Red Is the Rose
Author - Jaclyn Riker
Keywords - Mainly a Beverly centered story, but there is definitely some P/C (with some R/T for fun, but what else is new?)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were mine. Never going to be mine. Cause if they were mine the end of many an episode would've been written differently (cough Attached cough). Nuff said. Hope you don't sue me.
Summary - A ship is destroyed with a child survivor who becomes more important to Beverly than anyone ever thought.
Part One
A sudden distress call was what pulled Jean-Luc Picard out of bed and to the bridge at 0300 hours. Upon arrival he looked to his first officer, Lt. Commander William Riker, for an explanation.
"What happened Number One?" Jean-Luc asked quietly, looking out the screen into space.
"The bridge just received a distress call, Sir. It is from a sector in space about 3 light-years away," Will said, looking his captain and more importantly his friend, in the eye.
"Mr. Data, how long do you estimate our arrival if we answer it?" Jean-Luc asked the officer sitting at one of the controls.
"At Warp 6 we can be there in 2 hours, Sir." Data answered, his fingers poised above the control panel in anticipation of the order.
"Make it so," Jean-Luc said and Data nodded.
"Aye, aye Captain," came the android's reply.
"Commander Riker, please join me in my ready room." Jean-Luc said to Will and after giving command of the bridge to Data, led the way.
When they reached it and the doors had closed behind them, Jean-Luc turned to Will and asked, "Have you heard the message?"
"Yes, Sir, and I think you should too." Will said and Jean-Luc nodded. "Computer, play distress call received at 0245 hours." The computer beeped in acknowledgment and the broken message began to play.
"Please...help...we...many hurt...dead...ship...damaged...children aboard...can anyone...us...please respond..."
Static had made the message hard to hear, but the gist of it was understood and as the computer turned the message off, the frantic woman's voice hung in the air. After a very short bit of discussing what to do, it was agreed wholeheartedly that they had to respond.
"Counselor Troi, Lt. LaForge, and Lieutenant Worf report to the bridge immediately." The three officers responded in the affirmative, although they still sounded a little tired.
"Captain Picard to Dr. Crusher," Jean-Luc said into his comm. badge and waited.
"Yes, Captain?" Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher answered, her voice tired as well.
"I need you to get an Emergency Medical Team together immediately," he told her.
"Yes, Captain." she said, now fully awake.
Jean-Luc and Will went back to the bridge and were met by the three officers the captain had spoken to before Beverly.
"What's happened, Sir?" Deanna Troi asked, her eyes flickering from the face of the captain to Will, and back again.
"We have a received an urgent distress call and are going to answer it." Jean-Luc said and all three nodded in understanding. He turned to where Data had returned to the engine control panel and asked him how long.
"ETA, 1 hour and 15 minutes, sir." Data answered and Jean-Luc frowned as he took the Captain's seat. Deanna and Will followed and Worf went up to the weapons array.
"Increase to Warp 7." Jean-Luc said, feeling an unexplainable urgency to reach the site. "Engage."
"Aye, aye, sir," the android answered and the acceleration of the engines increasing sounded through the bridge.
Deanna watched Jean-Luc closely out of the corner of her eye and could feel the anxiety radiating from him. She knew that he was feeling the same urgent pull to the ship, as was the rest of the crew. Deanna felt Will's eyes on her and she met his gaze. She smiled at him warmly and hearing his thoughts enter her head, she heard him say he was worried. She nodded, almost imperceptibly telling him that she knew how he felt. He gave her a small smile in return, but both smiles disappeared as they thought the same thing.
'What if we are too late?'
The instant the destroyed ship appeared on the large screen, Deanna let out a small gasp.
"Counselor?" Jean-Luc asked and Will looked at her also. Both men had concerned looks on their faces and Will's eyes scanned her body for any sign of physical pain.
"I can feel life, but it is so...frightened...that I can't tell how many there are left."
"By the looks of it, not many." Geordi spoke up and all eyes took in the ship's appearance. The craft was a small Federation ship, about a third of the size of the Enterprise. The hull was almost completely exposed to space and on the bow of the ship, was the scarred words: U.S.S. Existence. The ship was dark, with no sign of lights or energy. Picard's eye widened slightly and then he cleared his throat.
"Number One, take your away team." he said and Will nodded. "Dr. Crusher, meet the away team in the transporter room."
"Worf, Geordi, Data, and Counselor come with me." Will said and they all followed him to the turbo lift. Beverly and her team met them there. Will gave the command to engage transporters and they soon found themselves in the middle of what could only be called chaos.
They had apparently beamed directly to the ship's bridge and bodies surrounded them. Men, women, and even children were strewn all over, like rag dolls thrown by an angry child. Some adults were still clutching children to them in desperation, not letting go even in death.
