More Than a Lifetime #7: Deliberation

Chapter 5: A Brand New Day

Dani opened her eyes to find that she was still in her bedroom in Indiana, but it was daylight out. She was confused for a moment because that change appeared to be the only difference, at first glance. She realized there were more when she felt the familiar nuzzle of a warm, fuzzy face on her neck.

"Goodmorning, gorgeous," the hairy individual whispered into her ear.

Dani looked over her shoulder, up into the blue eyes of Will Riker. He kissed her before she had a chance to say anything. He parted from her, rising from the bed and walking across the bedroom and into the bathroom.

Dani sat up in the bed, trying to gather her thoughts. Her head spun momentarily as if she'd sat up too fast. A flash caught the corner of her eye. She looked, and Q was beside her on the bed.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions," he began. "So, I'm going to give you a brief run-down of your life. You and Captain Riker are married. You've been married for ten years. Riker is in command of a ship called the Titan."

"The Titan?" Dani repeated. "What about the Enterprise?"

"Didn't work out that way," Q said. "But nevermind that. What's important is that you aren't in Starfleet anymore."

"What? Why not?"

"You left shortly after your daughter was born," Q informed her. Even as the words left his mouth, Dani was inundated with a flood of memories she'd never had before. She suddenly had memories of a life that she didn't know she'd lived.

Q continued on. "You didn't want your daughter to grow up like you did, with your parents always being away and you being passed around from ship to ship. You wanted her to have a stable family so you resigned your commission to take care of your daughter seven years ago, after she was born. You never rose above the rank of Lieutenant Commander."

Dani drew her legs, obscured by the bedsheets, up to her chest. "Since you're telling me all this, what's the point of my being here?"

"To see just how happy you'd truly be if you married Will Riker," Q told her.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" The calls were accompanied by the sound of little feet running toward the bedroom.

Dani looked to Q for guidance, but he offered none. "Mommy ... " he mocked in a sing-song voice before disappearing.

"Q – wait!" Dani whispered desperately.

Will called from the bathroom, "Is that my little Kris running like that?"

Suddenly, the little footfalls stopped, and the bedroom door creaked open. A head of brown, disheveled hair appeared in the crack between the door and the wall. Big blue eyes peered out from behind dark, overgrown bangs.

"Kristiana." Riker appeared in the bathroom doorway, his bathrobe wrapped about him. He looked down at his daughter with a firm expression "What have we told you about running in the house?"

"Sorry," the little girl said sullenly.

"We just don't want you to fall and hurt yourself, sweetheart," Riker said. The sterness of his face softened as he walked over and sat on the bed beside Dani. He patted the space in front of them on the bed, inviting Kris over. She bounced into the room and hopped up onto the bed in front of her parents.

Kristianna Riker was a seven-year old little angel with long, dark hair and big, expressive eyes.

"How did you sleep last night, sweetheart?" Will asked her. "Did you have good dreams?" Kris nodded enthusiastically. "Are you ready for a fun day at school?"