All Good Things__ - Michael Jan Friedman [75]
The doctor took another look at her hand. She had a straight to the ten. A damned good hand, by any account. But she’d lost with better. And usually, it had been to Riker.
Still, she’d come this far. A high percentage of the plastic chips in the center of the table were hers. And if she didn’t go in, the first officer would win without showing what he held.
Crusher couldn’t let him do that. Win or lose, she had to see what was in the cards. “All right,” the doctor said finally. “I’ll see you.” She had only ten chips left, but she pushed them all into the existing pot. Then she eyed the bearded man and revealed her hand.
“Can you beat a straight?”
Still, Riker gave no indication of whether he’d won or lost. One by one, he placed his cards down on the table. A four. Another four. A deuce. A second deuce. And finally… a third deuce.
“Full boat,” he announced, unable to keep from cracking a smile. “My apologies, Doctor.”
“No need,” Crusher advised him. “As usual, I’ve got only myself to blame.” Pushing her chair back, she got up from the poker table.
“That’s it?” asked Worf.
“For me it is,” she confirmed.
Geordi regarded her sympathetically. “There’s always next time,” he suggested.
The doctor scowled. “I suppose. It’s a good thing I’ve got my medical career to fall back on, because I certainly couldn’t make it as an interplanetary cardsharp.”
Riker grinned as he organized his chips, which easily constituted the largest collection on the table. He was obviously quite pleased with himself, and he wasn’t bothering to conceal it.
Geordi turned to Worf. “That’s four hands in a row,” he observed. “How does he do it?”
The Klingon swore under his breath. “I would like to know myself, Commander.”
The first officer chuckled to himself. “Simple,” he said. “I cheat.”
Data had begun to collect the cards. Abruptly, his head snapped up. There was a shocked expression on his face. “I’m kidding,” the exec assured him. “Really.”
As if he’d never heard the remark, the android went back to shuffling the deck again.
Crusher moved to an empty chair off to the side and sank into it. It was just as comfortable as it looked.
“You know,” she said after a while, “I’ve been thinking…” Geordi cast a glance at her. “About what?”
She smiled to herself. “About all the things the captain told us about the future. The things he said about us … about our relationships… the way we changed and drifted apart.” She paused. “Why would he tell us what’s going to happen?”
The engineer shrugged. “It does go against everything we’ve heard about not polluting the timeline …. “
They pondered the question for a moment. As was often the case, Data was the first to come to a conclusion. “I believe,” he said, “that this situation is unique.” “How so?” asked Riker.
The android turned to him. “Since the temporal anomaly did not occur,” he reasoned, “and will not occur, there have already been changes in the way this timeline is unfolding. The future we experience will undoubtedly be different from the one the captain encountered.”
The first officer nodded. “Maybe that’s why he told us. Knowing what that future could bring… gives us a chance to change things now.”
“So those events don’t have a chance to take place,” Geordi elaborated.
“Right,” contimed Riker. He gave Worfa meaningful look. “And in the case of some of those events, we should take extra care to see that they don’t happen.”
The Klingon nodded in appreciation. “Agreed,” he said.
They heard the sound of chimes, announcing the presence of someone at the door.
“Come on in,” replied the first officer:
As the doors parted, Troi was revealed. She looked around the table.
“Am I too late?” she asked.
“No,” said Riker. “Not at all, Deanna. In fact, I was just getting up. Take my seat.”
With that, he got up and offered her his chair—which happened to be next to Worf’s. Fully cognizant of the significance of the gesture, the Betazoid sat down.
“Thanks,” she told the