"Oh my God." Beverly said as she covered her mouth with her hand in horror, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Deanna felt her knees go weak and reached out to cling to Will's arm. He pulled her to him helping her stand, his own body feeling as if it was going to collapse. Worf looked around and was filled with anger as he saw a young boy, around the same age as his son Alexander, with a phaser wound directly to his heart. The boy's eyes were still open which meant the attacker had looked him directly in the eyes as he killed him. Geordi hung his head in sadness and horror, mumbling a prayer to himself and even Data, who could feel no human emotions, was thrown for a loop at the sight of so much evil. Beverly pulled herself together and motioned for the med. team to start scanning for any sign of life. They all knew, however, that they would find none.
"No, there is someone alive, but I just can't pinpoint it. Their energy is so filled with emotion that I can't..." Deanna said, hearing their thoughts, and shook her head. Tears of empathy spilled over from her eyes and created rivers down her face. The pain, fear, and anger that this being was giving off were so strong that it made her heart ache. Will pulled her closer to him, not caring that the others saw.
"Doctor, there is no life on any other decks on the ship. It is here in on the bridge." One of the medics said and he showed her his scanner to prove it.
"Data, help me try to access the ship's computer." Geordi said, clearing his throat of unshed tears and Data nodded.
"The majority of them are human, Doctor." Ensign Troller said, one of the med. team. She pulled her life scanner away from a young woman, holding the hand of the young man sitting next to her and shook her head. Beverly was about to respond when her own life scanner went off. Looking up, she noticed she was standing in front of the bridge's turbo lift.
"In here," she said and they all came over. Will released Deanna, who walked over to stand by Beverly and nodded.
"Yes, that is where the emotions are coming from." she said and Will, Geordi, and Worf pulled out their phaser guns. Data entered a code into the panel, but the doors didn't budge.
"The turbo lift has been manually overridden and the controls have been shut down from the inside. I will have to force it open." Data said and used his inhuman strength to pry the doors apart. With one last huge pull, they slowly slid open. Deanna and Beverly gave small gasps at what they saw while the men lowered their guns.
A small girl, who looked no more than 5 years old, was huddled in the corner of the turbo lift, her knees drawn up with arms wrapped around them. The left sleeve of her tunic dress was ripped open to reveal a gash covered in dry blood. The child didn't seem to be crying from pain, but more out of shock. Her face was buried in her arms, but Deanna could see a suspicious bright blue eye watching them closely. Will, Deanna, Geordi, and Beverly crouched down and Beverly took out the scanner that checked for injuries. Running it over the girl, she deduced that the injury on her arm was the only physical one.
"Hey there. My name is Will. We're not here to hurt you. Can you come out here?" Will said softly, but Deanna laid a hand on his arm to stop him. She could feel the waves of fear and anxiety rushing to her from the child at the sound of his voice.
"Hi, I'm Deanna. Does your arm hurt very much? We can fix it for you, but you need to come out." Deanna tried, but although the emotions of the girl lessened at her voice, they were still way too intense to even try and approach her. It was then that Deanna noticed the girl's eyes kept flitting back to Beverly's face.
Deanna turned to her friend and said softly, "Talk to her, Beverly."
When the doctor gave her a confused look, she nodded and watched the child out of the corner of her eye. Beverly looked at Deanna for a brief moment more, and then did as she said.
"Hi, my name is Beverly. We don't want to hurt you, I promise. I am a doctor and can make your arm feel better." As Beverly spoke Deanna felt a calm emotion come from the child and her eyes widened. It was almost as if the girl was reaching out to Beverly with her energy.
"Reach out to her." Deanna said and Beverly did as told. The child looked up and met Beverly's gaze with sapphire colored eyes. She glanced at the woman's hand and hesitated a buried second before launching her tiny body onto the doctor. Everyone's eyes widened as the girl wrapped her arms around Beverly's neck and buried her face into her red hair. Beverly felt the shudders of the little girl's body and closing her eyes held her close.
"Shh, you're okay now. You're safe." Beverly said in a soothing voice and felt the child go slack in her arms. The emotionally and physically exhausted child had fallen asleep.
"Enterprise, two to beam directly to sick bay." Beverly said, hitting her comm. badge, and in the next instant found herself standing by a sick bay bed. Prying the tiny arms from around her neck, she laid the girl down on it and covered her up with a blanket. The little one whimpered at the loss of Beverly's arms around her and Beverly ran her hand over her head.
"It's all right. I am not going anywhere. Sleep now." Beverly whispered, leaning over and impulsively kissing her forehead. The girl calmed immediately and curled up on her side into the fetal position. As she brought her knees up to her chest, her left thumb slipped into her mouth and soon her breathing was deep and even.
