day at the falls.”
”I don't know about you, but in my case, it was because I wasn't particularly anxious to leave.”
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