The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [88]
Deanna didn’t answer at first, and they lay there in silence for long minutes, the sound of simulated waves against the holographic shore a dull roar. Then she sat up, facing Will cross-legged, staring into her open hands as she tried to find the words for what she needed to say. She wasn’t sure how to begin, and she feared to give voice to it.
Finally she looked at him, feeling tears streaming down her cheeks.
“He’s still in my head, Will,” she whispered.
Riker looked into her eyes, and the anguish he saw there cut into him. He wanted to say something, but didn’t know what.
“I still remember everything,” Deanna went on. “Everything he knew, everything he did, everything he felt. He’s still in my head, and I truly don’t know if I’ll ever get him out.”
“Yes, you will,” Will said quietly.
She almost laughed through the tears. “You know that for a fact, do you?”
“Yeah,” he said, sitting up. “I do. I know it because in every way that counts, you’re stronger than he was. I know it because no matter how bad things get, you always manage to hold it together, not just for yourself, but for everyone around you. And I know it because after all the difficult times in my life you’ve helped me through, there’s no way I’m not gonna be there to help you through yours.”
She smiled then, a ray of light through the dark cloud of her anguish, and slowly, with a few deep, cathartic breaths, the tears faded.
“Are you all right?” Will asked.
“No,” she said honestly. “But I will be.”
“Never doubted it.” He grinned.
She embraced him tightly then. His arms reached around her in return, and Will suddenly felt tears welling up in his own eyes. In silence they continued to hold each other, long after the tears faded, and long after the holographic sun went down, each one knowing they’d never let go.
About the Authors
After teaching writing and communications at the college level, Charlotte Douglas now writes full-time. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she is working on her nineteenth novel. She lives on Florida’s West Coast with her husband and two cairn terriers.
Susan Kearney used to set herself on fire four times a day. While she no longer performs her signature fire dive (she’s taken up figure skating), she never runs out of ideas for characters and plots. A business graduate of the University of Michigan, Susan has sold twenty-three novels and writes full-time. She resides in a small town outside Tampa, Florida, with her husband, children, and a spoiled Boston terrier. Visit her web site at www.SusanKearney.com.
Special Sneak Preview of
STARGAZER: BOOK ONE
Gauntlet
by
Michael Jan Friedman
Coming in May from Pocket Books!
Captain’s personal log, supplemental.
We have arrived at Starbase 32, where Commander Gilaad Ben Zoma and I are to attend a convocation of starship captains and their executive officers. While such gatherings have rarely taken place before, our newly minted Admiral McAteer seems intent on closely coordinating the activities of all ships in his sector.
Ben Zoma thinks the entire meeting will be a waste of time—particularly the cocktail party the admiral is hosting this evening. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to the opportunity to rub elbows with my fellow captains.
No doubt there is a great deal I can learn from them … considering I have officially been on the job less than a week now.
J EAN-L UC P ICARD, captain of the Federation starship Stargazer, surveyed the imposing dome-shaped room that opened before him. It was filled with a sea of crimson uniforms and gold-barred sleeves, along with several matching crimson-draped tables bearing pale bowls of Andorian punch and piles of dark brown finger sandwiches.
Glancing at his first officer, Picard said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many command officers in one place.”
Ben Zoma, a man with dark good looks and a mischievous glint in his eye, smiled at the remark.