Part Two
While the girl was sleeping, Beverly ran the protoplaser over the cut, making it disappear completely. The door to the sick bay opened with a slight "whoosh" and she turned to see Captain Picard enter, followed by Will and Deanna.
"How is she, Doctor?" Jean-Luc asked, smiling a bit at the peacefully sleeping girl on the bed. She was so tiny that she was almost lost under the blanket that covered her.
"She had only a minor laceration on her left arm, but she is terribly scared." Beverly told him, brushing a lock of hair away from the girl's face.
"It's no wonder." Will said angrily. "She must have seen the whole thing and then locked herself in the turbo lift before any of them could get her."
"She is so afraid of being left alone." Beverly said softly, remembering the way the child had clung to her.
"Being left alone by you." Deanna corrected and they all looked at her. "She seems to have formed a bond with you, Beverly. For some reason, she is responding to you very strongly in emotion. You were the only one who could get through to her on that ship."
"Why me?" Beverly asked, looking confused.
"Honestly, I don't know." Deanna admitted. "I am hoping to ask her a few things when she wakes up that will help answer a lot of questions."
"Let's let her get some sleep." Jean-Luc said and motioned for Will and Deanna to follow him. "Notify me when she wakes."
"Of course, Captain." Beverly said, smiling at him. He could put on a tough act for everyone else, but she knew that he was worried about the little girl. He could never fool her.
Beverly went around doing her job as normal, treating anyone who came in and her scheduled appointments and she also checked the child regularly. She was in an extremely deep sleep and showed no signs of getting up anytime soon. Sure enough, it was almost 12 hours later, around 1500, when the little girl began to show signs of waking. Beverly called Jean-Luc and Deanna to the sick bay and went over to where the little girl was stirring. When she awoke, her eyes opened to see the three adults watching her, with smiles on their faces. Her blue eyes grew round and she looked immediately to Beverly. She smiled in relief and reached out her arms for her. Beverly went to her side and the child gave her a strong hug. The doctor pulled back, but kept an arm around the girl, who leaned into Beverly's side.
"It's good to see you awake. I was wondering what color your eyes were again." Deanna said and the little girl looked at her. Deanna smiled, knowing that the child was purposely staring at her to show her their color.
"Well I had never seen them, but I know now that they are the most vivid blue I have ever seen, expect on Dr. Crusher." Jean-Luc joined in and the girl gave him a smile that made his heart jump. Deanna felt none of the fear that had come from her earlier. It was as if she had slept it away and was a little girl again.
"Can you tell us your name and how old you are?" Beverly asked her and the girl nodded.
"Malia Rose Walker and I am four and a half...well almost. But I'm not Walker anymore," she said, her voice pixie-like and utterly captivating. "And I like the name Lia."
"Hello, Lia. You already met these two ladies, but my name is Captain Jean-Luc Picard. You are on a starship called the Enterprise." Jean-Luc said and the girl smiled at him.
"Hi, Captain." Lia said and held out her hand for him to shake. Jean-Luc looked surprised, but smiled at her and took her tiny hand in his.
"It's very nice to meet you, Lia." Jean-Luc said and the two women smiled at him. And he thought he wasn't good with children!
"Lia, can you tell me who the Walkers are?" Deanna asked gently.
"They were my guardians, but they are dead now. Everyone is dead now, 'cept me." Lia told her quietly and Beverly gave her a small one-armed hug.
"Why were they your guardians? Where are your parents?" Jean-Luc asked her.
"I don't have any. They died too, when I was a baby. I lived in a orph...orpha..." Lia said, struggling to remember the word.
"Orphanage?" Beverly said and Lia nodded.
"Uh-huh. It was on Thetabara 9 and one day the Walkers came and said they were going to take me to Earth where I was born. But then..." Lia trailed off, her eyes growing scared.
"I'm very sorry to do this Lia, but I need you to tell me what happened on the ship." Jean-Luc said and Lia frowned, and then snuggled closer to Beverly.
"If you want to wait until you are feeling up to it..." he added, feeling guilty about pushing the child.
"No, I can tell you." Lia said and began her side of the story. "I was playing in my room when all of a sudden the whole ship began to shake. Mrs. Walker ran in and told me that I was to stay in the room. She left me and I did as she said, but when she and Commander Walker didn't come back after a really long time, I got scared. The ship was shaking even more and there were really loud sirens. I went to the bridge 'causin that's where Commander Walker was all the time and there were these people shooting at everybody. I couldn't see their faces 'causin they had big scary masks on."
"So you don't know what they looked like?" Jean-Luc asked her, feeling slightly disappointed that they wouldn't be able to catch the monsters who did this horrible crime.
