More Than a Lifetime #5: Return to Normal

Chapter 7

It was by chance that Will Riker looked down in time to see a little girl sitting on the deck. He was glad he'd seen her. He would hate to have stepped on her by accident. It was a strange sight, uncommon even on this ship. People didn't just go around sitting on decks. He stopped walking and looked down at her.

Eight-year-old Dani Janeway looked at the pair of feet that'd just stopped beside her. She followed the legs up to the face of the tallest man she'd ever seen in her life. He was even taller than her dad. He had a beard, wore a red uniform, and was looking down at her curiously.

"Well, hello," the man said.

"Hi," Dani replied. When he squatted down, Dani thought that she was going to get yelled at for being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be without an adult. Instead, he looked at her with kind, blue eyes and smiled. That put Dani at ease.

Will watched as the girl visibly relaxed. Good, he thought. He didn't want her to be upset. "What's your name?"

"Dani."

"I'm Will." He held out his hand. Dani took it and shook it as an adult would. Her eyes fell to the man's collar. 1, 2, 3 full pips she counted. He was a commander. Commander Riker. She'd never seen him up close before, but she remembered her parents and others speaking of him.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Will asked.

"I hurt my ankle," Dani replied.

"Oh, really? How did that happen?"

"I fell."

"Oh," Will nodded. "Well, can you move it?"

"I think so," Dani said, tentatively moving her foot. "Ow. Okay. I think not."

"All right, okay," Will said. "I don't want you to hurt it anymore. Here, put your arm around my neck." Dani did as Will instructed, and he scooped her up into his arms. He stood with her. "You all right?" Dani nodded. "Okay. Here we go." He started to walk with Dani.

A few minutes later, Will walked into Sickbay with Dani in his arms. He looked around.

"Hello, Commander," Nurse Ogawa said approaching them. She looked at Dani. "Hi, there," she greeted the girl cheerfully.

"She injured her ankle," Will said. "My guess is that it's sprained."

"Well, we'll get you fixed right up," Ogawa said. "Let's get her on a biobed." Will walked over to the nearest biobed and placed Dani upon it.

Dr. Beverly Crusher walked out of her office and sighed with relief as she saw who her newest patient was. "There you are," she said, joining the little group at the biobed. "Everyone has been looking all over for you." She looked at Will. "Where was she?"

"I found her in the corridor," he replied. "I think she has a sprained ankle."

Beverly passed her medical tricorder over Dani's injured ankle and confirmed Will's diagnosis. "You're correct, Commander. This little girl has some way or another sprained her ankle." She looked at Dani, who sheepishly looked away. As the doctor began to heal Dani's ankle, she asked, "How, might I ask, did this injury occur?"

Dani hesitated before answering. "I was...running in the corridor, and I fell," she admitted.

"Mm-hmm..." Beverly said, finishing up the treatment. She turned the little device off. "Ms. Janeway, we're going to have to do better than this."

Will's eyebrows raised. Ms. Janeway? He'd heard that name before. Why did that sound familiar? He looked at Dani. "What's your mother's name?" he asked her rather straight-forwardly.