"Yes, I do. One of their masks got knocked off when he was fighting and I saw his face. He saw me too and came after me, but I ran into the turbo lift and did the code that makes the doors lock." Lia told him proudly.
"That was a very smart thing to do, Lia." Jean-Luc said and Lia beamed.
"My friend, Mako, taught me. He worked with the engines and stuff." Lia said and played with Beverly's fingers, entwining them with her own and releasing them again.
"Lieutenant Keith Mako, Chief of Engineering." Will's voice came from behind Deanna and Jean-Luc. They all turned to look at him and he winked at Lia as he came over. The little girl blushed and snuggled into Beverly's side, peeking out at him. "We just got the ship's crew and passenger manifest."
"Lt. Commander Riker, this is Lia." Jean-Luc said and Will smiled at the child. He held out his hand and after a brief moment of hesitation she boldly stuck her tiny hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, making the child giggle.
"Ahh, so this is our damsel in distress! How do you do, Princess Lia?" Will said catering to the child and making her laugh out loud.
"You're silly." she said and gave him a smile that made his heart jump, just like it had Jean-Luc's when she had smiled at him. This little girl was a charmer. Deanna watched Will with the little girl, mouth agape in wonder and felt a stirring of emotion in her that she surprisingly couldn't name.
"Captain?" Lia spoke up and Jean-Luc looked at her. "What's going to happen to me?"
"Well, we will send out a communication to try and find your relatives, maybe on Earth where you were going originally. As for right now, we will find someone on board for you to stay with." Jean-Luc answered and Lia looked at Beverly.
"I wanna stay with you." Lia told her, eyes pleading with the woman. Beverly looked at Jean-Luc and he frowned.
"Maybe it would be better if she stayed with someone else who already has a young child." Jean-Luc said, but Deanna shook her head.
"Captain, if I may, Lia has already formed an attachment to Dr. Crusher. It might be better for the child if she did stay with her." Deanna said and finally Jean-Luc nodded his agreement.
"Yea!" the girl cried out and threw her arms around Jean-Luc in a tight hug. The captain looked like he was in shock and the others quickly hid their amused expressions from him.
"Let's go get you settled in then, okay?" Beverly said, lifting the little girl down from the table and taking her hand. Lia nodded and said good-bye to the others. Jean-Luc and Deanna waved, while Will gave her a small bow. Lia giggled again and left the sick bay with Beverly, turning back once more to give them all a small wave.
Beverly led the girl to her quarters and when she opened the door, she saw her 16 and a half-year-old son, Wesley Crusher, playing 3D chess at the table. Although his quarters were right next-door, he had a much smaller living space and often came to do things in his mother's home. Wesley looked up and gave his mom a look of surprise at the sight of Lia.
"Hi, Mom." he said and Beverly smiled at him.
"Hi, Sweetheart. Wes, I would like you to meet someone very special. This is Lia, a little girl who will be staying with me for a while. Lia, this is my son Wesley." Beverly said and held her breath to see how the child would react. She cautiously looked at the young boy and then boldly walked over to where he was playing.
"I know how to play that. Can I play too?" Lia asked and Wesley gave her a small smile.
"You sure? It's pretty hard." Wes said and Lia placed her hands on her hips.
"I beat Mr. Hawkins all the time." Lia said and Wesley's smile grew. He wasn't sure who Mr. Hawkins was, but if the little girl wanted to play she could. He was stuck anyway. He would just play horribly so if she did actually know how to play, she wouldn't lose too badly.
"Okay." Wes said and Lia took the seat opposite him. "Computer, new game." The boards were cleared and the pieces put back in their original positions. "You're first, Lia."
Lia studied the board quickly and then moved. Beverly watched them closely and suppressed the need to laugh at her son's face when five minutes later Lia said, "Checkmate."
Wes studied the board in shock and then looked at her.
"How'd you do that?" he asked her and Lia laughed.
"Told you I knew how to play." she said and he laughed too.
"Yes, you did!" Wes said and they began a whole new game, this time Wes was going to try his hardest to beat her. Beverly went to the replicator and told the computer she needed three little girl's dresses for the age of 4 to 5. They appeared and she called to Lia. The child told Wes not to cheat, making him laugh again, and ran over to Beverly.
"Here let's put this one on." Beverly said, holding up a blue dress that matched the color of Lia's eyes. It had an empire-like waist and a one-inch, bright, blue, satin ribbon around it around the seam at the chest area. It came with matching hair ribbon and with matching blue leggings.
"Oh, yes. It's so pretty." Lia said her eyes widening in happiness. As soon as she was changed and her hair pulled back in a French braid, Lia gave Beverly a kiss on the cheek and ran back to her game with Wesley. Beverly shook her head at the girl and then threw the old beat up and bloodied dress in the trash compactor. She was about to suggest that Lia eat something, when a voice came from her comm. badge.
"Dr. Crusher, Ensign Tanner is having severe stomach pains. I think it might be appendicitis. We need you here immediately," the voice of Alyssa Ogawa said. She was the medical nurse she had left in charge of sickbay.
"I'll be right there." Beverly said and hit the comm. badge to end the transmission. She looked at Lia and Wes who were watching her. "I have to go. Maybe I should take her to stay with Counselor Troi."
"No, I can watch her." Wes said and Beverly looked at him, knowing he had bridge duty in an hour. "I switched shifts with Pete so he could spend time with his girlfriend tonight. I took the late shift so I don't have to be on the bridge until 2100 hours. Don't worry, Mom. I have spent almost all day sleeping in anticipation."
Beverly nodded looked at Lia. "You'll be okay?"
"Uh-huh. I like Wes. He's funny." Lia said and Wes smiled at her. Beverly could tell that the girl had charmed Wesley too and felt safe leaving them together.
"Okay, I'll be back by the time you have to leave."
Wes nodded and Beverly rushed to sickbay. Wes looked at Lia, who looked at him and tilted her head.
"I'm hungry," she said and Wes smiled.
"Me too. What'd you say we get something to eat and for dessert we can have Thalarian mousse?" Wes said and Lia looked confused.
"What's that?" she asked and he took her hand, leading her to the food replicator.
"Trust me. You're gonna love it." he said and true to his word she did.
Beverly was glad to be going back to her quarters even if it was at 2050 hours. Ensign Tanner had indeed had appendicitis and before they could do anything, the appendix had burst. They had quite a fight trying to save him, but luckily he was now stable. Beverly opened the doors to her living quarters and looked around for the children. Hearing voices from the bedroom, she walked over and smiled at what she saw.
Lia and Wesley were sitting on a small bed that Wes had sent for and had set up across from Beverly's own bed. It had white cotton sheets and a pink velour comforter, with a white stuffed teddy bear lying up near the pillow. Lia was dressed in a little girl's white nightgown with pink lace around the cuffs of the sleeves and the bottom. Her hair was pulled back with a pink hair tie and she was leaning sleepily into Wesley's side. He had his arm around her protectively and was reading her the ancient Earth fairy tale of Cinderella. He was reading each character in a different voice, making Lia giggle in delight. Beverly cleared her throat and they looked up. Lia's face lit up and she jumped off the bed. Running over to her, she threw her arms around Beverly's legs and hugged hard. Beverly laughed and lifted the child up into her arms and gave her a hug back.
"Your back!" Lia said into Beverly's hair and hugged her tighter.
"Yup, I'm back. Just like I said I would be." Beverly told her, knowing that the girl had been slightly afraid that she wouldn't return.
"Hi, Mom." Wes said, rising and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, yourself." Beverly said and ran her hand over his own cheek. "You should probably go. Thank you of watching her."
"No problem. We had fun, didn't we Li-Li?" Wes said, calling her the nickname that had slipped out earlier. She had laughed and he had called her that ever since. Lia pulled back from her death grip on Beverly and nodded. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, goodnight.
"Bye, Mom. Night, Li-Li." he said and she waved to him as he left the quarters to go start his shift. Beverly watched him go and as the doors shut behind him, she walked over and placed Lia down on her child sized bed.
"Okay, Miss Malia Rose. Time to get some sleep." Beverly said and Lia nodded, smiling at Beverly's use of her full name. She tucked the girl under the sheets then leaned over to kiss her forehead.
"Will you sing me a lullaby?" Lia asked and Beverly frowned.
"Please?" Lia added, pouting and Beverly gave in. She thought hard and then remembered an old Irish one that her grandmother used to sing to her when she was a child and couldn't sleep. Lia turned over onto her stomach and Beverly automatically began to rub her back in slow circles, while she sang.
Come over the hills, my bonnie Irish lass
Come over the hills to your darling
You choose the rose, love, and I'll make the vow
And I'll be your true love forever.
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.
'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed
When the moon and the stars they were shining
The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair
And she swore she'd be my love forever.
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.
It's not for the parting that my sister pains
It's not for the grief of my mother
'Tis all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass
That my heart is breaking forever.
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows
Fair is the lily of the valley
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne
But my love is fairer than any.
But my love is fairer than any...
By the time Beverly had finished singing the soft lullaby, Lia had fallen asleep, her thumb in her mouth and her other hand curled up into a fist by her cheek. Beverly kissed the child's soft cheek and ran her hand over the girl's head. Beverly changed into her own nightclothes and settled down into the armchair in the living room, with a book. But instead of reading she found herself thinking of how well her son and Lia had gotten along and the way they had greeted her when she came back to her quarters. It was as if they had done it all their lives; as if Lia was her own daughter and Wesley's little sister. Beverly shook her head at her thoughts and opened the book to where she had left off, but when Wes came back from the late shift he found her asleep in the chair, the book on the same page and a smile on his mom's face. After leaving her a note saying he would be back at 0800 for breakfast, he covered her up with a blanket and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
"Goodnight, Mom." he whispered to her and smiled. He then went to go check on Lia. Seeing that she was still sleeping, he tucked the covers around her more tightly and kissed her head. He couldn't help but feel like she was his little sister, even though she wasn't. It was a strange feeling, but he had to admit that he liked it. He had always wanted a younger sibling; preferably a sister whom he could protect and now he felt as if he had one. Smiling he left the quarters and locked the door behind him, humming to himself as he walked to his own room.
Part Three
A month went by and Lia became part of the Enterprise family very quickly. She lived with Beverly, but everyone aboard adored and spoiled her. She and Wesley got along extremely well, and he watched her whenever his mother or the others couldn't. When Beverly came home, they would have dinner together or sometimes Lia and Beverly would dine with Will and Deanna. Occasionally they even had dinner with Jean-Luc, who was always happy to see them both. Once goodnights were exchanged, Beverly would take Lia back to their room and their nightly ritual would begin. The child would change into her pajamas, Beverly would read her a fairy tale, and then sing the lullaby that she had sung that first night.
One day, Wes could not watch her because he had studying to do for an exam and neither could Beverly, for Lt. Mason had gone into labor. So, instead, she asked Deanna. The counselor agreed without hesitation, but ended up having a late appointment and she asked Will to step in to help out until she could finish up. When Deanna arrived at Beverly's quarters she found him sitting at a tiny table, wearing a crown and sipping tea from a tiny pink cup. Lia sat opposite him and wore a long frilly pink dress with a tiara on her head and three strings of glass beads. She was also sipping tea from a pink teacup.
"Pinkie up, Uncle Will." she said and Will did as told.
"Yes, Princess Lia." Will said back and Deanna could no longer hold in the laughter. Lia looked up at her and grinned.
"Come play with us, Aunt Deanna!" she cried and Deanna nodded. Lia took off two of her necklaces and placed them over Deanna's head. Jumping up she went over to the replicator and said, "Computer, an adult crystal tiara."
As soon as it appeared, Lia walked back over and placed it on Deanna's head.
"I'm the princess and Uncle Will is the king. You can be his queen." Lia said and sat back down, lifting up her cup of tea. Deanna shot a glance at Will, who was pouring her a pink cup of her own.
"She already is." Will said and Deanna blushed at his words. Lia looked from her "Uncle" Will to her "Aunt" Deanna and smiled to herself. She had seen a picture of a flower girl in a book once and maybe one day she would wear a pretty dress like that and be Aunt Deanna and Uncle Will's flower girl.
Naptime came soon after the tea party and Will carried a sleepy Lia into the bedroom. After helping her change into a regular play outfit, she said she wanted Will to tuck her in. He did so happily, reading to her the last of the storybook, The Wizard of Oz. Kissing her and telling her to sleep well, the two adults left the bedroom to let her rest. Turning to Deanna, Will said he had to go back to the bridge and she thanked him for his help.
"Anytime, Dee. I would anything for that little girl. And you." Will said and leaned over to kiss her passionately on the lips.
"Good-bye, Imzadi." he said and left, leaving Deanna with her lips parted in surprise. The doors opened again immediately and in walked Beverly. She stared at her friend for a moment, remembered that she had just passed Will in the corridor, and put two and two together. Laughter was what broke Deanna out of her reverie and she looked at Beverly who was giving her a look that basically said, "I told you so".
"Hello, Beverly." Deanna said and blushed slightly. "We just got Lia down for her nap and she is sleeping soundly."
"Thank you for watching her." Beverly said and held back a smile with much difficulty. "And tell Will I said thank you too."
Deanna gave her a look and then smiled, despite herself.
"Good-bye, Beverly. I'll see you tonight for dinner in Ten-Forward." Deanna said and Beverly nodded, saying good-bye as Deanna left. Beverly shook her head at the antics of her two friends.
"When will they just realize that they are in love and put everyone out of their misery of having to point it out?" Beverly said to herself and a brief picture of Jean-Luc appeared in her head. Frowning she shook it off, telling herself it was an entirely different situation. Beverly was writing in her journal when Lia came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eye sleepily with a fist.
"What's wrong, Sweetheart?" Beverly asked, putting her journal away and rising to go sit on the couch. Lia came over and crawled onto her lap, leaning back against Beverly's chest and tucking her head under Beverly's chin. Beverly wrapped her arms around her small body and breathed in the sweet little girl smell of her, smiling at how natural it all felt.
"Beverly, do you think it would hurt my mommy in heaven's feelings if I called you mommy too? I mean, do you think she'd mind?" Lia asked, her voice quiet and deadly serious. Beverly was in a state of shock, but when she got her bearings back there were tears in her eyes and she held the girl closer.
"I don't think so, Lia." she answered her and Lia turned in Beverly's embrace to face her.
"Would you mind?" Lia asked, searching Beverly's face for any hint of displeasure.
"No, Lia. I wouldn't mind at all. That would make me very happy." Beverly said and Lia threw her arms around her neck.
"Yea!" The little girl cried, making Beverly laugh and hug her tighter. Suddenly Beverly's comm. badge sounded and Alyssa's voice floated out to call her to sickbay. Beverly said she was on her way and was about to suggest she go to the nursery, when Lia's eye widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh no, I was supposed to help Geordi with the turbo lift today at 1600! What time is it, Mommy?" Lia asked, biting her lip. After Beverly recovered from hearing Lia call her mommy for the first time, she asked the computer to tell the time.
'It is 1610' the computer replied and Beverly smiled at Lia.
"You aren't that late. I will drop you off at engineering and then head up to sick bay." she told her and Lia nodded. Soon Beverly was waving good-bye to the little girl who was happily assisting Geordi with some mechanical problem in the control panel. She was handing him the tools he needed and soon it was finished. He gave her a high five and then went back over to where a comm. badge was sitting alone on the console.
"What's that?" Lia asked and Geordi smiled, showing her the comm. badge.
"It is the captain's comm. badge. It was malfunctioning a bit, so he asked me to fix it for him. I tell you what. I have to finish up something in here real quick, so why don't you go give it to him for me?" Geordi asked and Lia nodded excitedly, happy to be able to go to the bridge.
"Then come right back or Beverly..." he remembered what Lia had called the doctor when she had dropped Lia off and corrected himself, "...or your mother will kill me."
Lia gave him a smile that would have lit up a room and promised to be right back. She ran to the turbo lift and told it to take her to the bridge. About two floors up it stopped again and Worf came aboard.
"Greetings, Lt. Worf." Lia greeted him in perfect Klingon. He had taught her the proper greeting one day and had been extremely proud when she had done it back perfectly the next time the met.
"Hello, Malia." he answered her and she smiled at him.
"Why are you going to the bridge? My mommy told me that you had to check the phaser supply down in storage." Lia said and Worf looked at her, then figured out that "mommy" meant Doctor Crusher.
"Your...mother...was right. I was called to the bridge because we were just hailed by another ship. It is a race who want to beam aboard and talk about joining The Federation. The Ogarians, I think the captain said." Worf answered her and Lia nodded.
The turbo lift stopped and the doors opened to revel the bridge. While Worf went to the weapons console, she ran down to where the Jean-Luc stood.
"Here is your comm. badge, Captain. Good as new." she said, giving him a smile just for him and he smiled back at her. Anyone who had observed them together knew that the girl worshipped him and he was wrapped around her little finger as well. Lia gave a small wave to Wesley who was on duty at the engine's console and he gave her a smile.
"Thank you, Lia." He said and put his regular badge on, handing her the one Geordi had given him till his was fixed.
"I apologize for the interruption, Captain." Jean-Luc said and turned to face the awaiting alien leader on the screen. The being had ridges much like a Klingon, only not as pronounced and two slits for a nose. They had two small red horns placed at their temples and their skin was a pale shade of burnt orange. Lia turned to look and at the same time the captain of the ship gave a soft gasp, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Lia turned and latched herself onto Deanna, who tried to calm the sobbing child down. Deanna held her close and shook her head in vain, trying to get a solid reading on the girl's emotions. Suddenly it all made sense and Deanna's eyes flew to the screen.
"You!" she said angrily and held Lia closer still, shielding the child from the evil that was watching. "Captain, it's them. They are the ones whom Lia saw destroy the U.S.S Existence."
Jean-Luc and the rest of the bridge's eyes flew to the screen where the Ogarian leader let out a sound that sounded very much like a humanoid curse. The communication was cut and the screen went black save the Ogarian vessel.
"Sir, they have raised their shields and are engaging their weapon system." Worf said and Jean-Luc glared at the ship that was now displayed on screen.
"Initiate red alert, Mr. Worf. Full shields and get the weapons ready." Jean-Luc said and sat down in his captain's chair. He turned to where Lia was still crying out of fear into Deanna's chest. He reached out and laid a hand on her hair, shaking his head and sighed deeply. "Get her out of here. Take her to Beverly, she'll be able to calm her down."
Deanna nodded and lifted the girl into her arms. Lia's head shot up and with a tear stained face she shook her head vehemently. She wiggled to get down and once Deanna placed her on the ground, the child ran over to Jean-Luc and threw her arms around his neck.
"Please don't die too." she said and although Jean-Luc hated to show emotion in front of his crew, he gave the girl a hug back. He was no empath like Deanna, but he could feel Lia's body shaking with fear.
"It'll be okay." Jean-Luc told her and she pulled back, nodding. There was total trust in her eyes when she looked at him and glanced over at Will. He winked at her and she gave a tiny smile.
"Sir, they are preparing to fire." Worf said and Jean-Luc nodded to Deanna, who took Lia by the hand and hurriedly led her to the turbo lift. As soon as the doors closed the first shot from the Ogarian ship hit, rocking The Enterprise.
"Status, Mr. Worf?" Will asked.
"All decks have reported in. No damage, no injuries."
"Good. Ship's overall damage?" Jean-Luc asked him and stared at the enemy ship.
"Shields down to 85%, sir." Worf said, his fingers flying over the console, and Jean-Luc nodded. "Phaser torpedoes ready, Captain."
"Fire!" Jean-Luc ordered and they all watched as the Ogarian vessel was hit and small explosions appeared off the ship.
"Their shields are down to 55%, Captain." Worf said and Jean-Luc gave the order to fire again. This time the entire ship became a fireball when the Ogarian ship was destroyed.
"They were no match for our weapons, sir." Worf said and Jean-Luc gave the order to end red alert.
"They knew that. That is why they pretend to be peace-seeking race until they come aboard. Then they go on a killing spree." Will said and felt his stomach turn when his memory recalled the image of the bridge on the Existence. "Except we had Lia to give them away. If she hadn't been alive and on this ship..."
He trailed and everyone knew the rest of that sentence. They had not had any reason to scan for an amount of life forms aboard. There was no telling how many of those creatures had been on that vessel. The Enterprise would have easily turned out just like the Federation ship, the Existence.
"I'm going to go check on our little savior. Number One?" Jean-Luc said and Will nodded that he was going too.
"Mr. Data, you have the bridge." Jean-Luc said and rose.
"Sir, I'd like to come along." Wesley said and Jean-Luc nodded at the boy, knowing he was worried about this child as much as he was. The three of them went to sickbay and found Lia in the arms of Beverly, with her head on her chest, listening to Deanna and Beverly talk. Her eyes flew to the doors as they opened and relief replaced the fear that had shown for a brief second.
"You're okay!" she cried and Jean-Luc accepted the hug that the girl gave to him. She did the same to Will and Wesley, a smile on her lips and in her eyes. "I was so scared."
"I was bit worried as well." Beverly said and gave her son a small hug, then placed her hand on Jean-Luc's arm. Their eyes met and they shared a look that conveyed so many things on so many different levels.
Will had wrapped Deanna into a hug as soon as Lia had let go and now he quietly held her hand. Deanna had felt an intense wave of fear over her when Lia had clung to her and some of that fear had rubbed off. All she could think about while she was in sickbay was Will and prayed to the Gods that he would be okay. When he had walked through that door, the fear was gone and happiness and relief were in its place. Glancing over at Beverly, she smiled to herself. Her friend didn't know it, at least not consciously, but besides the fear for her son her greatest concern had been for the captain. It was as intense as Deanna's fear for Will, yet those two still refuse to acknowledge what was so apparent. Then again, who was she to talk, glancing at her and Will's entwined hands.
"Counselor?" Jean-Luc's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at him.
"I'm sorry, Captain. What did you say?" Deanna said, a slight blush on her cheeks. She let go of Will's hand and concentrated.
"I said that I think it is time to go back to the bridge." Jean-Luc said and succeeded in hiding the smile that he felt inside.
"Yes, sir." Deanna said and gave Lia a small kiss on the cheek before following the two older men out the doors. Wesley stayed behind for a moment for he had gotten the feeling that his mother had wanted to talk to him.
"Lia, honey, will you go help Alyssa with those bandages?" Beverly asked and Lia nodded. Helping her down, Beverly watched her scamper over to where Alyssa was working. Then she turned to her son and gave him a pensive look. "Wesley, I have to discuss something with you and I want your honest opinion."
Wes nodded and when his mother was done explaining her thoughts, he did just as she had asked. After he had left Beverly knew exactly what she had to do. But when was the right time to do it?